BREAKING: Colom nears HISTORY with growing LEAD in MISSISSIPPI Senate race

we begin with a prospect that seemed. unthinkable just a few months. or even a few weeks ago in the state. of Mississippi Democrats Scott Colombe is. on the verge of winning a United States. SENATE SEAT OVER INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN. SENATOR CINDY HYDE. SMITH. THIS AFTERNOON, MS NOW'S ELECTION DESK. CHANGED THE. CHARACTERIZATION OF THAT RACE. WHICH HAS BEEN TOO CLOSE TO. CALL FOR OVER A WEEK TO LEAAN Democrat. Cologne's lead in the razor-thin race expanded. to an advantage of over 4 ,400 votes.

earlier today. A Cologne victory would be a historic moment. in a state that was ground zero. for the civil rights movement. and has an ugly history of segregation. Colom would become the first black person. that Mississippi has elected to the U .S. Senate in over 150 and 50 years. And his win would be an exclamation point. on the massive rebuke of Donald Trump. and the Republican Party that we saw. in this election. After all, Mississippi electing a. Democrat to the U .S.

Senate would be just two years removed. from voters in that same state, going for Donald Trump by more than 24 points. And that is where we begin this hour. MSNOW reporter Nnamdi Iguanwu was in Jackson, Mississippi. He spent the day at the ballot counting. THE VERY OWN ALI VELCHAE. TALK ME THROUGH THE NUMBERS HERE,

SCOTT COLOMB AHEAD BY MORE THAN 4 ,000 VOTES. HOW DID HE DO. WHERE YOU SEE THE CONCENTRATION. ARE IN THE URBAN AREAS, TUPOLO IS THE EXCEPTION HERE. WHERE CINDY HYDE WON THAT 57, 58 TO 40. BUT IN OXFORD, UNIVERSITY OF. MISSISSIPPI, IN STARKVILLE, YOU SEE COLOMB 60, 38. IN HADDIESBURG, YOU SEE COLOMB 54, 43. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT JACKSON,

WHICH IS THE CAPITOL, THIS THIS IS WHERE THE BIGGEST PART. OF THE STORY IS. IT'S 80-18, 80-19. SO NUMBER ONE, HE'S WINNING IN THE PLACES. HE'S SUPPOSED. TO WIN IN BUT THIS IS THE TYPICAL. STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED IN this election. Where Democrats are winning, they're winning by more. And where he's losing, he's losing by less. I want to just give you a couple. of comparison points to look at here. You just mentioned, you know, where Donald Trump took this. It was 61 to 38 in IN 2024, BUT IN 2024, THERE WAS ALSO A SENATE ELECTION THERE, AND I'LL JUST SHOW YOU HOW ROGER WICKER DID.

HE OUTPERFORMED DONALD TRUMP. HE WAS AT 62 .8 WHERE DONALD TRUMP WAS AT 60 .9. SO TWO POINTS HIGHER FROM THE. REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE HERE, AND THEN LOOK AT THE COMPARATIVE. UNDERPERFORMANCE. SO ONE OF THE WHEN YOU SAY HOW DID. SCOTT COLUMB DO IT, IT'S PROBABLY THREE THINGS. ONE IS HE'S A GOOD CANDIDATE. NUMBER TWO, CINDY HYDE SMITH IS NOT. NOTED FOR. HER ACHIEVEMENTS AS A NUMBER 3, THERE WAS A MASSIVE NATIONAL. ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS AGAINST. REPUBLICANS AND I GUESS NUMBER 4.

