Races · Explainer
Still counting: why Alaska and Mississippi's Senate races are uncalled, and when we'll know
Peltola holds a narrow lead in Alaska ahead of a ranked-choice count; Colom leads Hyde-Smith by about a thousand votes in Mississippi. Neither race is called.
Both Senate races are UNCALLED. In Alaska, Mary Peltola leads but is under 50%, so ranked-choice tabulation is set for Nov. 18. In Mississippi, Scott Colom led Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes in the AP count with 96% of votes in, and affidavit and mail ballots are still being processed.
Blue Wire does not project races. Neither of these has been called, and here is why.
Alaska: Peltola vs. Sullivan, round two coming
Four candidates were on the ballot: Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan; Democrat and former Rep. Mary Peltola; retired schoolteacher Daniel J. Sullivan; and Republican Gerald Heikes, per Votebeat. As of Wednesday, Peltola held a narrow lead but was below 50%. Heikes had more than 4,800 votes, about 2%, and could shape the outcome if his voters ranked the incumbent second, Votebeat reported.
The timing is fixed by state policy. Under a 2022 policy, the Division of Elections runs ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18, the deadline for the last absentee ballots, the Alaska Beacon reports. Final unofficial results come Nov. 18 and official results are expected Nov. 25. Absentee ballots can arrive by mail as late as Nov. 18, though most usually arrive within a week.
Mississippi: Colom vs. Hyde-Smith, a coin flip
As of 5:44 p.m. Wednesday, the AP had Democrat Scott Colom at 464,926 votes (49%) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at 463,788 (48.9%) with 96% counted, the Mississippi Independent reports. That morning his lead had been just 43 votes.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said about 3,600 absentee-by-mail ballots are still outstanding and must arrive within five business days, plus an unknown number of affidavit ballots to be processed within a 10-day window, per WAPT.
Counties must certify by Nov. 13, and the state declares final results Dec. 3, per the Independent. Mississippi has never passed a recount law, so a recount can only come by court order. No Democrat has won a Senate race there since John Stennis in 1982.
Why it matters
Democrats have already won control of the Senate, according to NPR. These two seats decide the size of that majority, and a Colom win would be a historic breakthrough in the Deep South.
We'll update when a reliable outlet calls either race. Until then, both are uncalled.
Sources
- Why Alaska Senate election results could take days or weeks — Votebeat
- First Alaska election results to come Tuesday evening, final unofficial results in 2 weeks — Alaska Beacon
- Colom v. Hyde-Smith: When—and how—will this close contest be decided? — Mississippi Independent
- Secretary of state says thousands of absentee-by-mail ballots still need to be counted — WAPT
- 2026 election: Democrats win full control of Congress — NPR