Mississippi Senate Race: Hinds and DeSoto, the Two Big Counties Still Counting

Описание: Mississippi Senate race: Hinds and DeSoto, two big counties still reviewing affidavit (provisional) ballots. How each votes, what's left, how a review works, and the arithmetic. Not called, as of Sunday morning, 8 November 2026.

The count: Scott Colom (D) 467,930, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) 465,356, Ty Pinkins (I) 20,028; Colom +2,574 (AP, Fri 6 Nov, 5 p.m. CT, via Mississippi Free Press). Action News 5 results graphic, Sat 7 Nov 10:15 p.m. CT: Colom ahead by about 2,500, 97% counted.

Hinds County (Jackson): 2020 Senate, Espy (D) 75.4% - Hyde-Smith 23.7%, D +51.8 (Wikipedia). 2026 so far: Colom 79% - 19% (MFP). No countywide affidavit total released; by Thu 5 Nov: District 5 about 650 (MPB: 638 received, 233 from Jackson State students), District 3 387, District 4 136 from 5 of 14 precincts, Districts 1 and 2 no number (MFP): at least 1,173. Commissioner Kidada Brown: "We have to go through each one to determine whether they are eligible for their ballot to be accepted or rejected." (Action News 5, Sat 7 Nov)

DeSoto County (Memphis suburbs): 2020 Senate, Hyde-Smith 56.8% - Espy 40.9%, R +15.9 (Wikipedia). 2026 unofficial, all 47 precincts: Colom 28,103 (51.8%), Hyde-Smith 24,780 (45.7%), Pinkins 1,301; Colom +3,323 (DeSoto County News). More than 2,000 affidavits under review (Commissioner Sissie Ferguson via Action News 5); about 2,100 (MFP). Commissioner Laura Edler: over half of those she reviewed were reactivated inactive voters (MFP). Review: earliest Tue 10 Nov after 5 p.m. (county, 4 Nov, via Yahoo); Fri 6 Nov notice: public review Wed 11 Nov, 3 p.m., Election Commission Building, Hernando; no reason given (DeSoto County News). ACLU objected to observers being kept in an adjoining room (MFP).

How an affidavit is reviewed: affidavit signed, ballot sealed with it; registration checked in SEMS; missing photo ID shown by Tue 10 Nov 5 p.m.; accept or reject; resolution board checks marks; counties certify by Fri 13 Nov, state by 3 Dec (Miss. Code 23-15-573; MPB; Democracy Docket; WLBT). Statewide: 11,202 processed, about 78% accepted, Fri evening (Secretary of State Michael Watson via Action News 5). Rankin: about 20% rejected (MFP).

Our arithmetic, not a forecast (78% accepted, each pile splits like its county): Hinds 1,173 known = about 915 votes at 79-19 = Colom +549; DeSoto 2,000 = about 1,560 at 51.8-45.7 = Colom +95; together about +644. Even if all 1,560 DeSoto votes went to Hyde-Smith, that is less than 2,574. Affidavits do not always vote like the county: Lafayette, Colom by under 1 point overall, affidavits 69-29 Colom (MFP); Republican analyst Henry Barbour: "Typically, in my experience, they usually split about the way the vote splits." (WLBT)

The campaigns: Hyde-Smith: "We are not backing down. This election is not over." (to WLBT, via Action News 5); on X: "We believe thousands of votes remain to be counted from dozens of Republican counties." (CBS News). Colom: "We got an army of lawyers. Those election commissioners and circuit clerks, they're not going to be intimidated." (Action News 5). No lawsuit over the count found as of Sunday morning.

Ballot Brief calls no races and takes no side. Figures are unofficial; nothing here is a prediction.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:33 Where the race stands
1:05 Hinds County: Jackson
2:39 DeSoto County: the Memphis suburbs
4:16 How an affidavit is reviewed
5:47 What the two piles could do
7:54 What the campaigns say
8:26 This week
8:52 Recap

Sources: AP (via Mississippi Free Press); Action News 5 (WMC); WLBT; Mississippi Free Press; MPB News; DeSoto County News; DeSoto County Election Commission (via Yahoo); CBS News; Democracy Docket; Yahoo News; Mississippi Code via Justia; Wikipedia

Photos: public domain / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons, except as credited.
Photo credits (CC): "Mississippi State Capitol.jpg" by Shawn Lea (Szlea), via Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Portrait in video and thumbnail: "Scott_Colom_2_(cropped).png" by The Contrarian, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Narration uses an AI voice.

#MississippiSenate #HindsCounty #DeSotoCounty