Colom Takes Narrow Lead Amid Ballot Processing Delays
Democratic challenger Scott Colom held a lead of just over 2,600 votes over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by the end of Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Mississippi’s tight U.S. Senate race. The margin remained precarious as election officials continued processing a significant backlog of affidavit ballots and uncounted absentee-by-mail votes that could determine the final outcome.
At least 2,578 absentee-by-mail ballots had not yet been counted at the close of the day, alongside an unknown number of affidavit ballots. The race was one of only two Senate contests nationwide, along with Alaska, where no winner had been declared as of that time.
Voters Face Complex Curing Deadlines
Mississippi voters struggled to ensure their votes were counted a week after Election Day, navigating stringent election laws and complex ballot curing procedures. Tuesday marked the final deadline for affidavit ballots to be "cured"—the process of correcting errors or providing proper identification—and for mail-in ballots postmarked on Election Day to arrive.
The difficulties were highlighted by the experience of Zemaryiah Johnson, an 18-year-old freshman at Tougaloo College. After casting an affidavit ballot at the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s Office, she received instructions directing her to a different location in an adjoining county to finalize her vote for Colom. A shuttle on the Tougaloo College campus transported students to check on their affidavit ballots during this period.
Many registered voters encountered issues because they were labeled "inactive" after being identified as having a new address. These voters were required to fill out an affidavit ballot if they showed up to vote in person. Affidavit ballots were processed by hand over the last week as election commissioners checked whether each voter was in the system or if someone had arrived to cure a ballot with proper identification.
Officials Defend Process Amid Criticism
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson stated that as of 5 p.m. Monday, more than 15,500 affidavit ballots had been processed, with just over three-quarters accepted. Watson defended the affidavit ballot process in a social media statement, describing it as "a safety net for errors" during voter roll maintenance that would result in "more accurate voter rolls" and "decrease opportunities for voter fraud."
However, Colom and his allies criticized the state's election administration. Colom accused Watson of creating chaos with affidavit rules and said Watson should apologize for the delay. The Democratic candidate and his supporters called for Mississippi to expand its voting process, including setting up an early voting period.
Colom also questioned the disadvantages regarding his potential to join new lawmakers in orientation on Capitol Hill if the race remained unresolved. Hyde-Smith told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, "Votes should be counted, and that’s all we’re concentrating on today." Meanwhile, Scott Anderson, an Experian spokesman, said the agency had not worked with Mississippi since early last year and that sharing supplemental address information was not designed to validate voter records.
Victory Speeches and Political Reactions
Scott Colom gave his victory speech on Wednesday night on the Tougaloo College campus. Following the outcome, Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst issued a statement regarding Scott Colom’s win of the U.S. Senate seat. Gov. Tate Reeves also released a statement regarding Democrat Scott Colom’s win over Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.