Democrats Look to Close Senate Races in Mississippi and Alaska

Mississippi’s unexpectedly close US Senate race remains too early to call, but Democrat Scott Colom has maintained a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Andrew Romano reported for Yahoo News.

Democratic Senate candidates Scott Colom and Mary Peltola hold narrow leads in closely contested races in Mississippi and Alaska. [Photo: Scott Colom for senator Facebook]

As of early Friday afternoon, Colom was ahead by 2,493 votes, a margin representing approximately 0.27% of the ballots cast, according to The Associated Press AP).

With about 97% of the vote counted, the AP had not yet declared a winner.

Colom’s lead had grown by more than 2,400 votes since Election Day. He expressed confidence in his prospects, telling reporters on Friday: “It’s very clear the direction of this. [Cindy Hyde-Smith] needs to answer questions. What is her path to victory? She doesn’t have one.”

Lawyers representing both campaigns have been preparing for possible legal challenges involving certain ballots if the race remains unresolved.

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola was also narrowly ahead of Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. The AP reported a 637-vote margin, with Peltola receiving 48.2% of the vote to Sullivan’s 47.9%.

A New York Times analysis published on Thursday projected that Peltola’s lead could grow as additional mail ballots were counted.

However, neither candidate had secured the 50% majority needed to win outright under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, meaning the contest could proceed to additional rounds of tabulation.