IS THAT THERE WAS THIS IDEA THAT. IF YOU HAVE VIABLE CANDIDATES IN THESE. WHERE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE WON, YOU'RE STILL SEEING THAT HAVING HAPPENED. SO SCOTT COLOMB'S RESPONSE, AND I'M SURE SIMONE WILL. HAVE THIS, IS THAT IF PEOPLE HAD TAKEN ME. MORE SERIOUSLY EARLIER, WE MAYBE WOULDN'T BE WAITING ON THIS RACE, YOU KNOW A WEEK LATER. AMONG THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK SCOTT. COLOMB SERIOUSLY EARLIER WAS IN. FACT SIMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEN. SIMONE, YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO ME. ABOUT THIS RACE FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS. WHAT WAS IT THAT YOU SAW WHAT YOU SAW AND HEARD IN. MISSISSIPPI THAT ALLOWED YOU TO.

KNOW THIS IS WHERE THIS WAS HEADED? I THINK IT WAS THREE THINGS, ALICIA, TO BE CLEAR. FIRST, IT WAS IN IN 2025, DEMOCRATS IN THIS STATE, LED BY FRANKLY THE WORK THAT BLACK RESIDENTS HAD. BEEN. DOING IN TERMS OF ORGANIZING, THEY FLIPPED TWO STATE SENATE. SEATS AND THEY BROKE THE supermajority, the Republican supermajority. in the Mississippi State Senate. That happened because the maps changed. and the maps changed because black residents. and the Mississippi NAACP in 2022 sued Mississippi.

and sued the STATE AND SO TO ME THAT SAID. OKAY SOMETHING IS GOING ON IN MISSISSIPPI. THE SECOND THING IS WHEN YOU TAKE. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CANDIDATE, SCOTT COLOMB, SCOTT COLOMB IS A CURRENT. DISTRICT. ATTORNEY AND THE DISTRICT THAT HE. WHEN HE ORIGINALLY WON HIS RACE, I WAS SPEAKING TO A FORMER COLLEAGUE OF MINE AND THE. FORMER CITY MANAGER HERE IN GENNADA, MISSISSIPPI, TREY BAKER. TREY NOTED THAT THE. The incumbent that Scott unseated was there.

for 37 years, and he won re-election three-he's. since then been re-elected twice. And so, for folks in this state-and. me myself as the former. THINGS ARE CHANGING IN MISSISSIPPI, THAT VOTERS WHEN THEY'RE ENGAGED AND. FACED WITH THE CANDIDATE THAT IS FRANKLY. SAYING THINGS THAT THEY LIKE. And it's bringing them a fresh. perspective that black, white, Latino, Native American or otherwise, Democrats, Republicans and independents,

they are willing to vote for. anyone that's going to bring. them some change and bring them some RESULTS, AND THE THIRD THING I WOULD SAY. IS JUST THE SUSTAINED NONPARTISAN POLITICAL. ORGANIZING. THAT I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. IT IS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE MISSISSIPPI VOTES. IT IS THE YOUNG PEOPLE. I AM SITTING HERE ON THE COLLEGE OF TOOGALOO campus. on the campus of Tougaloo College. and I had an opportunity to speak. with some of the student leaders here when I first. arrived this morning. These students on Tuesday, they went down to Jackson. State University,

another HBCU. And they worked with students there to. help them cure their ballots to ensure. that if their ballot was rejected, told them what they needed to do and work. with them to help try and get their ballot. validated by the 5 p .m. deadline. Young people in this state are. organizing themselves, some not-so-young people in this state are. organizing themselves, and this has been, I'm told, a decades DECADES LONG, REALLY, PROJECT EVEN WHEN ELECTIONS ARE. NOT FRONT AND CENTER.

SO SOMETHING IS HAPPENING NOT. JUST IN MISSISSIPPI, ACROSS THE SOUTH BUT TO BE VERY CLEAR, A GREAT CANDIDATE AND A GOOD MESSAGE, matters, but without the infrastructure. and the support and the ground being tilled, you do not see the results that I think we're looking. at seeing sometime very soon. A decade worth of investment in Mississippi, in Georgia, in Texas, and those organizers really now. seeing the fruit of that labor. Ali Valshi, I want to illustrate some. of the points. that Simone has made. Can you take us back to 2020?

