Colom Leads Hyde-Smith by 28 Votes in Mississippi Senate Race

A razor-thin margin in Mississippi's 2026 US Senate election has placed Democrat Scott Colom ahead of Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 28 votes, according to results reported by The New York Times on November 3, 2026. The contest remains unresolved as officials prepare to count additional ballots, including provisional votes.

With 945,464 votes reported, Colom received 462,779 votes, representing 48.95% of the total. Hyde-Smith secured 462,751 votes, or 48.94%, while independent candidate Ty Pinkins collected 19,934 votes, equivalent to 2.11%.

The figures published by NBC News also showed the two leading candidates effectively tied at 48.9% each, with Pinkins at 2.1%. NBC News estimated that Hyde-Smith would need approximately 49% of the remaining vote to catch or overtake Colom.

The narrow difference means the final outcome could depend on ballots that have yet to be included in the reported totals. The New York Times noted that Mississippi permits provisional ballots to be counted for up to five business days after Election Day.

The number of provisional ballots could be significant compared with the current margin. Mississippi counted approximately 6,000 provisional ballots in 2022 and around 15,000 in 2024, according to The New York Times. Both elections involved substantially wider winning margins than the 28-vote separation in the current Senate contest.

NBC News also reported a 22.89-point shift toward Democrats in Mississippi's Senate race compared with the state's results in the 2024 presidential election. Its county-level comparison showed varying changes in support across the state.

The congressional results provided additional context for the state's election. According to The New York Times, Republican Trent Kelly won the 1st District, Democrat Bennie G. Thompson retained the 2nd District, Republican Michael Guest won the 3rd District, and Republican Mike Ezell secured the 4th District.

Meanwhile, developments elsewhere in the midterm elections drew comments from billionaire Elon Musk, who had spent approximately $500 million supporting candidates during the election cycle, according to The New York Times.

"Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now," Musk wrote on X.

The New York Times reported that Musk was responding to significant losses by candidates he supported. His subsequent comment continued the criticism of his election involvement.

"Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," Musk wrote on X.

In Mississippi, the Senate contest remains exceptionally close, with Colom holding a 28-vote advantage over Hyde-Smith as the counting process continues.