Alaska and Mississippi Senate Races Hang in the Balance as Thousands of Ballots Remain Uncounted

The battle for control of two U.S. Senate seats remained unsettled Saturday, with Democratic hopefuls Mary Peltola and Scott Colom narrowly ahead of Republican senators Dan Sullivan and Cindy Hyde-Smith. Significant numbers of outstanding ballots in Alaska and Mississippi kept both races firmly in the undecided column. (Tell Us USA Screengrab)

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	Alaska and Mississippi Senate Races Hang in the Balance as Thousands of Ballots Remain Uncounted Ashley Roberts - Capitol Hill Correspondent Tell Us USA News Network WASHINGTON - Two Republican senators remained in danger of losing their seats Saturday as Democratic challengers clung to narrow leads in Alaska and Mississippi, where unfinished vote counts left both races without a winner four days after the election. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by more than 600 votes. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom held an advantage of nearly 2,500 votes over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Those leads put the Democrats ahead, not across the finish line. With thousands of ballots still outstanding, neither margin was secure. The figures also come with an important limitation: the latest reported leads and the available estimates of uncounted ballots were issued at different times. They are snapshots of unfinished counts, not a synchronized accounting of the two contests. In Alaska, Friday’s figures showed Peltola with approximately 48.2 percent of the vote to Sullivan’s 47.9 percent. At that point, about 70 percent of ballots had been counted, with an estimated 91,000 still outstanding. Saturday morning reporting kept Peltola’s advantage above 600 votes but did not provide an updated estimate of the remaining ballots. That leaves Sullivan trailing in a contest with a substantial share of the vote still to be counted. It also leaves Peltola defending a narrow advantage through a process that may not end with the first-choice tally. Under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, a candidate must secure a majority to win. If no one reaches that threshold in the initial count, lower-finishing candidates are eliminated and their ballots transfer to voters’ next eligible choices. Ranked-choice results are scheduled for November 18. The distinction matters: leading the first-choice vote does not necessarily mean winning the seat. Alaska’s counting timetable also reflects the practical demands of conducting an election across remote communities, some without road connections. Ballot transportation, along with the processing of mail and provisional votes, can extend the count well beyond election night. The delay alone is not evidence that anything has gone wrong. In Mississippi, Colom’s reported advantage widened from about 1,800 votes late Thursday to nearly 2,500 by Saturday morning. Friday’s percentages placed him at approximately 49.1 percent, compared with Hyde-Smith’s 48.8 percent. But an estimated 30,000 votes remained outstanding Saturday — far more than the margin separating the candidates. That estimate had fallen from roughly 37,000 on Friday and remained subject to revision as counties processed their ballots. Colom had gained ground. Hyde-Smith still had a path back. The unanswered question was whether the remaining vote would preserve the Democrat’s advantage or erase it. Mississippi counties have until November 13 to submit certified results. Until those returns are completed, the statewide picture remains provisional. Both campaigns were preparing for the possibility that the dispute could move beyond the counting rooms. Hyde-Smith said her team would monitor the remaining ballots. Colom said his campaign had lawyers ready to defend the result if litigation followed. Mississippi does not automatically order a recount simply because an election is close. A recount request would have to proceed through the courts, potentially adding another stage to an already protracted contest. For the candidates, the immediate task is to scrutinize the outstanding vote and protect their position. For election officials, it is to finish the count and establish the result. As of Saturday morning, the record supported a narrow but consequential conclusion: both Republican incumbents were trailing, both Democratic challengers were within reach of victory, and neither race was over. This Tell Us USA News Network report is produced in part by Ai and can make mistakes. Please contact and let us know of any errors you may find. info@tellususa.com