That's the last time Cindy Hyde-Smith was. on the ballot running for this seat. Where was the attrition? How much did that electorate look. like this electorate? Yeah, so I think Simone made the biggest. point here and that is we saw something. happening in Mississippi that we saw happening in. Louisiana. In Alabama, to some degree in Florida. In Georgia where black voters came out. in massive numbers. We couldn't see, we couldn't measure it in. Mississippi. before the election because as we've learned about. Mississippi, it's not the world's most efficient. election system. But in 2020, Cindy Hyde-Smith,

that was her last Senate race. She won 54 to 44 against Mike Espy, who is a serious candidate. So that's what the world looked like in 2020. But I want to show you about, I want to bring you back to that Roger. Wicker RACE IN 2024 AND SHOW YOU THAT AGAIN, HE OUTPERFORMED AGAINST TY PINKEN'S IN 2024. SO YOU'RE SEEING SOMETHING OF A SHIFT. AND SO CINDY HEIGHT SMITH HAS DROPPED FROM 54%, ROGER WICKER DID BETTER, HE WAS A BETTER CANDIDATE, HE GOT 63%, HE OUTPERFORMED DONALD TRUMP IN.

MISSISSIPPI AND NOW CINDY HEIGHT. SMITH IS HANGING AROUND BELOW 49%. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS IN THERE? AS SIMONE SAID, HIGHER BLACK TURNOUT, A BAD ENVIRONMENT FOR REPUBLICANS. ACROSS THE STATE. AND, AGAIN, CANDIDATE QUALITY IS A BIG THING. IT'S NOT THAT THERE'S SOMETHING VERY WRONG WITH. CINDY HYDE SMITH. SHE'S JUST NOT NOTED FOR A WHOLE BUNCH. AND SCOTT COLOMB IS WELL D .A., YOU CAN'T PUT HIM ON. THE WRONG SIDE. OF THE LAW, YOU CAN'T SORT OF SAY THINGS. AND EVERY TIME WE'VE ALL TALKED TO HIM, HE'S TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY. WASN'T RUNNING ON BEING THE FIRST BLACK ANYTHING OR IN. THIS.

CASE THE SECOND BLACK SENATOR. SINCE HE WAS RUNNING ON AFFORDABILITY. AND THE WAR IN IRAN AND THE THINGS. THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. THIS IS A COMBINATION OF A WELL-RUN CAMPAIGN, A GOOD CANDIDATE, HEAVY VOTER TURNOUT. AND A GOOD YEAR FOR DEMOCRATS. NAMDEE, LOOK AT ME AND WE ARE ON THE. EDGE OF OUR SEATS. TELL US WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE WHERE YOU. ARE RIGHT NOW? FOLKS HERE ARE EXCITED. LOOK, THE PEOPLE HERE IN JACKSON HAVE. BEEN TUNED THESE RESULTS, I'M JUST DOING LIVE SHOTS. WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE COME UP AND.

SAY WHERE ARE WE AT? IS IT CALLED YET? THERE IS AN EXCITEMENT HERE AT THE POSSIBILITY. OF MISSISSIPPI POTENTIALLY I THINK IT'S REALLY. ELECTING ITS FIRST BLACK SENATOR IN OVER. 100 YEARS AND TO THE POINT YOU. ALL ARE MAKING ABOUT WHAT SCOTT CULUMM DID DIFFERENTLY. JUST IN MY TIME HERE I HE WAS UNDERESTIMATED BY. REPUBLICANS AND HAD MONTHS WHERE. HE WAS CAMPAIGNING EXTENSIVELY. ACROSS THE STATE WHILE HIS OPPONENT REALLY. WASN'T NEARLY AS ACTIVE. I THINK THE COUNT NOW IS HE HAD MORE THAN 60. TOWN HE WOULD BRING A FOOD TRUCK PROTEIN TRUCK. IN REFERENCE TO I WASHED HIM AS HE CANVASSED AT. PLACES LIKE TOOGALOO COLLEGE. WHERE SIMONE IS AT JACKSON STATE.

