2 US Senate Races Still Open After Midterms

A week after the US midterm elections, two Senate seats still have no official winner, and both currently lean toward Democrats. The results decide whether Democrats end up with 54 or 56 of the 100 seats, and they are part of our US midterms 2026 dossier.

In Alaska, Mary Peltola, a former US representative, led incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 2,517 votes after Monday’s count on 9 November. She had 106,321 votes (48.6%) against 103,804 (47.5%), according to preliminary results from the Alaska Division of Elections, the state’s election agency.

Alaska Lead Grows as More Ballots Arrive

Peltola’s lead was 637 votes at the previous update on 4 November. About 220,000 ballots have been counted, and tens of thousands of early and absentee ballots (votes cast by mail or in advance) are still outstanding.

A larger batch of results was due Tuesday, 10 November, but no hour was given. Cheryl Bruce, Peltola’s campaign manager, said voters are “fed up with high costs and corruption.”

Why Alaska May Need Ranked-Choice Counting

Neither candidate has passed 50%, so Alaska may have to use ranked-choice counting. Under that system, the last-placed candidate is dropped and those ballots go to each voter’s next choice until someone passes 50%.

Gerald Heikes, a Republican from Palmer, is third with about 2.2% of the vote. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg who shares the senator’s name, is also on the ballot as an independent.

No ranked-choice rounds can start before 18 November, which is also the deadline for overseas absentee ballots to arrive. Certification is expected on 25 November.

Alaskans for Mary, a Peltola campaign group, sued the Division of Elections on 6 November in Anchorage Superior Court, a state trial court. It wants the names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected, information the state says is confidential, and no ruling has been reported.

Mississippi Is Too Close to Call

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney covering four counties in eastern Mississippi, had 468,020 votes (49.1%) against 465,445 (48.8%) for Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at midday on 10 November. That is a lead of 2,575 votes, in an unofficial count.

Late mail-in ballots had to arrive by Tuesday, 10 November, to count, and voters who cast affidavit ballots (ballots without photo ID) had until 5 p.m. to verify them. Counties were still waiting for 2,578 mail-in ballots on Monday.

Mississippi has no automatic recount, though a court can order one on evidence. It also has no runoff in federal general elections, so the candidate with the most votes (a plurality) wins.

Independent Ty Pinkins has about 2%, and the NAACP, the civil rights group, has sent staff to the state.

What Prediction Markets Say

On Polymarket, traders priced Peltola at 98.7% to win Alaska (about US$8.4 million traded) and Colom at 98.7% to win Mississippi (about US$6.3 million traded), as of 4:28 p.m. ET on 10 November. Prices are real-money bets, not polls, and not official results.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

Senate Math and the Dates Ahead

CBS projections put Democrats at 54 Senate seats at minimum, with Alaska and Mississippi uncalled. Winning both would lift them to 56.

Democrats flipped seven seats: Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. In the House, 19 races were still uncalled as of 10 November, including two Louisiana runoffs on 12 December.

What It Means for US Readers

The two seats decide how large the Democratic Senate majority is, which affects how easily Democrats can pass bills and confirm nominees. Alaska is unlikely to be settled before 18 November.

Watch for the 18 November ranked-choice count and 25 November certification in Alaska. Results stay unofficial until each state certifies them.

What Is Not Known

No call has been made in either state as of the evening of 10 November. The hour of Tuesday’s Alaska batch is not known, nor is the outcome of the Peltola campaign’s lawsuit.

We found no recent poll for either race. The final House count is also open.

Sources

Alaska Division of Elections; Mississippi Secretary of State; Polymarket (read 10 November 2026); The Rio Times US midterms 2026 dossier.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is leading the Alaska Senate race?

Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 2,517 votes after the count on Monday, 9 November. The race has not been called, and tens of thousands of ballots remain.

When will the Alaska winner be known?

Ranked-choice counting is scheduled for 18 November, if no one has passed 50%. Certification is expected on 25 November.

Can Mississippi’s Senate race go to a runoff?

No, Mississippi has no runoff for federal general elections. The candidate with the most votes wins, and a court can order a recount only on evidence.