JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Democratic challenger Scott Colom declared his confidence in the uncalled U.S. Senate race in Mississippi Wednesday morning, telling supporters he believes outstanding ballots will carry him to victory over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
As of 3 a.m. Wednesday, Colom held a razor-thin lead of just 43 votes out of more than 925,000 votes cast — leading Hyde-Smith 462,821 to 462,778 with about 95.6 percent of ballots counted. Independent candidate Ty Pinkins received 19,935 votes.
Since federal general elections in Mississippi do not trigger a runoff, the candidate who finishes with a majority majority will win the seat.
“Wherever we are, wherever the ballots are, we are going to win,” Colom said, addressing supporters at a 10 a.m. news conference. “This is our election. We won it. The people did it. They decided to go in a new direction. I’m convinced of that.”
The outcome now depends on uncounted ballots. According to the report of Mississippi todaythe Colom campaign estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 affidavit ballots remain outstanding statewide.
Asked about the microscopic margin, Colom pointed out that his campaign had spent months preparing for the post-election count.
“We have an army of lawyers. We have local lawyers; we have everyone involved to ensure that the process is done according to the law,” Colom said, adding that his main concern was the integrity of the count rather than speed.
Asked about Hyde-Smith’s declaration of victory Tuesday night, Colom responded briefly: “Bless her heart. »
If his lead holds, Colom would become the first black U.S. senator from Mississippi since Hiram Revels was sworn in during Reconstruction in 1870.
“I will serve with integrity,” Colom said. “I will serve with honesty and transparency. I never planned to be just another Democratic senator. I planned to be the Democratic senator from Mississippi.”
Colom reiterated the top priorities of his platform, citing hospital closures, cost of living and federal policy: “I’m going to go out there and I’m going to focus on reducing costs, because tariffs aren’t working. We have to find a process to get out of the war in Iran as quickly as possible. And we have to save our health care and our hospitals. I’m going to do what I said.”
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