HE WOULD BRING A FOOD. HE WOULD HAVE A DEJ ATTRACT A. WHOLE BUNCH OF STUDENTS AND USE THAT. AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAKE HANDS AND REGISTER SOME OF. THE VOTE. INCLUDING STUDENTS WHO I SPOKE. TO DURING THOSE VISITS THAT SAID THE ONLY REASON I'M. REGISTERING RIGHT NOW IS BECAUSE THIS GUY IS HERE AND. HE FEELS A BIT INSPIRING. HE WOULD CANVAS AT PLACES LIKE. PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS, HE'D GO TO CONSERVATIVE. COMMUNITY FESTIVALS. THERE WAS THAT VIRAL AD HE MADE. HE WAS AT A TRUMP RALLY TALKING. HE WAS AT A TRUMP RALLY TALKING. TO PEOPLE IN LINE, HE'S A VERY GOOD RETAIL.

POLITICIAN. AND ONCE YOU SIT DOWN AND LISTEN. TO HIM FROM THE VOTERS I'VE SPOKEN. HE WAS INSPIRING AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT. REALLY SEEMS TO RESONATE WITH PEOPLE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE WERE POLICIES THAT HE. WOULD PROMOTE. THAT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE TO YOUR. TYPICAL CONSERVATIVE VOTERS. SO FOR INSTANCE, HE BROKE WITH DEMOCRATS ON. THE BORDER. IT WAS VERY QUICK TO SAY I WANT A SECURE BORDER, TOO, AND THAT'S AN AREA WHERE I THINK I COULD. WORK WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. HE PRAISED PRESIDENT TRUMP'S DECISION, THE NO TAX ON TIPS OR TAX ON OVERTIME, SAYING THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I TOO WOULD. SUPPORT AND EVEN IN THE INTERVIEWS.

HE'S DONE IN THE AFTERMATH OF. THE ELECTION NIGHT, HE'S TALKED. ABOUT HIS WILLINGNESS TO WORK ACROSS THE AISLE, HIS WILLINGNESS TO WORK WITH. PRESIDENT TRUMP OR WORK WITH. REPUBLICANS AND LEAD EVERYONE IN. THIS STATE. SO IF YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT SCOTT. COLLUMB DID DIFFERENTLY I think. it's really utilized the space. he had to campaign all across this state, despite the fact that he wasn't taken. seriously. by national Democrats for quite a while. And he took advantage of the heavy hitters that. sort. of did come to this state towards the end, whether it was Pete Buttigieg, who had a rally with towards the south. of the state of Mississippi. along that Gulf Coast.

Vice President Harris, who was here with him and. helped turn out, fill rooms, get people excited or. Senator Raphael Warnock, who as early as April was at fundraisers, talking to people in Mississippi. and getting laughed out of the room, but ended up being one. of the largest direct fundraisers. or at least within the Senate to. Scott Cologne's campaign. I believe the latest count is Senator Warnock. raised about $750 ,000 for the Cologne campaign. So Scott Cologne, yeah, it was. the message, it was the organizing. and it was the infrastructure that. as Simone pointed out, black leaders.

across the state spent years developing. Simone, when I was in Texas and talking to black voters, they wouldn't necessarily reference. the Supreme Court's decision on Calais. They wouldn't necessarily reference. redistricting and the maps being redrawn. They wouldn't necessarily specifically. reference all of the Republican efforts to. do away with mail-in ballots. But there was this sense that at. every turn their vote was being challenged. and that in ways that, you know, have been there for generations but were. in sharp focus during this election,

there was a generational responsibility. for them to show up and to show out. What would it mean in Mississippi, for all those young people. that you've been talking to, for all of the organizers who have. been doing the work for the past decade, um, what would it mean in Mississippi. TO ACTUALLY MANAGE TO ELECT THE. FIRST BLACK SENATOR IN THE STATE. SINCE RECONSTRUCTION. LOOK, I ASKED THE STUDENTS THAT THIS MORNING, THEY were actually practicing. for television interviews and I popped my head in.

