A week after the midterm elections, two U.S. Senate races remain too close to call, with Democrats holding narrow leads in Mississippi and Alaska, states Republicans have long treated as safe.
In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,535 votes as of Tuesday morning, with about 97% of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. That gap is roughly 0.27% of all votes cast. On election night, Colom was ahead by just 65 votes.
Absentee ballots must arrive by Tuesday to be counted under Mississippi law.
Colom, a district attorney, would become Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction if his lead holds, CNBC reported. Hyde-Smith's campaign has said it is focused on completing the count and sending her back to the Senate. The NAACP said it had sent national staff to the state while ballots are tallied, NBC News reported.
In Alaska, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 2,517 votes with about 76% of ballots counted, according to U.S. News & World Report. State officials expect nearly all ballots to be counted by Nov. 13, with the final tally and any ranked-choice tabulation due Nov. 18.
A second candidate named Dan Sullivan also appeared on the Alaska ballot and drew about 3,600 votes, Fox News reported. The Justice Department plans to appeal a court ruling in a dispute over that candidacy.
Democrats flipped seven Senate seats last week and hold 54 to Republicans' 44, according to the AP. Wins in both states would bring them to 56.