Colom Leads Hyde-Smith by 2,010 Votes as Mississippi Counts Ballots

Provisional and affidavit ballots are being tallied, and additional mail-in absentee ballots may arrive by the November 10 deadline. That date is also the last day for counting affidavit ballots, cast by voters who lacked identification at the polls and had to verify their identity with a circuit clerk. Many uncounted absentee ballots are from Hinds County, which includes the heavily Democratic, majority-Black city of Jackson.

Colom told CNN that Hyde-Smith should speak publicly. “What is her path to victory? She doesn’t have one,” he said. State Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst said Thursday that “there is no election denying going on here” and that Republicans would accept a Colom win “if the laws are followed.” Colom would be Mississippi’s first Black senator elected since 1870.

The Mississippi Free Press reported that Colom’s lead grew as new batches were counted. In Chickasaw County, he led by 55.2 points among affidavit ballots. In Itawamba County, Hyde-Smith’s overall lead was 65.8 points, but her margin among affidavit ballots was 46 points. Observers also pointed to Colom’s win in Forrest County, which President Donald Trump carried by 18 points in 2024, as a sign of his strength.

The count has also prompted a dispute over ballot handling. Colom’s lawyers warned county election commissioners and circuit clerks against a National Republican Senatorial Committee request to segregate affidavit ballots ahead of a possible legal challenge. Jacquelyn Lopez of the Elias Law Group said the request had no basis in Mississippi law. Colom’s campaign said the state Supreme Court had barred changes to counting procedures and that separating ballots could threaten voters’ right to a secret ballot. Campaign manager Gerard Henderson called the NRSC request “a desperate stunt” and said Colom would win if every lawful ballot were counted.

Hyde-Smith blocked President Joe Biden’s 2023 nomination of Colom to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, citing his “opposition to legislation to protect female athletes.” Colom had not stated views on which teams transgender student athletes should play on; in 2021, he signed a letter opposing efforts to criminalize transgender people and gender-affirming health care.