Hyde-Smith faces Colom as Mississippi voters decide Senate, House races Tuesday

Senate matchup more competitive than expected, drawing a Trump campaign visit

Mississippi voters decide Tuesday between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is seeking a second full term, and Democratic challenger Scott Colom in the state’s U.S. Senate race, according to an Election Day guide published by the Associated Press. The same ballot carries contests for U.S. House and two special elections for state House seats. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. Eastern.

No federal office in Mississippi has changed party hands since 2010, but the Senate matchup has been more competitive than expected, even drawing a campaign visit from President Donald Trump, the AP reported.

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in the contested races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the two state House special elections. The guide, written by AP reporter Camille Baker, flags the data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as votes are tallied.

About 709,000 ballots were cast in Mississippi’s 2022 midterm elections, according to the guide. About 7% of the ballots cast in that election were absentee ballots.

The latest advance vote totals for Mississippi are available in the AP’s advance vote tracker, the guide said.

Mississippi voters tend to vote in person on Election Day, and the state offers limited in-person absentee and mail absentee voting, according to the guide.

All counties are expected to release at least some in-person Election Day results in the first vote update of the night, the AP said. The limited mail and in-person absentee results are expected to be released throughout the night.

The 2024 general election offers a pacing reference from the guide. In that election, the AP first reported Mississippi results at 8:19 p.m. Eastern, or 19 minutes after polls closed. The vote count reached the halfway mark at 10:06 p.m. Eastern, and 90% of total votes were reported by 9:49 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 8, 2024.

The AP does not make projections and declares a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap, according to the guide. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, while making clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explaining why.

Mississippi does not have automatic recounts and does not permit candidates to request one, according to the guide. Recounts in the state are held only in the event of a court order. The AP may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.