Unofficial Tippah County election results from Tuesday’s Nov. 3 general election show voters here backing U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by a wide margin, even as her statewide race against Democrat Scott Colom stayed too close to call into Wednesday morning. All 21 Tippah County precincts had reported by Tuesday night. Absentee and affidavit ballots were still pending, according to the Southern Sentinel.
Tippah County Election Results in the U.S. Senate Race
Decision Desk HQ’s county-level returns show about 7,372 votes cast in Tippah County’s Senate race. Hyde-Smith, the Republican incumbent, led there by roughly 48 percentage points. That is in line with Tippah’s recent history of strong Republican margins in federal races.
Neighboring Benton County was much closer. Decision Desk HQ shows Hyde-Smith ahead by about 8 points there, out of roughly 2,786 votes cast.
Tippah County: about 7,372 votes cast, with Hyde-Smith up about 48 points (unofficial)
Benton County: about 2,786 votes cast, with Hyde-Smith up about 8 points (unofficial)
Independent Ty Pinkins was also on the Senate ballot.
Statewide Race Still Undecided
Strong rural margins like Tippah’s were not enough to settle the race on election night. As late returns came in from Hinds County and other majority-Black counties, Colom closed the gap. By early Wednesday he held a razor-thin lead in unofficial statewide returns. Mississippi Today and the Mississippi Free Press both reported that the race remained uncalled. At one point near midnight, only a few dozen votes separated the two candidates out of nearly a million cast.
Mississippi has no automatic recount law, though a candidate can ask a judge for one. There is no runoff in this race. The final outcome will depend on absentee and affidavit ballots that are still being processed, and on each county’s official canvass.
What Else Was on the Tippah County Ballot
Tippah voters also chose a U.S. representative for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District and voted in a nonpartisan special election for the Court of Appeals District 1, Position 1 seat. That race pitted incumbent Judge John Weddle against Derek Hopson Jr. Voters in the county’s 1st supervisor district also picked an election commissioner from a four-person field: Larry “Doc” Dollar, Stephanie Ford, Tony Jones and Leta Kelley.
Full precinct-by-precinct county totals for those races were not available from an official public source when this story was published. Tippah News will update readers once the county’s official canvass is complete.
What Happens Next
Every number in this story is unofficial until the Tippah County Election Commission finishes its canvass and certifies the results.
Affidavit voters may need to provide ID or other information to the Circuit Clerk’s office within the state’s post-election window for their ballots to count.
Mail-in absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within the legal window will be added to the totals.
Voters with questions about an affidavit ballot can contact the Tippah County Circuit Clerk’s office at the courthouse in Ripley.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
