Colom expands lead in Mississippi Senate race

New votes have just. been added. in Mississippi, where scrap column is now leading. by nearly 3000 votes. as he inched closer to becoming. Mississippi's next senator. Critical ballot deadlines. have now passed. So is he ready to declare victory? Joining me now, Mississippi Democratic Senate. candidate Scott Collum. Scott, thank you for joining us. This evening. You are, as I said, picking up more votes. And, Senator Hyde-Smith, and you are confident that you will win. You know, the orientation is already happening. right here in Washington, D.C., on the Hill.

I'm wondering what. stopping you from declaring victory. Well, I want to make sure. I respect the work. of so many election. commissioners and local officials. that are going through this process, particularly in Hinds County. But I expect that. they'll be done in high school tomorrow. And that should, give me a lead. that clearly is insurmountable. And then it's time to focus on. the business of the people. You know, we got a lot to do to tackle, this next Congress.

from dealing with these tariffs, dealing with the war in Ran. that's got everything more expensive. Dealing with these health care cuts. that are going to cut health health. insurance for so many Mississippians. and put rural hospitals. at risk of closing. So I do think that it's time. to get to the to the transition. so we can serve. the people of Mississippi. Many people are looking at your race, waiting to the conclusion to then. do those very things and get started. Have you seen what Senator Hyde-Smith. had to say, though, about why she feels there's. only one reason.

why this race was even close? Listen, the Mississippi is such a red state. It is so deep. Nobody expected. that it would be this close. How did it get to this point? A lot of money poured in. Do you hear a lot of money pouring? We had a conversation about this. very issue. What's your response to this idea. that there was so much money. poured into your races? Well, listen, I did over 60 town halls. I went to the housing projects. I went to the music festivals.

I listened to the voters of Mississippi, and I learned their names. And I'm ready to fight for them. Adjoining Senator did the exact opposite. In six years, she did not. One town hall. She did almost no interviews. She did almost no campaign. And in reality, most of her money. came from outside the state, Mississippi. She got hundreds of hundreds. of thousand dollars. from corporate PACs, from lobbyists from Florida, from a PAC. And so she doesn't have anything. to complain about. The people of Mississippi. have chosen a new direction, and I'm happy.

to be their next United States senator. Well, the other senator. from Mississippi, Roger Wicker, he supported your nomination. to fill a federal judicial seat. Many people might not know. that Hyde-Smith actually blocked. Have you spoken with. Senator Wicker at all? No. I mean, at this. point, I respect the fact that he probably is. waiting for the race to be called, but I look forward to working with him. on issues that we have in common. that can make progress for our state. You know, he's a big advocate. for community health centers. I want to partner with him.

to make sure. those community health centers. get the resources they need. And so I'm confident. that we can work together. on things we agree on. and be respectful when we disagree. You know, Senate Minority. Leader Chuck Schumer could become. the next Senate majority leader. But you've raised concerns. about Schumer and House Minority Leader. Hakeem Jeffries. both being from New York, Brooklyn, to be exact. Why? What message. do you think it would send to voters. if both leaders came from. the same borough in New York City? Even if you take away. all the experience they. do have collectively?

Yeah. I mean, I think. it would be, something that we need to make clear. We balance out with other ways. we can show rural America. that we care about them. You know, there are certain committees. that we need. to make sure have rural voices. We need to understand. the Democratic Party's. future has to include the South. And we can do that through. picking the right committees. Put people like myself. who are able to win very difficult races. and positions. where they could deliver. for those voters. So we can be competitive in the South.

You haven't yet. even formally announced your, your victory. You're not on Capitol Hill yet. Yet everyone wants to know what. and how you're going to vote. once you become a senator, which obviously, welcome to Washington, D.C.. But Schumer said that. he was one of the people who helped. convince you to even run for Senate. Listen to this. I had, Scott column and his. column, and his father come to my house, and I serve them a nice little, brunch.

or something. I said you got to run. They were smarter than me. This was four years ago. They said, we don't want to run this time, but we know that Hyde Scott, the incumbent, is so weak, we could beat it. And so I said, good Will backer. And here we are. Here we are. Do you feel. as though you need to back him. for Majority leader based on the brunch? And of course your name is column. We know that. But go ahead. Yeah. I mean, I think it's important. that the people of Mississippi. get credit for recruiting me. Those are the folks that I listen to.

I mean, you know, Carter. Thompson, the longest. Democratic serving member. He was the person that kind of told me. what it was going to take. to win this race. It's people like Derrick Johnson, national president. and ICP, who is a mentor of mine. for a long period of time. Other folks in Mississippi, they gave me the direction. I needed to decide to get in this race. And there were a lot of national leaders. that listened to Senator. Warnock's in the white House. Senator Cantwell. so I don't think. one person deserves credit. for any decision I make.

