Colom leads Hyde-Smith by more than 2,500 votes as Mississippi awaits final Senate result

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi and the nation are still awaiting the final outcome of the U.S. Senate race. Election officials spent the weekend working on votes.

The latest numbers give Democrat Scott Colom a lead of more than 2,500 votes over incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith.

County clerks have until Friday to certify all of their results.

According to Secretary of State Michael Watson, as of Sunday, 75 of Mississippi’s 82 counties posted their unofficial election results online, with just over 2,700 absentee ballots still pending and 14,239 affidavit ballots processed.

About 77% of them were accepted.

Mississippi Voting History

This close race has political experts examining Mississippi’s voting history and what the election could mean for the future.

It has been 44 years since Mississippi elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate, when John Stennis was re-elected in 1982.

Experts weigh in

William Newman, associate professor of legal studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, said, “This is something in many ways that we haven’t seen in our lifetime, especially in Mississippi.” »

Marvin King, associate professor of political science at Ole Miss, said, “There have been a significant number of split-ticket voters, more than we usually see, so the lesson is that you can’t take your voters for granted. »

Both said the next election will show whether these voting patterns continue.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please Click here to report it and include the story title in your email.