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WASHINGTON — Just a handful of races for Senate and governor have not yet been called by The Associated Press as of noon Eastern time on Wednesday.

The narrow margins come as Democrats flipped seats in places Republicans comfortably won two years ago, securing control of both chambers of Congress.

In the House, 59 races where party control of the seat is at stake have yet to be called.

The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap.

In Mississippi’s Senate race, Democrat Scott Colom has a lead of few dozen votes over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Mississippi does not have an automatic recount process, but a challenger can seek a court order for one.

LIVE: 2026 Mississippi election results

The Associated Press has also not called Alaska’s Senate contest between incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, who has a 626-vote lead over Sullivan with an estimated 74% of votes counted. Under Alaska law, if neither candidate gets more than 50% of the vote then it goes to ranked-choice tabulation.

Also in Alaska, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has a 20 percentage point lead over Republican Bernadette Wilson in Alaska’s governor’s race. Kreiss-Tomkins had 49.2% of the vote with an estimated 74% of the ballots counted.

Like the Senate contest, the governor’s election advances to another round if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes.

In Kansas, Democrat Cindy Holscher has less than a percentage point lead over Republican Ty Masterson in the Kansas governor’s race. Holscher’s 5,557 vote lead with an estimated 98% of votes counted comes after Democrat Adam Hamilton became the first member of his party to win a Senate seat in nearly a century.

Both Holscher and Masterson serve in the state Senate, where the Republican serves as its president.

Both Mississippi Senate candidates on Wednesday vowed to have people closely monitor final vote counting after neither was declared a victor on Election Day.

Legal challenges are possible, which would put Mississippi’s courts into uncharted territory and prolong a process that could take more than a week even without litigation to determine a winner.

2026 Mississippi midterm election results

And all eyes are on Mississippi to see if Democrat Scott Colom will pull off an historic upset over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, and have the Magnolia State join a blue wave that swept out Republicans nationwide on Tuesday.

By Wednesday afternoon, Colom, a Democratic district attorney in north Mississippi, led incumbent Hyde-Smith, a cattle farmer from Brookhaven, by fewer than 100 votes in incomplete and unofficial results.

Many pundits are expecting a fierce legal battle over the final Mississippi vote count, whichever way it breaks. But this would be an unprecedented challenge. Mississippi has no automatic recount law or process for a candidate to request one. A recount would happen only if a court ordered it. 

But the gap in the law goes further than recounts. State law contains no mechanism for contesting a U.S. Senate general election. The election code allows challenges to primary elections, including Senate primaries, but speaks only to countywide contests for general elections.

Colom said at a press conference Wednesday morning that his campaign had deployed attorneys across the state to monitor local election officials counting the remaining ballots and processing affidavit and absentee ballots that could arrive over the next week. 

“We will protect the process of this election,” Colom said. “We will protect the integrity of this election.” 

Ballots remained uncounted in Hinds County, the most populous area of the state and a Democratic stronghold, and in counties along the Coast where Hyde-Smith has maintained an edge. Thousands of affidavit and mail-in ballots also remain to be counted.

Secretary of State Michael Watson said in a statement that there are around 3,600 outstanding mail-in absentee ballots that could be processed over the next five business days and an unknown number of affidavit ballots.

An affidavit ballot is Mississippi’s version of a provisional ballot, which is a vote cast by someone whose eligibility can’t be confirmed at the polls, such as when they lack photo ID or don’t appear on the voter rolls. These are set aside and counted only after election officials verify the voter’s eligibility.

Kelcy Higgins, a Mississippi-based political operative and community organizer and director of the Magnolia Project, called for volunteers to help with Election Day fallout.

“The work of the 2026 election is not over,” Higgins said. “Affidavit ballots remain to be reviewed and counted across Mississippi’s precincts, and we must ensure that every eligible vote is properly counted. Mississippi needs election protection volunteers now to help protect the process and make sure every eligible vote is counted and no voter’s voice is left out.”

Marc Elias, a prominent longtime Democratic election lawyer, also declared on Wednesday morning that he was “leading the legal effort” to ensure Colom would emerge victorious from the legal fight.  

It could be a week before a winner is declared. State law allows for local election workers to receive and count mail-in absentee ballots until Nov. 10, as long as the ballots were postmarked by Election Day. 

Voters also have until Nov. 10 to return to their local election officials to complete casting an affidavit ballot, which is a vote cast by someone whose eligibility can’t be confirmed at the polls because they lack photo ID or don’t appear on the voter rolls. 

At a watch party on Tuesday evening, Hyde-Smith had all but declared victory.

“I assure you I will continue to be your U.S. senator.”

That was before Colom took a late-night lead. 

By late morning on Wednesday, shortly after Colom addressed reporters, her campaign manager Jake Monssen issued a statement thanking supporters and pointing out that thousands of ballots remained uncounted. 

