Mississippi Senate race split by 65 votes with ballots still out

Both campaigns say they will win. "Where we are, where the ballots are, we're gonna win," Colom told supporters at a 10 a.m. news conference, WLOX reported. Hyde-Smith's campaign said it is "closely monitoring the remaining count" and remains "confident that when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted, Mississippians will have reelected Cindy Hyde-Smith."

What's left to count: About 20,000 ballots, according to WLOX and Gray News. They are mail ballots postmarked by Election Day, which can arrive through Tuesday, Nov. 10, and affidavit ballots from voters who did not show photo ID at the polls, who have until Nov. 10 to show it at their circuit clerk's office. The Colom campaign put outstanding affidavit ballots at about 10,000 to 15,000, Mississippi Today reported; there is no official count. About 10% of the vote was still out in Democratic-leaning Hinds County and in Republican-leaning Rankin County next door, and about 7% in Harrison County on the Gulf Coast, the Sun Herald reported. Counties must certify results by Nov. 13.

No recount law: Mississippi is the only state with no recount provision for a race like this, Democracy Docket and Ballotpedia note. There is no automatic recount, and a candidate cannot simply request one. A losing candidate could ask a court for a recount, examine county ballot boxes after certification, or challenge whether specific ballots were counted. Because general elections for Congress have no runoff in Mississippi, whoever finishes with the most votes wins.

How the lead moved: Early Wednesday, Decision Desk HQ had Colom ahead by about 2,200 votes (461,370 to 459,201), The Hill reported, using a different count from the AP's. By late morning, the AP count showed a 65-vote gap. Before the vote, Fox News reported that a Schumer-aligned super PAC reserved $1.2 million in ads for Colom and a Thune-aligned super PAC answered with a seven-figure buy for Hyde-Smith, and President Trump rallied for Hyde-Smith in Corinth.

What's still unknown: How many affidavit voters return with ID by Nov. 10, how many mail ballots arrive by then, and whether either side goes to court if the final margin stays this small.

Vote totals are the Associated Press's unofficial count with 95.6% of the expected vote reported, as shown on Fox News's results page (updated 1:58 p.m. ET Wednesday) and reported by WLOX as of 11:30 a.m. CT. The Decision Desk HQ figures from early Wednesday come from The Hill and used a different count. The estimate of about 20,000 uncounted ballots is from WLOX/Gray News via KCRA; the 10,000 to 15,000 affidavit-ballot figure is the Colom campaign's estimate, which Mississippi Today reported, and there is no official number. The AP had not called the race at writing. Photos are file images.