The mississippi senate race remained locked in a razor-thin contest early Wednesday, with Democrat Scott Colom holding a narrow lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as officials continued counting ballots in a state that has long been a Republican stronghold.

With 97% of the vote counted, the candidates were effectively tied, according to election updates. Decision Desk HQ reported Colom ahead by just over 2,000 votes — 461,370 to 459,201 — early Wednesday morning, leaving the outcome uncertain.

The close contest has thrust Mississippi into the national political spotlight. Democrats were celebrating major victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections, taking control of both chambers of Congress and flipping several Republican-held Senate seats.

Yet in Mississippi, where a Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate election since 1982, the race was still unfolding vote by vote.

A Historic Upset Could Reshape Mississippi Politics

Colom, a district attorney in the Magnolia State, is seeking to unseat Hyde-Smith, who has served in the Senate since 2018. Hyde-Smith won her 2020 election by 10 percentage points, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report had rated the seat as likely Republican.

A Colom victory would mark the eighth Senate seat Democrats flipped during this election cycle — and an extraordinary political reversal in Mississippi. President Donald Trump carried the state by more than 20 percentage points in 2024, underscoring the challenge Democrats faced in making the race competitive.

The contest gained momentum in its final days as Democrats increasingly saw an opening against Hyde-Smith. The incumbent was widely viewed as a vulnerable campaigner despite Mississippi’s deep Republican lean.

The narrow margin has made every remaining ballot consequential. With the candidates separated by only a sliver of the vote, the race has become a test of whether Democratic gains across the country can reach one of the GOP’s most dependable states.

Democratic Gains Spread Across Republican Strongholds

Colom’s performance comes amid a broader wave of Democratic victories in states traditionally considered Republican territory.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, flipping another GOP-held Senate seat. In South Carolina, Annie Andrews ousted Republican Sen. Darline Graham.

Texas also delivered a major breakthrough for Democrats. James Talarico defeated President Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton, giving Democrats their first Senate victory in the Lone Star State in nearly four decades.

Those results have intensified attention on Mississippi, where a Democratic win would add another striking chapter to the midterm election map.

Mississippi’s Long Republican Senate Record

Mississippi has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since former Sen. John Stennis won his final term in 1982.

Hyde-Smith’s tenure began in 2018, and her 10-point victory in 2020 appeared to reinforce the state’s Republican alignment. But with Colom narrowly ahead and votes still being counted, the current contest has put that political history under unusual pressure.

The final result remained unresolved early Wednesday, leaving the state’s Senate seat — and the scale of Democrats’ midterm gains — hanging on the remaining count.