“With the vast majority of Election Day ballots reported, the margin is measured in just dozens of votes,” Monssen said. “We have thousands of outstanding ballots, including affidavit and absentee ballots, which still must be processed and verified under Mississippi law. Our campaign is closely monitoring the remaining count. We remain confident that when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted, Mississippians will have reelected Cindy Hyde-Smith.”

Colom has not declared victory, but he said he believes the numbers show he’s on a path to winning. He also responded to Hyde-Smith’s near declaration of victory the evening before.

“Bless her heart,” Colom said.  

When asked if he was worried about Hyde-Smith and the GOP launching election lawsuits, Colom said he hopes that she “would understand the people of Mississippi have spoken.”  

“We have to accept the will of the voters,” Colom said. “It’s very clear that we’re going in a new direction. We’re prepared to litigate, though. We were prepared for this for months. We have an army of lawyers.”

The narrow margin in and of itself reflected what some onlookers called a “bluenami,” with Democrats notching stunning victories in Republican strongholds such as South Carolina and Texas.

Most forecasters had rated the Mississippi Senate race as safely Republican. But as results came in, it became clear the race would be anything but safe for the GOP, with Colom overperforming in many counties compared to Democrats in other recent races. 

A trove of national Democrats visited the state to stump for Colom in hopes that Mississippi could flip blue for the first time in over four decades. These included former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig and around a dozen U.S. senators. 

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington was at Colom’s election night party and said she had been an early believer in Colom’s campaign. 

“He has focused this race on the things that people in Mississippi need to be successful,” Cantwell said. “Access to health care, affordable products like groceries and fuel. And he’s talked about Mississippi mattering on a larger scale. I’m excited for him.” 

Democrats have been dreaming of a political upset in Mississippi for years and seemed almost in disbelief at Colom’s watch party at the early election returns.

After having narrowly lost the governor’s race in 2019 and 2023, several Mississippi Democrats thought they would have a repeat of those races. But after Colom led in several bellwether areas like DeSoto, Lafayette and Madison counties, the room started to buzz. 

Wil Colom, Scott Colom’s father, approached Charles Taylor, the Mississippi NAACP chapter president, with a smile on his face and asked if he thought his son was trending in the right direction. 

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Taylor told the elder Colom with a grin. 

Less than six months before a scheduled retrial, attorneys for a north Mississippi man acquitted by a judge in 2023 for stabbing a customer in the neck at a New Albany restaurant are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to look at double jeopardy issues in the case. 

Attorneys for Lane Mitchell argue that another trial for attempted first-degree murder would violate the Fifth Amendment clause protecting defendants from being tried twice for the same crime. 

The legal team argues that Mitchell’s case is the proper vehicle for the high court to provide clarification and uniformity about a fundamental tenet of constitutional law. The Mississippi Court of Appeals issued a 5-4 ruling in July 2025 allowing Mitchell to be retried, which also found the acquittal was not based on the evidence.

“Clarification on this question is necessary to ensure that the constitutional finality of an acquittal does not vary with the vocabulary of the trial judge or the characterization supplied by a reviewing state court,” Mitchell’s attorneys wrote in the 93-page petition.  

The state waived its right to respond to Mitchell’s petition. 

The Supreme Court justices are set to consider Mitchell’s case at a Nov. 13 conference, a private meeting in which they vote whether to take on a case for review. Only a small fraction of certiorari writs are accepted by the court. 

Mitchell is set to be retried in March in Union County Circuit Court.

His attorneys ask whether the double jeopardy clause permits a second trial after the following circumstances unfolded during Mitchell’s trial:

• A jury was sworn in.
• Both sides rested their case.
• The trial judge entered a judgment of acquittal based on constitutional violations determined by facts established at trial. 
• The trial judge didn’t separately state the prosecution’s evidence was legally insufficient.

The victim, Tennessee resident Russell Rogers, was not present at trial. The week leading up to trial, attorneys from the defense and prosecution sent subpoenas to Rogers to come to court. 

Rogers’ father, who was appointed as his conservator after the stabbing, obtained an order from the Tennessee probate court to block the defense’s subpoena, stating that Rogers’ mental health from the attack made him incapable of testifying. 

 In court records, the defense team and Union County Circuit Judge Kent Smith said Rogers “appear(ed) to be intentionally unavailable” to testify at trial because of the conservator, who the court deemed part of the prosecution. 

The prosecution proceeded with the belief that Rogers would testify, even though he did not. Mitchell testified in his defense, and both sides rested. 

Before the case went to the jury for deliberation, Smith removed the case from the group, issuing an acquittal and dismissing the charge against Mitchell. The judge cited violations of his constitutional rights, including the Fifth Amendment and the Sixth Amendment right to confront an accuser: Rogers.  

“This procedural posture matters,” Mitchell’s attorneys wrote in the petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The attorneys argue also that the Mississippi Court of Appeals decision conflicts with how the U.S. Supreme Court, constitutional text, history and tradition consider acquittals final. 