I think the people of Mississippi. have decided to pick another senator. And I'm blessed to be that person. Mississippi, you have centered. throughout your campaign. in our conversations as well. You have done so. And certainly. here as well, giving them. credit for your decision to run. You know, you wanted to campaign, I understand, with former Vice. President Kamala Harris, your staff initially said no. Why did you think she would be. an effective surrogate for your campaign. in this particular arena? Yeah, well, I. want to make. sure that that's not misconstrue.

It wasn't that the staff said no. They wanted to make sure. that I understood the risk. Okay. And that I got the right information. in making that decision. And I decided to do it because, well, I want to get particular issues. that matter. What was the risk that they articulated? Well, they were just worried. that it could, backlash with some Republican voters. had not. clear my Mississippi first message, and I understood. what they were talking about. But for me, I knew that Andre Sanders, she wanted a very sleepy race.

She didn't want attention to the race. She didn't want to know any press. because she was full of gas. And so I needed to shake the race up. I needed to wake it up. And so I knew that also, president, Vice President Harris. could get attention. to the issues that matter. You know, I did a press conference at Castor, a hospital, early on in my campaign, and nobody showed up. because the local press in Mississippi. doesn't have the resources they need. But I knew if I brought Vice President. hair down to that same hospital, and I did a press conference. and a roundtable, I would get the whole country.

to pay attention. And that's exactly what happened. And I think that was the right strategy, because in this particular. era that we're in, you got to get attention to your race. If you can't get attention, you can't get resources. If you can't get resources, you can't win. Yes, I'm on the right. Think that. your brand of politics could actually win. over Republican voters? Actually, more broadly, you know, when Fox News host Mr. Column called you. a bigger threat. to the GOP in 2028 than AOC. Why do you think conservatives find you,

threatening in that way? For me, I think that. there. you know, the thing is, I'm not trying to be a threat to anybody. I'm like, I'll try to focus on. delivering for Mississippi. I'm not trying to get into. national punditry. where we try to figure out, you know, who's this or who's that? You know, I think we got too much celebrity. in our politics. We got to get back to leadership. that's rooted in serving people, listening to them, learning their concerns. and delivering for them. And so my focus is going to be delivering.

for the people of Mississippi. and the people of this country. And I don't think that makes me a threat. I think that makes me somebody. that's gonna be a great senator. I respect that. You've also called out. the political forecaster. Cook Political Report. for for rating your race. as likely Republican. Now they did shift it. in October from solid are to likely. Tell me about. what compelled you to call them out. and what this means. for the future. of putting attention on the South. in politics. Well, I'm so glad you. asked me that question,

because the reason I called it out, because I want them to understand. the influence they have on election. They're not a neutral arbiter. That's not having influence. Because when you have. some elicit thought, for so long, it makes it very difficult. for that person to raise money. And it had an impact on Jamie Davis, Holly Schaffner, a lot of these other candidates. who I don't think. really were given. a proper analysis as to their chances. And, you know, I'll say this, there was one gentleman there. that I thought. was a little rude to me. and kind of sent it to me.

when I tried to make my pitch. Jessica Cook, she wasn't that way. She listened, and she heard me out. But I also think these. people need to not be, they should be looking down. on people that are sacrificing. so much to run. for the United States Senate. They need to be respecting them, listening to them, and stop pretending that they know. these states better than the folks. who actually live there. This could be a huge day in Mississippi. and the Senate race there. The race that we all have been watching. since polls closed last Tuesday, the nail biter right now. between the incumbent. Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith,

and the Democrat in the race. Scott column. You see where things stand right now. Just under 3000 votes. separate the two candidates, with 98% of the vote being counted. And in the remaining 2%, if you will, going to make all the difference. And that could come today. and could come in Hinds County. at 930 eastern. Sorry. Central 930 central. This morning, County commissioners, they're going to be meeting. to make the final call. on the provisional ballots. that have been kind of the last votes. they've been waiting to come in.

The ballots. there could tell you. who will be Mississippi's next senator. CNN's Annie. Brenner has been on the ground. She's got more details. about what today means. Well, it is a. critical day. in the Mississippi Senate race. that is still too close to call. because finally, Hinds County, the largest county. in the state of Mississippi, is going to start. counting its remaining absentee. and provisional ballots. And this could be the ballgame. in this race. that still remains too close to call.

