The Lincoln Project's Stuart Stevens is encouraging officials in Mississippi to call the election after the latest dump of votes from Hines County resulted in a gain of over 700 votes for Democrat Scott Colom and 96 for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).
MS NOW's election team ranked the race as now "leans Dem," as it would take well over 60 percent for Hyde-Smith to overcome Colom's 4,404-vote lead.
"Look, Ole Miss played Georgia Saturday night, and they were 42 to 7 behind with two minutes to go, and they had a better chance than Cindy Hyde-Smith to win. This thing is done," said Stevens, who is from Jackson. "It should be called. It's a disservice to the state not to call it, because he needs to be up in Washington doing all the briefings and orientation that senators do."
"If she were to win 90 percent of the ballots outstanding, she still would lose," he said, though it was hyperbole, not an actual estimate.
"So, look, something remarkable has happened here," he continued. "I think it's interesting to me that Scott's family hasn't gotten enough attention. You know, his grandmother was a civil rights worker in Ripley, Mississippi, and now her grandson is going to be the first African American [senator] since Reconstruction. His father was a Reagan guy who ran for state treasurer as a Republican in Mississippi in the 1980s, which is when I first met him."
Stevens noted that Colom's father also helped co-found the Innocence Project with John Grisham. Dorothy W. Colom, his mother, was the first Black person elected to a Mississippi Chancery Court judgeship.
"So, it's just a remarkable story, and I think Scott's going to be a tremendous senator. Cindy Hyde-Smith, you know, one of the reasons you're not hearing from Cindy Hyde-Smith is, you know, all my Republican friends in Mississippi, you know, nobody wants to go to war for Cindy Hyde-Smith. She's sort of been a ghost. She's an accidental senator. She was first appointed. There's no passion there for her. And look, Scott's going to be a great Senator, I think," he closed.
There are fewer than 15,000 ballots left and it isn't clear which counties they're coming from because some counties aren't reporting the specifics.
MS NOW Political Director Shawna Thomas said they are being careful about calling the race because so few ballots remain and it isn't clear where they're coming from.
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