After Smith dismissed Mitchell’s charge, prosecutors appealed. Before trial, the Mississippi attorney general’s office appointed prosecutors because the local district attorney recused himself. Those prosecutors argued that Mitchell’s acquittal would set a precedent of dismissing “every criminal cause when a recalcitrant victim refuses to appear at trial.”

The Mississippi Court of Appeals considered the trial court’s ruling a dismissal based on violation of the compulsory process rather than an acquittal that determined guilt or innocence, which got around double jeopardy concerns. A slim majority said the state had the right to appeal and Smith was incorrect to dismiss the charge, leading the court to reverse the acquittal and return the case to Union County for a new trial. 

From that ruling, Mitchell appealed to the state Supreme Court, arguing the state couldn’t appeal and retrial would violate double jeopardy protections. The court initially agreed to review the appeal, but this year the justices dismissed that review.

The case dates back to a Feb. 9, 2019, stabbing at the Tallahatchie Gourmet restaurant in New Albany. 

Rogers, a regular customer of the restaurant, had been there for several hours when then-18 year-old Mitchell arrived and joined his parents and their friends in the bar area. Witnesses testified about Rogers’ behavior earlier in the day and how he seemed to make a young waitress feel uncomfortable. 

Video of the incident presented in court and included in court records shows Mitchell taking a knife from the bar and holding it behind his back as Rogers talked to a waitress. Mitchell’s father, who worked at the restaurant, talked with Rogers, who moved toward him. That prompted Mitchell to approach Rogers from behind and stab him in the neck three times. 

Mitchell testified at trial and argued in court filings that he believed Rogers had a gun and was going to harm his father. A gun was not found in Rogers’ possession.

Rogers’ injuries nearly killed him and resulted in a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental issues, which months later led to the appointment of a conservator, his father Bob Rogers. 

A civil lawsuit filed in 2020 led to years of litigation revolving around access to Rogers’ medical records related to the stabbing that were contained in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled the same year and a protective order was issued, directing confidential information and copies to be returned or destroyed. 

In the upcoming 2027 session, the Mississippi Legislature will have an additional $266 million to spend, an increase of 3.5% from last year’s estimate partially driven by changes in tax collections, wage growth and inflation.

Wednesday’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee meeting was just the latest step in the state budget process. The committee, which consists of state House and Senate members, and Gov. Tate Reeves adopted a revenue estimate of $7.8 billion for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The bulk of the money comes from state taxes, such as sales and income taxes. 

The revenue estimate, presented by Corey Miller, the state economist, is based on tax collections to date and state and national economic conditions. The estimate may be adjusted based on new data. Miller said the growth is good, given the inflation rate, which is about 3.4% this year.

Mississippi takes a conservative approach when it comes to budget estimates and in recent years has collected more than it estimated. 

Ahead of the upcoming session, the Legislature and the governor will each develop a proposed budget based on the revenue estimate for how to divide the money between state agencies. The Legislature will then pass a final budget during the session. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state saw an increase in actual revenue collections of about 24% from 2020 to 2023. However, over the last few years revenue collections have barely changed, hovering around $7.6 billion, even as many agencies are requesting more funds.The approximately $5.65 billion collected in 2017 adjusted for inflation would be worth about $7.68 billion in 2026 dollars – a little more than last fiscal year’s revenue estimate of $7.53 billion.

The Legislature may need the additional revenue projected to be collected to offset budget pressures during the 2027 legislative session, which begins in January. The Division of Medicaid requested around $179 million more than last year, about a 15% increase year over year as it faces a budget deficit. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, which governs the state’s public universities, asked for an additional $93 million, although lawmakers discussed keeping the funding level at a recent budget meeting.

State revenue represents a portion of the state’s overall budget, which was about $28 billion last year. Mississippi is consistently one of the top 10 states most reliant on federal funding. Last year, over 40% of the state’s budget came from the federal government.

Miller said the revenue estimate was driven by expected growth in sales, corporate income and use tax revenues, as well as a slower than expected rate of decline in income tax collections. Historically, close to 70% of the state’s revenue comes from sales and income taxes. 

Sales taxes generate the most revenue for the state and are expected to make up around 40% of all state revenue this year. The state expects to collect more in sales taxes next year due to inflation – higher prices means the state collects more in sales taxes and continued wage growth. 

Personal income in Mississippi has grown by around 5% annually for the past three years, with a projected average of about a 3.8% annual increase over the next three years. 

This wage growth and larger number of people working in the state have resulted in a slower than expected decline in income tax revenue. In 2025, Mississippi voted to gradually eliminate the income tax, which used to make up about a third of the state’s revenue. Gov. Tate Reeves cautioned that this trend will not continue but remained optimistic about the state’s financial future.

“As the individual income tax rate continues to decline, the total dollars collected in income revenue, at some point we’ll roll over and we will start seeing declines there. But the good news is we were $5.8 billion total revenue seven years ago, we’re $7.8 billion in total revenue now,” Reeves said.

