Mississippi

The Associated Press called the Senate race for Scott Colom on November 11, more than a week after Election Day, and Hyde-Smith conceded the same day in a video statement. An independent, Ty Pinkins, drew about 2% of the vote.^{1, 2} Colom is the first Democrat Mississippi has elected to the U.S. Senate since 1982, and Gov. Tate Reeves and the state Republican chairman, Mike Hurst, congratulated him.^{3, 4, 5} In our count he has 49.3% to Hyde-Smith’s 48.6%. The four U.S. House seats stayed as they were, three Republican and one Democratic, though the Republican lead in the statewide House vote fell from 39.8 points in 2024 to 4.4.

The Senate vote was 23.7 points to the left of the 2024 presidential vote, and the two parties got there differently. Colom drew more votes than Kamala Harris received, 103 for every 100 of hers, while Hyde-Smith drew 63 for every 100 of Trump’s. The race drew 970,870 votes, 137% of the 2022 total and 79% of the 2024 presidential vote.

The Jackson area, with 21% of the vote, went from R+2.2 to D+19.1. Mississippi’s part of the Memphis area moved furthest, 29.4 points, from R+22.9 to D+6.5, and there Hyde-Smith drew only 55 votes for every 100 of Trump’s. The Gulfport and Hattiesburg areas stayed Republican, at R+13.5 and R+9.2. The 62 counties outside the four metro areas, which cast 52% of the vote, went from R+26.4 to R+3.8.

DeSoto County, in the Memphis area, is the largest of the 19 counties that voted for Trump in 2024 and for Colom this year, and no large county moved further. It went from R+24.1 to D+7.4 on 55,730 votes. Forrest County, around Hattiesburg, went from R+17.9 to D+10.5, and Panola County from R+14.8 to D+13.1. Hinds County, the largest by votes, widened its Democratic margin from D+46.1 to D+61.1. Harrison County, around Gulfport, stayed Republican at R+3.2 after R+28.9.

Nothing in state government changed hands. The governor and the other statewide officers are elected in 2023 and every fourth year after, so none was on this ballot.⁶ Ballotpedia’s listing shows no regular legislative elections in 2026, and Republicans hold 34 of 52 Senate seats and 77 of 122 House seats in our count, short of the two-thirds of each house that a veto override takes under the constitution as Ballotpedia quotes it.⁷ By Ballotpedia’s account the Legislature draws both sets of maps; a congressional map is ordinary legislation the governor can veto, while legislative maps pass by joint resolution and are not subject to veto.⁸

Colom won with less than half the vote. The runoff that the Mississippi Code requires when no candidate has a majority applies to “the state officers”, and a 2023 opinion of the attorney general reads that term as the eight statewide offices from governor to commissioner of insurance; United States senator is not among them.⁶ Mississippi has no automatic recount, and the secretary of state’s office says candidates cannot request one.^{3, 9} Counties send their certified results to the office of Secretary of State Michael Watson, and they had until November 13 to do so; mail-in absentee ballots could arrive within five business days of Election Day, and affidavit ballots had to be processed in that time.^{10, 11}

“Mississippi has bestowed on me the honor of a lifetime and I’ll spend every minute doing everything I can to be worthy of that trust,” Colom said in a statement on November 12. He campaigned on lowering costs for families, saving Mississippi hospitals and bringing jobs to the state, WLOX reported.^{1, 2} After the election figures in both parties spoke for early voting, which Mississippi allows only to voters with an excuse; a bill for 15 days of no-excuse early voting from the Senate elections chairman, Republican Jeremy England, passed the Senate and stalled in the House.¹²

In Hinds County a five-candidate special election for district attorney, held after the previous district attorney resigned, goes to a runoff on December 1 between Darla Palmer, who led with nearly 27% of the vote, and Gwen Agho, with 23%.¹³ On election-night returns, WLOX reported, the race for Hancock County sheriff was also headed to a December 1 runoff after no candidate passed 50%; Eddie Peterson led with 29.2% and Tommy Bethea was second with 18.4%.¹⁴

Republicans kept their three U.S. House seats. The narrowest was the Third District, which Michael Guest won by 15.9 points; Trent Kelly won the First by 17.3 and Mike Ezell the Fourth by 24.7. All three margins were far narrower than Trump’s in those districts in 2024. Hyde-Smith carried 43 of the 82 counties, and none moved toward the Republicans. Hurst said Republicans respect the voters’ decision.⁵

Neither of Mississippi’s Senate seats is on the 2028 ballot. Colom takes his seat in January.¹⁵ The next statewide election is on November 2, 2027, for governor and the other state offices; Reeves is finishing his second term and cannot run again. State Auditor Shad White announced for governor on November 9, joining a Republican field that includes Attorney General Lynn Fitch and former House Speaker Philip Gunn.¹⁶ Watson is leaving the secretary of state’s office to run for lieutenant governor.¹⁷

The Hinds County district attorney will be chosen in a runoff on December 1, and the Hancock County sheriff’s race was headed to a runoff the same day.^{13, 14}