The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has formally requested that election officials across Mississippi safeguard all affidavit ballots and related election records, signaling a potential legal challenge in the state's too-close-to-call Senate race. The move comes as Democrat Scott Colom holds a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, with just under 2,000 votes separating them as of Thursday evening, according to Decision Desk HQ.
In a letter dispatched to election commissioners in all 82 counties, attorneys for Hyde-Smith's campaign urged local officials to segregate affidavit ballots, document how each is handled, and preserve all associated materials. The letter argues that these steps are essential to verify the eligibility and final disposition of every provisional ballot. Federal law already mandates that election records be retained for 22 months in federal contests.
The request underscores the high stakes of a race that remains unresolved days after the election. Mississippi allows mail-in ballots to arrive up to five days after Election Day if postmarked by November 5, and state election officials report that roughly 3,600 ballots are still outstanding—enough to potentially shift the outcome. Secretary of State Michael Watson has noted that the state's decentralized, county-level vote-counting process means final certification could take until November 13.
Watson emphasized that Mississippi's election administration is "bottom-up," with circuit clerks and county commissioners running elections locally. "Counties have 10 days from the date of the election to submit their certified results to our office," he said in a statement. "Until we have the certified results, the individual counties will be the best source of the latest and most up-to-date information."
The tight margin has drawn national attention, especially because Mississippi has no automatic recount provision and no mechanism for a candidate to request one. That leaves legal challenges as the primary avenue for disputing results, making the NRSC's preservation demand a critical first step.
Colom's campaign dismissed the NRSC's letter as a "desperate stunt," arguing that it reflects Republican anxiety about a possible loss. "This desperate stunt from national Republicans is what you do when you know you're about to lose a race," the campaign said. "We're confident that when every lawful ballot is counted, Scott Colom will be Mississippi's next U.S. senator."
A victory for Colom would be historic in deep-red Mississippi, where no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat since 1982 and no Black senator has represented the state since Reconstruction. The race has become a focal point for both parties, with national implications for control of the Senate.
As the counting continues, the slim lead for Colom remains precarious, and the unresolved Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska have kept control of the chamber in limbo. Political analysts are watching closely to see how the affidavit ballots are processed and whether the NRSC's preservation demand foreshadows a broader legal battle.
For now, Mississippi's election officials are focused on completing the count within the statutory timeline, while both campaigns brace for a possible protracted dispute. The outcome could hinge on the validity of provisional ballots and the timely arrival of mail-in votes, making the preservation request a pivotal move in a race that remains far from decided.
