Democratic challengers hold narrow leads in the two uncalled U.S. Senate elections in Mississippi and Alaska as local election officials continue processing remaining ballots.
The outcomes in both states will determine the final margin Democrats will hold in the upper chamber after flipping seven seats to reclaim control during the midterm elections.
In Mississippi, USA Today reported that Democratic challenger Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith 49.1% to 48.8% with 99% of votes counted, based on the latest tally around 8:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 9.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office announced on Nov. 10 that 76 of the state’s 82 counties have submitted uncertified results, while four counties have certified their outcomes.
“I follow Mississippi politics. It always – the affidavit and absentee ballots always trend Democratic,” Colom told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Nov. 9 while projecting a victory.
The Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi, which are yet to be called, will determine the strength of the Democratic majority. Both contests have narrow margins with votes still outstanding, even as the scale of Democrats’ victory across the country comes into focus. The… pic.twitter.com/wgUtT6CDD8
Counties have until Friday, Nov. 13 to upload their results, according to Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson. Watson said that roughly 2,300 absentee mail-in ballots have not yet been received and more than 18,000 affidavit ballots, which serve as the state’s version of provisional ballots, have been processed.
Meanwhile, in Alaska, USA Today reported that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leads Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan with 49% of the vote compared to Sullivan’s 47.2%, with about 87.3% of ballots counted as of Nov. 10.
Data from Alaska’s Division of Elections shows that more than 245,000 ballots have been counted with 401 of the state’s 403 precincts reporting results.
Alaska utilizes a ranked-choice voting system requiring a candidate to secure more than 50% of the vote to win outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, additional rounds of counting take place under state law, with the ranked-choice tally scheduled to begin on Nov. 18.
We have moved the Mississippi and Alaska U. S. Senate races to Lean Democratic on https://t.co/D2ZT4EH5Rb. Both races remain too close to call. pic.twitter.com/2PgsYPbrnl
