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Mississippi Senate Race Tight as Third-Place Candidate Hopes Democrat Wins

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Politics Desk

In Short: Ty Pinkins, the third-place candidate in Mississippi's Senate race, says he may have boosted Democrat Scott Colom's chances.

Ty Pinkins, the third-place candidate in Mississippi's Senate race, said Wednesday that he hopes Democrat Scott Colom wins the race against incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Pinkins, who currently holds around 20,000 votes, believes his campaign may have helped Colom in the final tally, despite the tight race.

According to the Associated Press, with 96% of the expected vote reporting, Democrat Scott Colom leads with 49.0% of the vote (466,226), followed closely by Republican Hyde-Smith with 48.9% of the vote (464,502). The race is too close to call, with Colom leading by approximately 1,700 votes.

Pinkins claimed that a majority of his votes came from traditionally Republican counties in the state. He argued that his campaign did the opposite of spoiling the race for Colom, stating, 'What we did in this race as an independent campaign, we did the opposite of a spoiler if you look at the data coming out of this race.'

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said in a Wednesday update that there were around 3,600 outstanding mail ballots that could be received within the next five business days, and an unknown number of affidavit ballots that will be processed within the 10-day window counties have to certify their results. This means the race is very likely not to be called until at least November 10, according to Julie Wronski, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi.

Colom expressed confidence in his lead, stating, 'I am confident that I will win the Mississippi Senate race.' He also noted that he wanted to hear from Mississippians attending Trump's rally on Monday with Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom said, 'We prepared for this moment,' indicating his readiness for the final results.

The race has been closely watched, with former President Barack Obama and political strategist James Carville supporting Colom. Former President Bill Clinton is also expected to campaign for Colom in Tupelo, highlighting issues such as the rising cost of gas and groceries and the negative impact of tariffs on farmers and small businesses.

Pinkins added, 'I'm happy that we drew votes from Cindy Hyde-Smith.' He also noted, 'You can't assume that all of those votes would have went right back to Scott Colom,' citing the state's history of electing Republicans. However, Pinkins expressed hope that Colom would win, saying, 'Now, there's a fight, and he's in the lead, and I hope he wins.'

The Mississippi State Senate race has been marked by high voter turnout, with many casting affidavit ballots after Secretary of State Michael Watson flagged 230,000 voter registrations as 'inactive.' Watson's office authorized counties statewide to use unverified data from credit bureau Experian when cleaning voter rolls, leaving 1 in 9 Mississippi voters inactive ahead of Election Day.

Background

What's confirmed

• Mississippi’s Senate race between Democratic candidate Scott Colom and Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith is too close to call at the time, with Colom standing approximately at 1,138 votes ahead of Hyde-Smith with 96% of the state’s votes reported so far at the time of publication, per the Associated Press.
• Senate candidate Scott Colom said he wanted to hear from the Mississippians attending Trump’s rally on Monday with Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
• 26, 2026, en route to a campaign rally in Mississippi.

What's still developing

• Mississippi State is 4-3 after losing three straight games.
• Clinton has visited Mississippi before during an election season, including in 2016 when he campaigned in Jackson for his wife, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
• Candidates may have representatives present for the vote count.
• "I think the race is close. Everyone should just hold their horses for a little while and wait for those affidavit votes to come in. They're going to be very important," Taylor said.
• Senate candidate Scott Colom listens during a maternal health roundtable at the Capital Club in Jackson, Miss., Aug.
• The office did share, however, that a candidate can perform "a ballot box exam" and examine ballot materials after the election is certified.

Sources

• ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
• BBClink
• The Daily Mississippianlink
• Tribuneledgernewslink
• Thescorelink
• Wloxlink
• Waptlink
• Sportsnautlink
• Kcralink
• Ottumwacourierlink
• Supertalklink
• Wxxv25link
• Goshennewslink
• WarpBeat — background on Michigan Rep Haley Stevens Endorses GOP Senate Candidate Mike Rogers link
• WarpBeat — background on North Carolina Senate Candidate Threatens Suicide During Live Post link
• ABC News — video link