It’s the morning after the election and we still don’t know who won Mississippi’s Senate race. With 97 per cent of the vote counted, Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by only a handful of votes. Late last night, both candidates sounded optimistic as they spoke to supporters…
(Colom) “I’m excited for the days to come. And I tell you, deep down in my soul I believe, we’re about to show the country Mississippi matters.”
(Hyde-Smith) “I have so enjoyed this opportunity to be your U-S Senator, to be able to walk alongside with so many great folks that I’ve gotten to work in Washington, DC with. It’s just the experience of a lifetime.”
Among the ballots that haven’t been counted, people who voted by affidavit because their names weren’t on the poll books or because they didn’t have an acceptable form of identification and some mail-in absentee ballots which have not yet been received.
Hyde-Smith is seeking her second full term in the Senate. Colom is trying to become the first black Mississippian elected to the U-S Senate since Reconstruction.
In such a close race, the third candidate who was on the ballot, independent Ty Pinkins, has become a major factor, collecting almost 20,000 votes.
Mississippi’s delegation in the U-S House will be unchanged. Three Republicans, Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell were re-elected along with Democrat Bennie Thompson.
