Two Senate Races Leave Power Hanging by Votes

Mary Peltola led GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan by just over 600 votes in Alaska, while Scott Colom led GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just over 1,100 votes in Mississippi. Neither Senate race had been called, and NBC News hadn’t projected either one. The seats remain caught in a narrow count. The outcome is still unsettled.

A contest measured in hundreds

Mississippi’s count was 96% complete. The small share of votes left to count, combined with Colom’s narrow lead, could set up a potential legal battle as Democrats seek to flip another GOP Senate seat. That fight would put the result before another institutional process, after voters produced a margin of just over 1,100 votes.

Alaska’s count was much less complete: just over three-quarters of votes had been counted. Peltola’s lead over Sullivan stood at just over 600 votes, but NBC News hadn’t projected the race. The contest was also too early to call after pre-election legal drama over the recruitment of a third candidate who shares Sullivan’s name. The reported dispute centers on that recruitment; the available account gives no further details about the legal arguments or the people involved.

The figures show two different kinds of uncertainty. Mississippi had counted nearly all its votes, while Alaska still had a substantial portion left to count. In both states, the Senate seat remained unresolved as the reported leads stayed narrow.

The count isn’t finished

Alaska’s result could take days or weeks. Mail ballots from the state’s most remote corners can arrive up to 15 days after Election Day, so the count remains open to ballots arriving from those areas. That delay is part of the reported process, not a final result. Peltola leads, but the race remains uncalled.

Ranked-choice tabulation could add another delay if no candidate receives 50% of the vote on the first ballot. That condition hasn’t been reported as met or unmet. It’s a possibility that could affect how long the result takes, alongside the arrival of mail ballots.

A seat still up for grabs

In Mississippi, Democrats are seeking to flip another GOP Senate seat, and the close margin could lead to a legal battle. In Alaska, the lead, the unfinished count, the third-candidate recruitment dispute and possible ranked-choice tabulation all remain part of the reported picture. The article provides no account of grassroots organizing, mutual aid or a community response, and it offers no detail about a legislative remedy. What it does show is a pair of Senate outcomes still governed by counting, projection and potentially legal proceedings.

For now, neither race has a projected winner. Peltola and Colom lead; Sullivan and Hyde-Smith trail; and the figures remain too unsettled for NBC News to call either contest.