Mississippi’s Senate count ends in a concession, not a court fight
Mississippi’s eight-day Senate count ended with a call and a concession, not a court fight.
The Associated Press projected Democrat Scott Colom the winner over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday evening. Colom led 473,336 votes (49.2%) to 468,667 (48.7%), a margin of 4,669, with about 99% counted. The decisive update came from Jackson County.
Hyde-Smith conceded within the hour. “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said in a video. Her campaign said she also called Colom.
Colom told supporters at Tougaloo College in Jackson: “In every decision I make, I will never forget the most important thing is Mississippi matters.”
The count held. Voters decided.
Mississippi elected its first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. The state has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982. Donald Trump won Mississippi by nearly 23 points in 2024. He campaigned for Hyde-Smith days before Election Day. The AP call is a projection on uncertified results. Counties certify by Nov. 13 and the state declares results Dec. 3. Mississippi has no automatic recount, so any challenge would have to go to court. With this call, Democrats hold 55 Senate seats to Republicans’ 44, with Alaska still uncalled.
During the count, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent letters pressing officials to separate and preserve affidavit ballots, and both parties sent legal teams. Neither is a finding of wrongdoing. The count went on to a result the losing candidate accepted.
You do not have to be a Democrat to see what worked here. A close count finished, the loser conceded, and the courts were left out of it. That is how it is supposed to go, win or lose.
Certification comes next. Watch that the Dec. 3 declaration matches the count.
- Ask your county election office how affidavit ballots are handled and when results certify.
- Share this with a neighbor who thinks votes in red states don’t matter.
- Thank the county clerks and poll workers who finished an eight-day count.
- Check your voter registration at Vote.gov
References
UPDATE: AP calls Mississippi Senate race for Colom; Hyde-Smith concedes. Democrats' Senate majority now 55-44. Nov 11, 2026
UPDATE: AP calls Mississippi Senate race for Colom; Hyde-Smith concedes. Democrats' Senate majority now 55-44. Nov 11, 2026