Reeves said that, by allowing more people to “keep more of their own money,” the state’s economy has grown resulting in more jobs and higher wages.

“I think Mississippi’s future is bright, and I think we can continue this economic growth,” Reeves said.

Democrat Scott Colom was within striking distance Wednesday of pulling off an historic upset in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race between him and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, but the race remained too close to call.

As Mississippians woke up Wednesday morning and the nation turned its attention to the Magnolia State, a razor-thin margin separated Colom, a Democratic district attorney in north Mississippi, and Hyde-Smith. As of 3 p.m., Colom led by 65 votes in incomplete and unofficial results.

A legal fight is likely. Ballots remained uncounted in Hinds County, the most populous area of the state and a Democratic stronghold and in counties along the Coast where Hyde-Smith has maintained an edge. Thousands of affidavit and mail-in ballots also remain to be counted.

The midterm race saw a massive turnout, with nearly 1 million people voting, rivaling presidential election turnout in Mississippi.

Colom addressed reporters at his campaign headquarters on Wednesday morning, saying that he has a clear path to victory.

“I’m very happy with where we stand,” Colom said. “I’m confident once the process lays out where the ballots are, we’re going to win, because the people of Mississippi turned out in historic numbers to make this race possible.”

Colom said his campaign had deployed attorneys across the state to monitor local election officials counting the remaining ballots and processing affidavit and absentee ballots that could arrive over the next week.

“We will protect the process of this election,” Colom said. “We will protect the integrity of this election.”

At a watch party on Tuesday evening, Hyde-Smith all but declared victory.

“I assure you I will continue to be your U.S. senator,” she said.

That was before Colom took the lead.

By late morning on Wednesday, shortly after Colom addressed reporters, Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager, Jake Monssen, issued a statement thanking supporters and pointing out that thousands of ballots remained uncounted.

“With the vast majority of Election Day ballots reported, the margin is measured in just dozens of votes,” Monssen said. “We have thousands of outstanding ballots, including affidavit and absentee ballots, which still must be processed and verified under Mississippi law. Our campaign is closely monitoring the remaining count. We remain confident that when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted, Mississippians will have reelected Cindy Hyde-Smith.”

It appeared many groups are gearing up for a fight.

On Tuesday night, the state Democratic Party filed a court challenge claiming several precincts in DeSoto County had problems, including delayed openings, “extraordinary waiting periods” and a shortage of regular ballots and affidavit ballots. The party withdrew the complaint Wednesday.

LIVE: 2026 Mississippi election results

Kelcy Higgins, a Mississippi-based political operative and community organizer and director of the Magnolia Project, called for volunteers to help with Election Day fallout.

“The work of the 2026 election is not over,” Higgins said. “Affidavit ballots remain to be reviewed and counted across Mississippi’s precincts, and we must ensure that every eligible vote is properly counted. Mississippi needs election protection volunteers now to help protect the process and make sure every eligible vote is counted and no voter’s voice is left out.”

Colom, a district attorney in northern Mississippi, would be the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from the state since John Stennis in 1982. He would be the first Black person elected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi since Reconstruction, when the state Legislature elected Hiram Revels in 1870 and Blanche Bruce in 1875.

Hyde-Smith is the first woman to be elected to federal office in Mississippi.

Most forecasters had rated the Mississippi Senate race as safely Republican. But on the issues defining the midterms in Mississippi and beyond, voters left little doubt it would be a referendum on President Donald Trump — on soaring consumer prices exacerbated by tariffs and his war with Iran.

Colom has campaigned hard, crisscrossing the state and receiving help from the national party.

Dan Pffeifer, a political commentator and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, said Colom “has run a campaign that is a model for Dems trying to flip very red states.”

Hyde-Smith, a Brookhaven cattle farmer, was first appointed to the Senate in early 2018 to replace longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. She won two races against former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, in a special election in late 2018 and a regular election in 2020. Early in this race, she appeared confident she would gain a third victory, in part from the continued endorsement of Trump. 

Hyde-Smith’s main campaign message was to label Colom an extremist, and the “most radical Senate candidate of our lifetime.” She attempted to label him as a puppet of far-left national Democrats, with a spokesman calling him a stooge of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and to billionaire donor George Soros.

Update, 11/4/2026: This article has been updated to show results as of 3 p.m., which remain incomplete and unofficial. It has also been updated to show that the state Democratic Party withdrew its complaint in DeSoto County.

Mississippi Medicaid has not yet confirmed whether it will begin reimbursing for doula services next year, despite receiving a federal grant that requires it to do so. 

Mississippi, along with Idaho and North Dakota, is one of three states that have not implemented or taken steps publicly toward covering the cost of doulas through Medicaid, according to the National Health Law Program. 

Doulas are nonmedical professionals who provide emotional, physical and informational support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

In 2025, the federal government awarded 15 states, including Mississippi, a grant to improve maternal healthcare for women enrolled in Medicaid. The Transforming Maternal Health Model gives eligible state Medicaid agencies up to $17 million over 10 years to bolster their maternal health workforce. Guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency distributing the grant, say states receiving the federal funding must begin doula reimbursement by the end of 2027. 

