Tight races keep AP on hold
Narrow margins in Alaska, Mississippi, and Kansas delay official results as Democrats gain ground in Congress.
By Samir Patterson ·
The Associated Press has not yet called a handful of Senate and gubernatorial contests as of noon Eastern time on Wednesday. These delays stem from razor-thin margins in states where Democrats flipped seats that Republicans held comfortably two years ago. The party now controls both chambers of Congress.
In the House, 68 races involving party control remain uncalled. The AP only declares a winner when no scenario allows the trailing candidate to close the gap. It does not make projections.
Mississippi’s Senate race is the tightest. Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by a few dozen votes. Mississippi lacks an automatic recount process, but a challenger can seek a court order for one.
Alaska’s Senate contest also remains undecided. Democrat Mary Peltola holds a 626-vote lead over incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. Approximately 74% of votes are counted. Alaska law triggers ranked-choice voting if no candidate reaches 50% of the vote.
In the Alaska governor’s race, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads Republican Bernadette Wilson by 20 percentage points. Kreiss-Tomkins has 49.2% of the vote with 74% of ballots counted. No candidate has reached the 50% threshold required to avoid a second round.
Kansas presents a similar close contest for governor. Democrat Cindy Holscher holds a 5,557-vote lead over Republican Ty Masterson. With 98% of votes counted, Holscher’s advantage is less than one percentage point. Both candidates serve in the state Senate, where Masterson holds the presidency. Democrat Adam Hamilton recently became the first of his party to win a Senate seat in the state in nearly a century.
