(AFP) – A cliffhanger in deeply conservative Mississippi and an Alaska race that had drawn accusations of cheating were the final US Senate results still to be called Wednesday, a day after Democrats stormed to victory in polls across the country. Democrats seized control of both houses of Congress in midterm elections that served as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term, notably flipping seven Senate seats including in states previously seen as safely Republican.
In the Deep South state of Mississippi, Democratic candidate Scott Colom was ahead by less than 50 votes over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to CNN and NBC, with 96 percent of ballots counted. A win would see Colom become the first Democrat since 1982 sent to the Senate from Mississippi, which Trump won by more than 20 points in the last election. Mississippi has long been overlooked by national Democrats but the Senate race attracted attention from party heavyweights late in the race, with Bill Clinton rallying voters in Tupelo and Barack Obama issuing an endorsement.
“Unlike all the people across the country that might be surprised, our campaign, our volunteers, the people of Mississippi are not surprised,” Colom said at a news conference Wednesday, predicting victory. Colom would become the first Black Mississippian to serve in the Senate since Blanche Bruce, who had been born into slavery and was sent to Washington by the state legislature in 1875. The result of the race is not expected for days, with local media reporting that there were thousands of uncounted ballots from people whose voter eligibility needed to be checked.
In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola was outpacing Republican Dan Sullivan 48.2 percent to 47.9 percent, with 74 percent of votes counted, according to CNN and NBC. The race had attracted national attention following a New York Times investigation revealing that aides to Peltola had recruited another man named Dan Sullivan to run for office with the goal of siphoning votes from the Republican incumbent. “My opponent’s campaign is literally focused on misleading Alaskans, lying, and cheating,” Senator Sullivan told reporters in Anchorage on Election Day.
As of Wednesday morning, the other Sullivan had notched 3,583 votes — more than the 626 separating the front-runners. Peltola has denied any knowledge of the alleged plot. The result of the contest may not be declared for weeks, with Alaska employing a ranked-choice system and thousands of absentee and early votes still uncounted.
– Anita Chang BEATTIE
© 2024 AFP
