Tight midterm races remain uncalled as Democrats take control of Congress

Mississippi and Alaska could determine the size of Democrats’ Senate majority

BBC News reported that Democrats were celebrating what it described as sweeping midterm victories, including flipping control of both chambers of Congress, but several critical races remained too close to call on Thursday. Votes were still being counted in two tight Senate contests in historically Republican states, Alaska and Mississippi, and those races could determine the true scale of the Democrats’ majority. Unresolved House races, California Proposition 40 and contests for Los Angeles mayor and Kansas governor also lacked final results.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by a little over 1,100 votes. The state had until November 10 to count provisional ballots and late-arriving mail ballots, keeping the outcome open. Colom campaigned on plans to address economic concerns, while Hyde-Smith, the first woman to represent Mississippi in the US Congress, had President Donald Trump’s endorsement and campaigned with him.

A Colom victory would make him the first Black US senator elected in Mississippi since 1875 and the state’s first Democratic senator since 1982. Mississippi has the largest percentage of African Americans of any US state. BBC News reported that the group overwhelmingly votes Democratic and showed up in large numbers this election.

Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman and Native American, held a narrow lead over Republican incumbent and two-term Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska, with just over 600 votes separating them and more ballots to count. Peltola campaigned for “fish, family and freedom”; Sullivan focused on tax cuts and “unleash Alaska’s energy potential”.

The Alaska race drew controversy over the appearance of another candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot. The New York Times reported allegations the previous week that Peltola and Alaska Democrats sought to confuse voters by recruiting the independent Dan Sullivan to siphon votes from Republican Dan Sullivan. Peltola denied any knowledge of such a scheme.

House results were also unsettled. In Colorado’s Fourth District, Trump ally Lauren Boebert trailed Democrat Eileen Laubacher by a narrow margin, with 7% of votes left to count. In Tennessee’s reliably Republican Fourth District, Representative Scott DesJarlais trailed Democrat Victoria Broderick. In Arizona’s Second District, incumbent Republican Eli Crane led Democrat Jonathan Nez by fewer than 4,000 votes, with many ballots still uncounted.

BBC News said losses involving Boebert, DesJarlais and other Republicans in House races in Nevada and Ohio would mean an even larger Democratic majority in the chamber and a bigger rejection of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.

California Proposition 40 would require a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state’s roughly 200 billionaires and raise tens of billions of dollars. As of Wednesday, a million more people had voted against the measure than in favor, with 61% of votes counted.

The measure would mark the first-ever wealth tax on billionaires in the US, and proponents said it would raise $100 billion for health care and education. It divided Democrats, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom opposing it.

Other state-level contests were also developing. CBS, identified by BBC News as its US partner, projected that City Council member Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist, had defeated Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a tight race. In Kansas, Democrat Cindy Holscher held a small lead over Republican Ty Masterson in the governor’s race.

BBC News characterized Raman’s projected victory as another win for left-wing Democrats, following progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate win in Michigan and Troy Jackson’s Senate victory in Maine. The Kansas governor’s contest also stands apart because Kansas has not had a Democratic governor in decades.