We have been waiting for days. for officials to be at this point. They have been pouring. through the unprecedented. number of provisional ballots here. Knowing the state of Mississippi. as affidavit ballots. And I've watched as officials. have looked at the ballots to decide. which would be accepted, which would be rejected. Today, they're going to finally be counted. And it's an unpressed. ended number of affidavit ballots. that were used in this election. There are a lot of folks who we spoke to. who had issues voting on Election Day, who had to use. an affidavit ballot, either. because they, when they went to vote,

they weren't in the poll book system. or they had issues with their voter ID, but the Secretary of state has maintained. that he put up a system in place. that was supposed to clean up. the voter rolls. There's supposedly going to be. a lot more scrutiny. of that to come, but the votes. that are going to start coming in today. could determine the final count here, because it's been too close to call. And Democrat. Scott Colom argues. that his lead is only going to increase. He says that he doesn't see a path. for victory for Republican Senator.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Republican senator. who's largely remained out of view. since Election Day, is now back on Capitol Hill. and has maintained. that she wants every vote to be counted. And she has said that. she is still feeling confident. But her team has deployed. nearly 50 lawyers. across the state to be ready. to make any legal challenges. Democrats also have an army of lawyers. ready to go. But all eyes on Mississippi. and today's count could be critical. in finally getting some results.

in a state that hasn't turned blue. in decades, a state. that President Trump. won by 23 points just two years ago. Derek, thanks for joining us. Now that the deadline is hit, an election official says tomorrow. is going to be pivotal for this process. That's when commissioners. will meet to determine. which ballots will be accepted, which ones will be rejected. Are you feeling confident about. how this process is going? Well, it's unfortunate that a. week away from the election. that we have this delay, this is a direct result of unnecessary.

parties using a third party. credit bureau. Some of the counties. that we're waiting on have actually, completed the canvasing, and they can actually start the count. right now. The concerns that we have is. the delay between the count, submitting the information. to the secretary of State office. and the secretary of State office. providing it to AP. I believe once that's done, if it's done. timely, this race would have already been called. It's really important. that voters have confidence.

in our election systems. and not experience this type of delay. So CNN's Andy Gray, who we just were talking to, she. she talked to one voter in Hinds County, Mississippi, yesterday. who says she's been trying. to get her ballot processed. since she came to vote early. She was given an affidavit. Affidavit ballot. Take a listen to more of what she said. I didn't. vote last year. because I had this same kind of problem, but I was determined this time to get in.

And, I came back here this third time, and down here, they sent me to canton. I'm coming after me. Kind of depressed. because it's it shouldn't take all these. What do you think? This election. Just because it's. getting such a spotlight. Because of how close the race. is between Hyde-Smith and Cologne. What do you think? It's exposed. about Mississippi's voting system? Not that you didn't know about it, but maybe the nation didn't. That can be fixed by 2028.

Well, I'm a resident of Mississippi. in Hinds County. So I'm also familiar. We need same day voter registration. There's no reason why we. shouldn't have no excuse. Early voting. The fact that we have restricted. voting places. If someone cast a ballot. in the same county, those that vote should count. Mississippi has long. had some of the most restrictive, laws, preventing access to voting. The alternative around voter suppression.

This state lives off poverty. They have, have a policy construct. that create a us versus us paradigm. Black versus white. And unfortunately, many state. leaders are trying to. maintain a 1950s reality in 2026. We have grown past that, and we must reform our voting laws. But the most immediate thing. is to count all the ballots. Every ballot should be counted. Scott Gillum has been out.

talking to reporters and voters. almost every day about this race. It's been a bit more difficult, to hear from the incumbent. Republican senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith. But CNN's Manu. Raju did catch up with her today. on Capitol Hill. Take a listen. Why is this race. so close and. that you could potentially lose. in such a deep red state? What happened? What happened in Mississippi? So how did you get this race in play? I mean, Trump won. the state overwhelmingly.

What happened here in Michigan side? What was specific here in Mississippi? We are still counting votes. Few thousand out. And, we feel confident. What's your reaction to that? She says that they're. still counting votes, and her team feels confident. Well, you know, I can't speak in terms of partizanship, but I can speak in terms. of what. the election Day turnout demonstrated. That,

Scott alone had overwhelming support. across communities, across political spectrum. I think we have the current environment. where people want something that they, can recognize more, more closely resembled. their policy needs and interests. But right now, in NAACP, we're narrowly. focused on ensuring. every vote is counted. We have lawyers and volunteers. in over 50 counties today. We're getting reports. back on the status of things.

Some counties have completed. Other counties. have done the sorting or the canvasing, and that is holding on to the ballots. And they have not done the tally. They should have done the tally. Now, some of them were waiting. until tomorrow morning. I believe once, some of the major counties. tallied their votes, this election will be over. and we can move forward. as a state. and make sure we have representation. in the United States Senate. and for the NAACP when this is all over. We're going to be looking at.

a, election. reform package. for the legislative session. coming up in January. All right. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP. Thanks for your time, sir.