and I gave them some mock interviews. and I said pretend that Alicia. Menendez is throwing to me. And I will just tell you, I really did. These students, THE BALLOT BOX ON TUESDAY HAD. THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE HISTORY, YES. BUT THEY SAID THAT MISSISSISSIPPI. HAS BEEN MAKING MOVES AND IT'S ABOUT TIME. THAT AMERICA WOKE UP AND SAW WHAT. THEY KNEW TO BE TRUE RIGHT HERE.

IN THEIR OWN STATE. YOU KNOW, ALICIA, IT IS IT'S IMPORTANT TO. NOTE THAT. DURING RECONSTRUCTION, SENATORS WERE SELECTED BY. THE. STATE LEGISLATURE. SO WHEN AND IF, I THINK WHEN. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOT JUST IF AT THIS POINT, SCOTT COLOMB is victorious here, he will be the first black senator. that Mississippi voters ever elected. That Mississippi voters themselves said we want. you to represent us. And the first Democrat that Mississippi voters. sent to the United States Senate.

THAT IS ABOUT MISSISSIPPI AND THE SOUTH AND OUR. COUNTRY'S FUTURE. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT OUR PAST. BUT IN ORDER TO GET HERE, THESE THINGS DO NOT JUST. HAPPEN. THE KALAID DECISION DIDN'T. THERE WAS A DIRECT ATTACK ON. BLACK POLITICAL POWER IN THIS COUNTRY, NOT JUST BLACK ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT BLACK POLITICAL POWER. THAT'S WHAT THE CARVING UP OF THESE DISTRICTS WERE. ABOUT. THAT'S WHAT THE IT WAS ABOUT WHAT THE. ELIMINATING OF POLLING PLACES IN HARRIS COUNTY. OR TERRENT COUNTY AND TEXAS WAS ABOUT. THAT'S WHAT THE MOVING OF POLLING PLACES IN.

MEMPHIS WAS ABOUT. THAT'S WHAT THE MOVING OF. I THINK IT'S ABOUT, AND STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE. ALREADY SAID. THAT IS SOMETHING THEY ARE LOOKING TO. DO IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO BLACK. BLACK PEOPLE ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY, YOUNG PEOPLE ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY, WOMEN, MEN, ANYBODY WHO JUST IS TIRED OF THE CHAOS AND THE. GOVERNMENT TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO AND WHAT. THEY STOOD UP IN THIS ELECTION. I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT TIME TO PUT A.

FINE POINT ON THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A GOVERNMENT. THAT HAS TRIED TO CRUSH THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. THIS IS A GOVERNMENT THAT HAS. LITERALLY TRIED TO TELL US, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GIVING YOU. AND ALL ACROSS THE SOUTH, RIGHT HERE IN MISSISSIPPI, ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY, PEOPLE HAVE SAID NOT ON MY. WATCH. ALI VELCHAE, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE. EXTENT TO WHICH. WHAT WE ARE WATCHING UNFOLD IN MISSISSIPPI IS. PARALLELED IN THE TURNOUT WE SAW. ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THERE'S A NUMBER OF PARALLELS. I WANT TO SHOW YOU ONE QUICK THING,

BEFORE I TELL YOU I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT. THIS IS REALLY FOR NAMDEE, WHEN PEOPLE COME TO HIM AND. SAY IS IT CALLED YET, AND PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THIS THING, WHY IS IT NOT CALLED? HERE'S WHAT CINDY HYDE SMITH HAS. TO GET 65 % OF ALL WONDERFUL, OUTSTANDING. VOTES. RIGHT? EVERYTHING. AND WHEN I GO AROUND THE COUNTY. TO SEE WHERE THERE IS VOTE LEFT FOR HER, THE PLACES WHERE SHE'S WINNING DON'T. ADD UP TO ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THAT. SHE'S NOT WINNING BY THOSE MARGINS IN THOSE. PLACES ALREADY. SO THAT'S That's number one. That's why this is people are feeling confident. about this. But yes, this echoes a couple of things. that we've seen.

