The last two Senate races of the 2026 midterms remained uncalled on Thursday, two days after election day, with Democratic challengers holding narrow leads over Republican incumbents in both Mississippi and Alaska. Democrats have already secured a Senate majority of at least 54 seats; these two results decide whether that majority grows.
In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney in the north of the state, led Republican Senator Cindy Hyde Smith by 1,138 votes on the Associated Press count reported on November 5, with both candidates at about 49 percent and roughly 96 percent of ballots counted. The remaining ballots are the problem: Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said in a November 4 statement that about 3,600 absentee ballots by mail were still to be received within five business days of the election, alongside an unknown number of affidavit ballots, the state’s form of provisional ballot. Voters who cast an affidavit ballot for lack of acceptable photo identification have until November 10 to present that identification, and counties have until November 13 to submit certified results to the state.
In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola, a former member of the US House for the state, led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by a margin reported at 626 votes in one Associated Press snapshot and 637 in another, with about three quarters of ballots counted. Alaska accepts mailed ballots for up to 10 days after election day, and ballots posted from abroad for up to 15 days, provided they were sent by November 3. If no candidate holds a majority once the first count is complete, the state’s ranked choice system requires a further tabulation, which the Alaska Division of Elections has scheduled for November 18.
The Associated Press calls a race only when the trailing candidate has no remaining path to close the gap, and in both states the outstanding ballots are larger than the current margins. The Alaska race also carries litigation: reporting on the contest notes a Justice Department suit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying its results, now awaiting an emergency motion in the Ninth Circuit, which is a claim about the process rather than a ruling on the count. Until the November deadlines run, both seats stay formally open even though control of the Senate does not depend on them. Status: reported, counts continuing.