“There is significant evidence that incorporating doula services in a patient’s care team can improve outcomes across a range of conditions and circumstances,” the guidelines read. “Therefore, participating state Medicaid agencies will be required to cover doula services by the end of Model Year 3 under the TMaH Model.”

Amy Chen, a senior attorney at the National Health Law Program, said she learned through conversations with people at the Mississippi Division of Medicaid that they are “exploring avenues” to provide funding for doula coverage, but they have established no definitive course of action. 

Medicaid spokesperson Matt Westerfield did not answer questions about the state’s plan for Medicaid reimbursement of doulas. Mississippi Today followed up with him six times between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2. 

In one of the poorest states in the nation, more than half of births are covered by Medicaid. Those mothers rarely have access to doulas, because of Mississippi’s reimbursement policies. 

Meanwhile, Mississippi infants die at a rate nearly twice the national average. In 2024, Black infants died at nearly three times the rate as white ones in Mississippi, according to the state’s 2025 infant mortality report. The state earned an F grade in its latest report card from the March of Dimes, a national nonprofit aimed at improving the health of mothers and babies. For years, the group has urged Mississippi to expand reimbursement options for doulas. 

Honour McDaniel Hill, who directs the Infant and Maternal Health Initiatives for March of Dimes, said she believes the growing movement and evidence behind doula care make it a safe investment. 

“You’ve got a bunch of states who are doing it, so you’re not doing it alone,” McDaniel Hill said. “It’s an opportunity to join in on something that has shown to improve mom’s experiences, improve mother-baby bonding and being able to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.”

Part of the success of doulas is that mothers confide in them more than doctors, said Kashuna Watts, a Jackson-based doula and founder of the Professional Mississippi Association of Doulas. Watts said doulas tend to spend more time with women and focus on building trust.

“When you pick up a client, you serve that client during pregnancy, birth and postpartum,” Watts said. 

That continuity of care can be lifesaving, Watts said. She recalled a first-time pregnant woman she cared for earlier this year. That mother called Watts experiencing hand pain and headaches – symptoms she “didn’t want to worry the doctor with,” according to Watts. But Watts recognized those symptoms as warning signs of preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition related to high blood pressure, particularly during and after pregnancy. Within minutes, she said, she made sure the mother got to the hospital. 

“If she hadn’t gone to the hospital, she would have had to have an emergency C-section,” Watts said, referring to a cesarean section. Instead, doctors stabilized her blood pressure and she gave birth without complications, Watts said. 

Doulas aren’t interested in taking the place of medical providers, Watts said. Instead, she said they’re interested in filling in gaps in care, providing women with information and connecting them to doctors and resources. 

“If every mother had access to a doula,” said Watts, “I know that not only would our maternal mortality rate drop, but (the) infant mortality rate would drop, also.”

Efforts to expand access

Rafia Tchatikpi was 21 when she first gave birth. She said doctors told her she needed a C-section because her baby was large. After the surgical birth, Tchatikpi said, she found out her daughter weighed only six pounds. 

That is common, and research suggests many women nationwide undergo C-sections unnecessarily. Studies show that only one in five U.S. women who were told their babies might be large actually delivered infants weighing more than eight pounds, 13 ounces – the standard definition of a large infant. 

Tchatikpi believes if she had a doula by her side and advocating for her at the hospital when she gave birth for the first time, she may not have ended up with a C-section. 

“My mom passed away on my 21st birthday, so I had to go through that pregnancy alone,”  Tchatikpi said. “I was just becoming an adult, I had no idea about any of the birth process.”

Studies show receiving continuous care from a trained doula throughout pregnancy and labor significantly reduces the risk of undergoing a C-section. The problem isn’t unique to Mississippi. But it is worse in Mississippi, where 38% of births are surgical. The state has recorded the highest rate of C-sections overall and particularly among first-time mothers – and experts say hospital culture often makes a difference in shaping those trends. 

When Tchatikpi arrived in Mississippi in 2020, she was surprised at the dearth of maternity care – especially after just completing a doula certification program in California. 

Now, Tchatikpi hopes to be part of an effort to change that. In 2027, Tchatikpi will begin teaching doula work to other Mississippians through a new doula certification program at Sisters in Birth, a Jackson-based women’s health clinic. 

Clinic founder Getty Israel said the 10-month program costs $2,100 per person. Israel said the course aims to take a more comprehensive approach to doula training in which students will also learn the fundamentals of public health. That’s especially important in Mississippi, Israel said, where sexually transmitted diseases and chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, remain maternal health challenges. 

Rebuilding maternity care in the state demands more than expanding the doula workforce and reimbursing for doula services, Israel said. Israel said she has tried for nearly six years to open the state’s first birth center, a home-like, non-hospital healthcare facility for childbirth. Israel said she has run into myriad policy obstacles. Despite growing evidence that midwife-led birth centers improve outcomes for mothers and infants, Mississippi remains one of 10 states with no centers. 