Number one, Democrats winning in places. that nobody thought Democrats were. competitive for a long time, including Adam Hamilton in Kansas. NUMBER TWO, IT'S DEMOCRATS RUNNING. QUALITY. CANDIDATES AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN. SITTING THERE FOR A WHILE AND. HAVEN'T MADE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES. ROGER MARSHALL, ANOTHER EXAMPLE IN KANSAS. MOST PEOPLE SORT OF TOOK HIM at face value, and all of a sudden it turns out he was suing. his patients when he was a doctor. So that's that category. And number three is what. Simone said. There are just a whole lot of people,

no matter what motivated them, said I'm done with the chaos. in the IN THE INSTANCES OF BLACK VOTERS, IT WAS I'M DONE WITH THIS CONTINUED PUSH DOWN. IN THE CASE OF TEXAS, IT WAS, I MEAN, LOOK AT LATINO VOTERS IN TEXAS. I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU TWO VERSIONS. OF THIS STORY. TAKE A LOOK AT THE HOUSE SEATS. LOOK AT LOOK AT THIS, SOUTHERN TEXAS. IN SOME CASES, SOME OF THESE PLACES ARE. TWO-THIRDS TO. THREE-QUARTERS LATINO. THIS HAD SWUNG HEAVILY FOR DONALD TRUMP. AND LOOK AT IT FROM A COUNTY PERSPECTIVE, NOT A DISTRICT PERSPECTIVE. SAME THING WITH THIS ONE EXCEPTION HERE,

ALL OF THESE COUNTIES IN THE RIO GRAND VALLEY. WENT BLUE AND A NUMBER OF COUNTIES IN WEST TEXAS. SO IT'S A SHIFT ON IN SOME CASES. BECAUSE OF THE POLITICAL AND. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND IN SOME. CASES IT'S A RESPONSE TO THE. CHAOS AND TO THE PRESSURING AND. THE REDISTRICTING. WE SAW IT IN FLORIDA WITH THE. CHANGES IN REDISTRICTING, DIDN'T WORK, REPUBLICANS DIDN'T WIN A SINGLE ONE. OF THE FOUR SEATS THEY TRIED TO CHANGE. AND IN NORTH CAROLINA WHERE THEY TRIED. TO CHANGE IT SO THERE WOULD BE. TEN REPUBLICANS AND FOUR DEMOCRATS LOOKS. LIKE THEY MAY ACTUALLY HAVE THE OPPOSITE.

THEY MAY HAVE 10 DEMOCRATS AND IT'S NOT A GOOD. THING FOR REPUBLICANS. NAMDI, I HOPE YOU APPRECIATED. ALI'S INVITATION THERE, THAT THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE STOPS. YOU ON THE STREET AND ASKS IF. THESE VOTES ARE COUNTED, YOU SHOULD FEEL. free to FaceTime Ali. He will bring up the big. board. He will show them all of those numbers. and the spots where people have not voted, where votes are outstanding. Can you talk us through both timeline, Nnamdi, and what you were hearing. from the campaigns about the possibility. ONCE THIS IS OFFICIALLY CALLED. OF ANY LEGAL CHALLENGES? ABSOLUTELY.

