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Alaska and Mississippi Senate Races 2026: Latest Count and What Happens Next

Facts checked Nov. 3, 2026 · Jamoke News does not project winners or call races; results link to the AP.

As of Nov. 5, 2026, 6:45 a.m. ET, two U.S. Senate races from the Nov. 3, 2026 midterms were still uncalled: Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola narrowly leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Mississippi, where Democrat Scott Colom narrowly leads Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Democrats already won Senate control, the AP reported, so these races decide the size of the majority, not who holds it. Jamoke News does not call races; counts below are the latest reported.

Latest count

• Alaska: Mary Peltola (D) led Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) 102,962 to 102,325 (48.0% to 47.7%) in unofficial first-choice results. No one has a majority, so the outcome depends on ranked-choice tabulation, scheduled for Nov. 18. (Alaska Division of Elections (unofficial results))
• Mississippi: Scott Colom (D) led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) by 1,138 votes (464,926 to 463,788) with about 96% of the vote counted early Thursday; about 3,600 absentee ballots and an unknown number of affidavit ballots were outstanding. (Action News 5)

For live counts and race calls see AP election results. All 2026 results: who won the House, Senate and governor races

Alaska: why it takes until Nov. 18

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting in general elections. On election night the state reports only voters’ first choices. If no candidate wins more than 50% of first choices, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to their next choice, round by round, until someone has a majority. With four Senate candidates on the ballot and neither Peltola nor Sullivan above 50%, the race goes to tabulation. The Division of Elections says ranked-choice results will not be available until Nov. 18, 2026, after all eligible ballots, including late-arriving absentee ballots, are reviewed and counted.

The ballot also listed a second “Dan Sullivan” (Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., no party), who drew about 1.7% of first choices; his voters’ second choices could matter in the tabulation. How ranked-choice counting works · Alaska 2026 election guide

Sources: Alaska Division of Elections: 2026 general election results page · Alaska Division of Elections: 2026 general election summary report (unofficial) · Alaska Division of Elections: ballot counting schedule · USA Today: Alaska Senate results, Sullivan vs. Peltola

Mississippi: deadlines and recount rules

• No runoff: the candidate with the most votes wins; a majority is not required.
• Ballots still coming in: about 3,600 absentee-by-mail ballots were outstanding, plus an unknown number of affidavit (provisional) ballots that must be verified.
• Nov. 10, 2026: deadline for eligible absentee ballots to arrive and for provisional-ballot issues to be resolved, according to WXXV.
• Nov. 13, 2026: deadline for counties to certify their results.
• Recounts: Mississippi has no automatic recount and no procedure for a candidate to simply request one; a judge would have to order a new count based on findings of fraud or irregularities.

Colom, a district attorney, would be the first Black U.S. senator elected from Mississippi since 1875 if he wins, the BBC noted.

Sources: BBC: Democrat leads by dozens of votes in surprisingly tight Mississippi Senate race · Action News 5: Mississippi Senate race could come down to a handful of votes, Nov. 5, 2026 · WXXV News 25: Mississippi Senate race remains too close to call · CBS News: Mississippi Senate race still a toss-up, with razor-thin margin · The Guardian: US midterms live, Nov. 5, 2026

Key dates after the 2026 midterms

• Nov. 10: Mississippi absentee and provisional-ballot deadline.
• Nov. 13: Mississippi county certification deadline.
• Nov. 18: Alaska ranked-choice tabulation.
• Dec. 1: Georgia general election runoff date, if any race requires one. Georgia runoff rules
• Jan. 3, 2027 (noon): terms of newly elected senators and House members begin under the 20th Amendment. Jan. 3, 2027 is a Sunday; Congress can set a different day for its first meeting by law.

Sources: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment (Constitution Annotated)

Counts change as ballots are processed. A race “call” is a projection by a news organization; states certify official results.