A birth center may have made a difference for Tchatikpi, who delivered two of her six children at home in Mississippi. She said she would have preferred to use a birth center, but given the choice between the hospital and her home, Tchatikpi chose her home. 

“No one wants to do it on their own, but it was something I felt I had to do because I was so traumatized with the doctors and their way of doing things,” said Tchatikpi, who is Black. 

While Tchatikpi isn’t sure whether race played a part in her traumatic hospital birth, the majority of Black Americans said they had negative experiences with doctors, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center. 

For Tchatikpi, investing in maternity care reflects the spirit of what Mississippi should stand for. Tchatikpi, whose mother was from Mississippi, said she always loved the welcoming nature of the state. But she believes Mississippi’s maternal-infant health woes directly contradict that value. 

“What hospitality can we say we’re giving if we’re letting our most vulnerable members of our society – which is infants, babies – have a poor start in life?” Tchatikpi said. “We’re letting their mothers suffer.”

The race for Hinds County district attorney is heading to a runoff between Darla Palmer and Gwen Agho after none of the five candidates in Tuesday’s special election won a majority of the votes. 

The runoff, scheduled for Dec. 1, will decide who will finish the term of former District Attorney Jody Owens, who left office over the summer after pleading guilty to a federal corruption charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

Palmer led the pack with roughly 27% of the vote, while Agho finished second with roughly 23%, according to unofficial tallies from the Hinds County elections office.

The winner of the special election will serve through January 2028 and take over the job from interim District Attorney Brad McCullouch, who was appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves. 

Palmer, 59, a private defense attorney, twice unsuccessfully challenged Owens for DA. She ran on the campaign slogan that asked, “Are you ready to feel safe?” She touted during the race that she was the only candidate who had never worked in the Hinds DA office. 

Palmer was the only candidate of the five who did not file a campaign finance report by the Oct. 27 deadline. As of election night, she still had not filed the mandatory preelection disclosure, according to the secretary of state’s website. 

Agho, 37, has spent nearly her entire career as a prosecutor for the Hinds DA office, which she joined in 2016 under former DA Robert Shuler Smith. She has argued that her familiarity with the office has given her insight into its many problems. 

The next district attorney will inherit an office facing significant challenges, including a backlog of criminal cases that has contributed to crowding at the troubled Hinds County Detention Center, which remains under federal oversight under a consent decree.

Jackson voters soundly rejected a ballot measure on Tuesday that would have boosted taxes on restaurant checks and hotel bills, dealing a financial blow to the city’s tourism agency that had counted on tax proceeds to bridge a sizable gap in its budget.

The referendum garnered 46% of the vote – far short of the required 60% to win passage.

In a press release Wednesday, Visit Jackson expressed disappointment with the outcome and thanked those who supported the measure.

“Our belief in Jackson, her people, and her promise remains strong,” the statement said.

Had it passed, taxes on restaurant bills would have risen from 1% to 1.5% and hotel stays from 1% to 2%. The additional revenue would have benefited Visit Jackson. 

A spokesperson previously told Mississippi Today she hoped voters would be sympathetic to the agency’s financial challenges.

“We’ve done a lot with what we have been given, and we will continue to do the work that will help improve the quality of life for our citizens and that will still make us a welcoming and sort of destination for visitors,” Visit Jackson spokesperson Yolanada Clay-Moore had said.

Visit Jackson has operated on a $5.4 million budget for the past two years, which included about $1.7 million a year from the COVID-era American Rescue Plan Act. 

Those funds stopped after the 2026 fiscal year, leaving a hole in the agency’s budget.

Even if the boost had been ratified, Jackson’s higher tourism taxes would have kept the city’s rates lower than surrounding suburbs. Ridgeland, Flowood and Brandon all have a 10% restaurant tax and 9% lodging tax when combined with the state’s sales tax, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue. Neighboring Madison only observes the state’s required 7% sales tax.

The referendum’s failure means Visit Jackson will have to continue relying on the city’s current 1% flat tax, which has been in place since 1983.

The increased tax rate would not have fully fixed the agency’s budget gap. Visit Jackson estimated a $1.2 million budget increase this fiscal year if the tax were able to be implemented by February, leaving a shortage of $500,000.

The agency wanted to campaign for increased tourism earlier, Clay-Moore said, but was put on hold because of the pandemic and the arrival of temporary federal aid.

While there is no plan to fully fix the hole left by the ARPA funds, Clay-Moore said the agency would be able to operate with the funds it receives.

Update, Nov. 4, 2026: This story adds a statement from Visit Jackson.

WASHINGTON — Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and were getting closer to taking a House majority on Tuesday night, delivering a shockingly decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

The midterm elections displayed voters’ deep frustration with high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about government corruption.

Even Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a battle-tested survivor of difficult elections, lost to Democrat Troy Jackson.