SO WHILE I WAS AT THE HINDS COUNTY ELECTION. COMMISSIONER'S. OFFICE WHEN THEY WERE COUNTING. THOSE AFFIDAVIT BALLOTS, I I WAS ABLE TO SIT WITH THE HINDS. COUNTY BOARD ATTORNEY JUST TO. ASK, LOOK, IS THIS SOMETHING YOU'RE. PREPARED FOR. POSSIBLE LITIGATION? HOW NARROW DO YOU THINK THIS MARGIN WOULD HAVE. TO BE FOR THAT TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS. IS REALISTIC BECAUSE REMEMBER THIS IS A STATE. THAT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A CLEARER WAY TO. RECOUNT OR CHALLENGE THE RESULTS. CANDIDATES ARE WELCOME TO SCRUTINIZE. THE BALLOTS THEMSELVES WHICH QUITE. LITERALLY MEANS LOOKING AT THOSE BALLOTS. AND CROSS-CHECK THOSE NUMBERS BUT AS FAR.

as far as challenging the results, not really something you see here often. in Mississippi. One, I was told by the Heinz County attorney. that he doesn't see with the margin that Scott. Colom has developed how Cindy Hyde-Smith would. be able to argue that there was some sort. of WE HAVE A REGULARITY THAT COULD. OVERTURN THAT MARGIN. SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THEY'RE. CERTAINLY PREPARING FOR. SCOTT COLUMB ABOUT IT THE LAST. TIME I SPOKE TO HIM, HE SAID LOOK, WE'RE PREPARED FOR IT. WE HOPE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO THAT ROUTE. BUT AGAIN, HE'S BEEN CONFIDENT FOR AT. LEAST A WEEK NOW. THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THIS IS GOING TO GO IN HIS FAVOR.

HE'S MADE THE POINT TO ME THAT ALLEED IS MADE. ON THE BIG BOARD, THAT EVEN IN COUNTIES THAT CINDY HEIGHT SMITH. WON, THE REMAINING VOTES MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH. TO OVERCOME THE lead that he's now only that's. not only grown over the last couple of days. in terms of the timeline we're working. with here what makes it tricky. with calling mississippi as i'm sure you all know is. the fact. that this is decentralized every county does. things a bit. THAT'S WHY THERE WAS SO MUCH. ATTENTION HERE ON WHEN WE WERE. GOING TO SEE THESE AFFIDAPH BALLOTS AND IT'S WHY THE. CULON. CAMPAIGN FEELS THAT ULTIMATELY.

THE RESULTS SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR. THERE TO BE A CLEAR OUTCOME OF THIS RACE, BUT THERE IS ONE DEADLINE, ONLY ONE THAT ALL OF THE 82 COUNTIES. ACROSS THE STATE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH. AND IT'S A DEADLINE THAT THE SECRETARY OF. STATE HAS SET FOR FRIDAY THE 13TH TO SUBMIT. CERTIFIED ELECTION RESULTS. THAT IS WHEN WE'LL HAVE THE CLEAREST PICTURE ABOUT WHAT. THOSE AFFIDAVIT BALLOTS, THE REMAINING BALLOTS IN 82. COUNTIES. WHAT DIRECTION THEY'RE GOING. BUT THE COLOMB CAMPAIGN. REMAINS CONFIDENT THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, HE WILL WIN THIS RACE. CINDY HYDE-SMITH HASN'T BEEN. NEARLY AS PUBLIC BUT AS OF LATE.

SHE TALKED TO REPORTERS WHILE. ON CAPITOL HILL AND SHE'S TELLING. THEM LOOK WE WANT TO AT least wait. for all of these ballots to be. counted we still see a path no one. from her campaign has. made clear what that path is the way. scott colomus told me now. for days that hey when hinds county comes. through we're going to get the lion's. share those votes and that'll be enough. we haven't HEARD AN EQUIVALENT. OF THAT FROM CINDY HYDE-SMITH, BUT ULTIMATELY BOTH OF THESE CAMPAIGNS. LOOKING AT THESE REMAINING RESULTS, PREPARED OR AT LEAST I DON'T WANT. TO SAY CONSIDERING, BUT PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF LITIGATION,

HOPING IT DOESN'T go there at least. All eyes on Mississippi.