Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom poses with supporters at a watch party at the Ice House in Jackson, Miss., on Nov. 3, 2026. MFP Photo by Heather Harrison

Democrat Scott Colom has expanded his lead in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race to 1,813, netting an additional 136 votes over incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The latest vote figures come from Wayne, Itawamba, Lafayette, Franklin, Webster, Madison and Tallahatchie counties.

Across those counties, Colom gained an additional 521 votes while Hyde-Smith gained 385 votes.

Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.