Nov 11, 9:01 PM
US Midterm Vote Counting Continues with Over a Dozen Races Unresolved
Uncalled contests in the Senate, House, and statehouses leave the final size of legislative majorities unconfirmed.
More than a week after the United States midterm elections, vote counting continues in several states, leaving the precise composition of Congress undetermined. Over a dozen House of Representatives seats, two US Senate races, and two gubernatorial contests remain uncalled as election officials process remaining mail-in and provisional ballots.
In the US Senate contests, outcomes in Mississippi and Alaska remain pending. In Mississippi, Democratic challenger Scott Colom held a lead of approximately 2,600 votes over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith as of late Tuesday. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson stated that election workers had processed about 14,200 provisional ballots, with roughly 80 percent accepted, while approximately 2,700 mail-in absentee ballots were pending return. Mississippi requires a court order for any recount prior to state certification on December 3.
In Alaska's Senate race, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola led Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes with an estimated 76 percent of ballots counted. State election rules allow overseas mail-in ballots to arrive until November 18. If no candidate secures an absolute majority, the state will proceed to ranked-choice tabulation on November 18, targeting final state certification on November 25.
Unresolved tallies across multiple states also leave several House of Representatives seats unconfirmed. North Carolina accounts for four undecided House races, where Republican incumbents face challenges. Candidates there may request a recount by November 17 if the margin is one percentage point or less. In California’s 23rd District, counting continues in a race affecting the chamber’s balance of power, ahead of state certification on December 11.
Elsewhere in the House, a recount is underway in South Carolina’s 2nd District, where Republican incumbent Joe Wilson led Democratic candidate Zyon Khalifa by roughly 3,000 votes with 99 percent counted. Margins of about 300 votes separate candidates in Minnesota’s 1st District and Tennessee’s 4th District, where Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais leads Democratic challenger Victoria Broderick.
Two gubernatorial elections also remain uncalled. In Kansas, Democratic state Senator Cindy Holscher led Republican Ty Masterson by under one percentage point, triggering a hand-count audit required by November 16. In Alaska, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins held 49.6 percent of the vote against Republican Bernadette Wilson’s 28.9 percent with 76 percent of votes counted, leaving the contest near the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid ranked-choice tabulation.
Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com
