1,138 votes and 637 votes: The margins keeping two Senate seats in suspense

Two Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska remain undecided as of Wednesday night, leaving the final composition of the 120th Congress open. Democrats have secured a majority of at least 54 seats in the 100-member chamber. The outcome of these two contests will determine whether the party can avoid the filibuster without relying on Republican defections.

In Mississippi, the gap between incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Scott Colom stands at 1,138 votes. The Associated Press reports that both candidates have received approximately 49 percent of the vote. Ninety-six percent of ballots have been counted, with several thousand provisional and mail-in absentee ballots remaining. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson stated that counties have until November 13 to submit certified results. Watson noted that roughly 3,600 mail-in ballots and an unknown number of affidavit ballots are still pending. The state allows 10 days to process provisional ballots and five business days to receive mail-in ballots after the election.

Mississippi, a state that last voted for a Democratic president in 1976, lacks a formal provision for an automatic recount in the event of a deadlock. Candidates must obtain a court order to request one. The race has drawn attention because Hyde-Smith is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, while Colom has capitalized on a national wave of Democratic victories. Party leader Hakeem Jeffries described the midterm results as an "American tsunami," though the state remains a close exception to that trend.

In Alaska, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leads incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan by 637 votes. Nearly a quarter of the votes in the state remain uncounted. The delay is attributed to the state’s vast rural geography and its use of ranked-choice voting. Alaskan voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to second choices. This process continues until a candidate achieves a majority.

Alaska is one of only two states using ranked-choice voting for statewide elections. The Division of Elections stated that ranked-choice results will not be published until November 18, 15 days after the election. Critics of the system blame the multiple rounds of tallying for the slow vote count. The race has been further complicated by a dispute involving two candidates named Dan Sullivan. One is the incumbent senator, Dan S. Sullivan. The other is a retired schoolteacher, Dan J. Sullivan Jr., whom Democrats alleged was placed on the ballot to split the Republican vote.

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to prevent Alaska from certifying the election results, arguing that the second Sullivan distorted voter choice. A federal judge dismissed the suit on Sunday. The Justice Department has pledged to appeal the decision. An appeal is considered more likely if Peltola prevails in the final vote count. The outcome in both states will finalize the Senate’s majority margin as the new Congress prepares to convene on January 3.