The results from across the country were a major blow to Trump, who spent nearly every day of the last month holding rallies to energize his supporters but was unable to stop a wipeout.

Democrats have signaled they’ll use a foothold in Congress to ensure Trump’s final two years in office feature a series of investigations against top members of his administration and deeper scrutiny of how he’s enriched his family. In celebratory events Tuesday night, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “generational remake of the Senate map.” Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “the American people are crying out for transformational change.”

Trump immediately sought to shift blame for his party’s losses, posting on his social media site before polls even closed on the West Coast that he wasn’t on the ballot — even though he spent weeks asking voters to pretend like he was. He vowed to veto Democrat-controlled legislation, sharing a picture of a red baseball cap with “veto” stenciled in the style of his trademark “Make America Great Again” campaign swag.

In a late-night phone interview with Fox News, Trump said he didn’t consider the elections to be a personal defeat. Voters, he said, “didn’t like the candidates.”

Democrats had braced for Trump to again try to undermine the results if they won after he warned that noncitizens would cast ballots en masse and filed lawsuits in Alaska and California. Instead, he said on Fox that he would accept them.

Still, the Republican-controlled Congress had acted as a rubber stamp to much of Trump’s agenda. While the president has proven adept at steamrolling efforts to rein him in, Democrats will seek to reshape the remainder of his term. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and tech titan Elon Musk, a former top Trump adviser, are among possible targets for investigations.

Despite the results, Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X that “Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done.” He said they will work with Trump “to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism.”

Democrats charted an extraordinary path to Senate victory

Midterm elections are typically difficult for the president’s party, but Republicans had originally expected that their Senate majority was safe. Instead, Democrats marched through some of the most conservative states in the nation.

Josh Turek defeated Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, while Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas to become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1932. A cascade of surprising Democratic victories included James Talarico defeating Ken Paxton in Texas, Annie Andrews upsetting Darline Graham in South Carolina, Sherrod Brown topping Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio and Roy Cooper taking an open North Carolina seat.

Trump played an outsized role in the Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina races. He endorsed Paxton and helped him defeat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas primary. He sharply criticized North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who opted not to seek reelection. He also supported Graham, despite concerns about her candidacy.

Less of a surprise was Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff winning reelection in Georgia, defeating Rep. Mike Collins. Rep. Chris Pappas also won a Senate race in New Hampshire, defeating former Sen. John Sununu to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

In the House, defeated Republicans included Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey, who missed four months of votes in Washington this year as he underwent treatment for depression — a diagnosis he did not disclose until his return. Democrats who won included Jamie Ager over Jennifer Capps Balkcom in North Carolina and Lindsay James over Joe Mitchell in Iowa.

Bracing for a tough night, Republicans had spent the campaign’s final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily two years ago, as Trump campaigned in heavily red areas. But even Republicans’ money advantage didn’t stem the Democratic tide.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump wrote on his social media site.

The electorate is frustrated and unhappy

Voters were sour heading into Tuesday, with the midterm electorate deeply unhappy with the country’s direction and pessimistic about the future, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Most said they feel frustrated, with about three-quarters saying they feel “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the country’s current trajectory. Dissatisfaction was particularly high in blue states, but even in red states, a majority of voters were at least “dissatisfied.”

The economy was key to Trump’s White House comeback two years ago. But the poll found that three-quarters of voters say the economy is “not so good” or “poor.” About 8 in 10 say inflation has caused a “severe” or “moderate” financial hardship for their households.

Government corruption was also a big issue with voters. Roughly half cited it and the cost of living as “crucial” to their vote for Congress — higher than immigration enforcement policies, the war in Iran and artificial intelligence data centers. About 6 in 10 voters said Trump prioritizes his own personal interests more than the country’s interests.

Despite their relative advantage on issues, the Democratic Party is not much more popular with voters than the Republicans. Just under half of voters have a “somewhat” or “strongly” favorable view of the Democratic Party, while about 4 in 10 view Republicans positively.

Republicans tried to buck historical midterm precedent with an aggressive redistricting effort aimed at creating a more favorable congressional map. But in Florida and Texas, where Republicans hoped to pick up as many as nine seats, the plan looked to be falling short, with Democrats picking up targeted districts.

The GOP could still notch some key Senate wins

Outstanding Senate battlegrounds include Alaska, where the Trump administration filed a lawsuit to block certification of Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race, citing the presence of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

Republicans also hoped to pick up Michigan, where Mike Rogers faces progressive Abdul El-Sayed — one of a crop of left-wing candidates who prevailed in Democratic primaries. El-Sayed’s former primary opponent, Haley Stevens, upended the race by endorsing Rogers, renewing focus on tensions over Israel and the party’s direction.

Beyond Washington, 36 states elected governors. Democrats Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Wes Moore in Maryland, Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Kathy Hochul in New York all won reelection. In a stunning upset in Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term.

