Colom Edges Hyde-Smith in Mississippi Senate Race

Biloxi, Miss. (AP) - The U.S. Senate race in Mississippi ended with Democrat Scott Colom holding a narrow lead over incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith. At 3 a.m., election officials had processed 95.6 percent of the ballots.

Colom accumulated 462,821 votes, surpassing Hyde-Smith's 462,778. The margin between the two top candidates stood at 43 votes. Independent candidate Ty Pinkins finished with 19,935 votes.

Neither candidate claimed a decisive victory during their respective watch parties. Both stated they expected to serve as the next Mississippi senator in the coming days. Because this was a general congressional contest, no runoff election was required. The candidate with the highest total would claim the seat.

Hyde-Smith told supporters, "It has been such an amazing, amazing path, and I think that we ran a very good campaign." She added, "We are in a very good lead right now. We still don't have all the votes in, so we're not calling all of it tonight, but we're in a very good lead, and I assure you I will continue to be your U.S. Senator."

Colom addressed his audience with confidence. He stated, "I'm telling you, deep down in my soul, I believe we're about to show the country Mississippi matters." He concluded by saying, "God bless you all. Good night. See you later. We're going to win."