Mississippi Senate race has Democrat 1,000 votes ahead

Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by just over 1,000 ballots in Mississippi's Senate race with 96 percent of votes counted, putting him within reach of an upset in a state long considered deeply conservative.

Colom, a 43-year-old prosecutor, told supporters in Jackson on Wednesday that he was confident he would win once the remaining process was completed.

A victory would make Colom the first Democrat to win a US Senate seat from Mississippi since 1982. It would also make him the state's first Black senator in more than 150 years.

The race remains unfinished. Democratic wins in Mississippi and Alaska, where results are also pending, would add to seven Senate seats Democrats have already wrested from Republicans in the midterms.

Colom campaigned on his law enforcement background and cost-of-living issues. He argued that motivated Black voters, who make up around 40 percent of Mississippi's population, and disaffection with President Donald Trump would make the race competitive.

Hyde-Smith has been a senator since 2018. Colom said she had publicly boasted last year that she blocked his path to a federal judgeship.