In Ohio, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy lost to Democrat Amy Acton after his campaign faced backlash for an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, who lost custody of Acton decades ago after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton as a child.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia will be the first Black female governor of any state. In neighboring Florida, Byron Donalds became the nation’s first Black Republican to be elected governor.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in line to make history as the nation’s first Black speaker of the House if his party sweeps to power, has outlined a 100-day agenda focused on lowering the cost of living and aggressively overseeing the Trump administration.

The especially strong showing for Democrats could boost the party’s large crop of potential presidential candidates. It may also complicate the paths of Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans who may have been looking to turn their loyalty to Trump into momentum.

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Associated Press journalists Joey Cappelletti, Lisa Mascaro, Linley Sanders, Aaron Kessler and Ali Swenson in Washington; Cody Jackson in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; and Allen Breed in Raleigh, N.C., contributed.

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Scott Colom were locked in a tight race Wednesday morning, after each tried to reassure nervous supporters late on election night in a state where Republicans have had a lock on U.S. Senate seats for decades.

Hyde-Smith and Colom remained neck-and-neck and The Associated Press had not declared a winner by early Wednesday morning. Independent Ty Pinkins was pulling about 2% of the vote. 

While the race remained too close to call, Colom remained in striking distance of pulling off what would be an extraordinary Democratic upset. The narrow margin in and of itself reflected what some onlookers called a “bluenami,” with Democrats notching stunning victories in Republican strongholds such as South Carolina and Texas.

Most forecasters had rated the Mississippi Senate race as safely Republican. But as results came in, it became clear the race would be anything but safe for the GOP, with Colom overperforming in many counties compared to Democrats in other recent races. 

Shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, Hyde-Smith spoke to a crowd of supporters at a watch party in Flowood. She nearly declared victory but stopped just short, saying that she would emerge as the winner by Wednesday morning. 

“This is a much longer night than we thought it would be,” Hyde-Smith said. ”But we’re in a good lead right now.”

Hyde-Smith said there was record turnout on the Republican side, despite problems at some polling locations in traditionally Republican areas. She praised her campaign’s efforts, but acknowledged Democrats had given her a challenge she didn’t expect.

“I’ll tell you the Democrats got out and worked, they really got out and worked, and a lot of them showed up today. But not enough of them. I’ll just tell you that right now,” Hyde-Smith said. “I assure you I will continue to be your U.S. senator.”

But that was before Colom’s vote tally surged late night.

Colom briefly visited with his supporters, hugging some of them and saying, “God bless you.”

He said the numbers showed momentum in his direction.

“The results are all trending in our direction. I’m so proud of my state. I’m so proud of the momentum,” Colom said. “One thing I can commit to every Mississippian watching this, everybody in this room. We are going to fight to protect every vote. We are going to make sure your vote counts. We’re not going to allow your democracy to be silenced. We’re going to do everything in our power to protect everybody’s rights.”

Gerard Henderson, Colom’s campaign manager, told a crowd at Colom’s party in downtown Jackson that Tuesday was going to be a “long night.” 

“This is not over,” Henderson said. “We’re going to fight til the end.” 

Back in Flowood, Hyde-Smith supporters balanced their optimism about the prospect of a Hyde-Smith victory with dismay about landslide Democratic victories around the country.

Nancumar Kharmai said he and his wife stayed till the end of the night so that they could see Hyde-Smith speak, and watched with horror as Democrats stormed to victory in states like Texas.

“Texas? Come on. I don’t believe it. But this is what they want, then this is what God will give them because this is crazy.”

State Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst said he expected Hyde-Smith to pull off a victory and overcome a disastrous performance for Republicans around the country. 

“I think if you look across the country, you see a number of things happen, a number of people responding to whatever the president has done, what Republicans have done,” Hurst said. “And I think you see that in Mississippi as well. At the end of the night, though, we are a Republican state. Mississippians are Republican individuals who are going to vote Republican.”

The Colom campaign estimated that around 10,000 to 15,000 affidavit ballots remained outstanding. The Hyde-Smith campaign said its internal numbers showed she would win. 

Brandon Presley, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2023, was at Colom’s watch party and crunching numbers with several supporters. He told Mississippi Today that Colom was in a better position on Tuesday night than he was on election night at this point in the gubernatorial election he narrowly lost three years ago. 

Mississippi has no runoff in federal general elections, and the winner needs only a plurality. Colom is a Democratic district attorney in north Mississippi, and Hyde-Smith is seeking a second full term. 

The Mississippi Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against the DeSoto County circuit clerk shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The party argued in court documents that some polling precincts opened late and some ran out of ballots. 

The party asked for certain precincts to stay open an additional hour, but as of Tuesday night, well after polls had closed, a judge had not been assigned to the case. 

Before results in Mississippi started coming in, former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour made his way into the ballroom at Hyde-Smith’s victory party and reflected on the gap between Tuesday’s results and Trump’s 24-point margin victory in Mississippi just two years ago. Trump has told voters to pretend he was on the ballot Tuesday.

“He isn’t winning by 24 points today,” Barbour said.