THE COUNT, WITH CONTEXT
EDITORIAL REVIEW DRAFT
U.S. SENATE · NOVEMBER 4, 2026

Alaska and Mississippi: small Senate leads, no NBC call

A 626-vote Alaska gap and a 1,138-vote Mississippi gap show why a leader is not yet a winner. The two states’ reporting measures describe different things.

By 21CEE · Prepared November 4, 2026 · Dated source snapshot

Mary Peltola (D, AK Senate); Dan S. Sullivan (R, AK Senate); Scott Colom (D, MS Senate); Cindy Hyde-Smith (R, MS Senate). Two dated Senate snapshots, with no NBC winner call. Alaska official count shows Mary Peltola, Democrat, leading Republican Dan S. Sullivan by 626 votes; state report printed November 4 at 2:19 AM with time zone not stated. NBC Alaska update at 6:26 PM Eastern says too early to call. NBC Mississippi snapshot shows Democrat Scott Colom leading Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes; page update November 4 at 6:29 PM Eastern says too close to call. Separate Mississippi ballot-batch clock is unavailable.
The count and call clocks are distinct. Alaska’s figures come from its official unofficial report; Mississippi’s come from NBC. Both NBC call statuses are from captured Nov. 4 evening result pages. Graphic: 21CEE.

NBC News had not called either Alaska’s or Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race in the pages captured Wednesday evening. Alaska’s page said “Too early to call” at 6:26 p.m. Eastern. Mississippi’s said “Too close to call” at 6:29 p.m. Eastern. Those are NBC’s assessments at those times.

In Alaska, the Division of Elections’ unofficial summary put Democrat Mary Peltola at 102,701 votes and Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan at 102,075. The difference is 626 votes. Republican Gerald L. Heikes had 4,821, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. had 3,583 with no party printed in the report, and write-ins had 693. The report total was 213,873 votes. Its own printed clock is Nov. 4 at 2:19:06 a.m.; the document does not print a time zone.

Alaska unofficial Senate votes: Mary Peltola, Democrat, 102,701; Dan S. Sullivan, Republican incumbent, 102,075; Gerald L. Heikes, Republican, 4,821; Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., no party listed, 3,583; write-ins 693. Bars start at zero and share a 0-to-120,000 scale. Peltola leads Sullivan by 626. State report printed November 4, 2026 at 2:19:06 AM, time zone unstated.
Alaska’s official unofficial summary includes 693 write-ins, for 213,873 candidate votes. Source: Alaska Division of Elections, report printed Nov. 4, 2:19:06 AM (time zone not printed). The count is not final.
Alaska unofficial Senate candidate votes — state summary printed Nov. 4, 2:19:06 AM (zone unstated)
CandidateParty / ballot labelReported votes
Mary PeltolaDemocratic102,701
Dan S. SullivanRepublican · incumbent102,075
Gerald L. HeikesRepublican4,821
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.Party not listed in state report3,583
Write-inAs reported by Alaska693

The Alaska report says 394 of 401 precincts had reported, or 98.25%. That is a precinct-reporting measure. NBC’s separate estimate of 74.3% of expected votes in is a ballot-completeness estimate. The two percentages have different denominators and should not be treated as conflicting measures of the same thing. Neither supplies a certified final result.

In Mississippi, NBC’s captured results showed Democrat Scott Colom with 464,926 votes and Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith with 463,788, a 1,138-vote difference. Independent Ty Pinkins had 19,934. NBC listed 95.8% of expected votes in. NBC displayed Colom at 49.0% and Hyde-Smith at 48.9%. The raw count difference is 1,138 votes; the reported total is 948,648.

NBC Mississippi Senate snapshot: Democrat Scott Colom 464,926; Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith 463,788; independent Ty Pinkins 19,934. Bars start at zero and share a 0-to-500,000 scale. Colom leads by 1,138. NBC says too close to call and 95.8 percent of expected votes in. NBC page last updated November 4 at 6:29 PM Eastern; ballot-batch clock not supplied.
NBC’s candidate counts put Colom 1,138 votes ahead. NBC estimates 95.8% of expected votes in and labels the race too close to call. The page update is Nov. 4, 6:29 PM ET; a separate ballot-batch clock was not provided. These are NBC figures, not a verified Mississippi statewide official tally. Compared with the earlier captured page, Colom’s reported vote rose by 2,069, Hyde-Smith’s by 996, and Pinkins’ decreased by four; the change includes a source correction, not just additional ballots.
Mississippi Senate candidate votes — NBC page update Nov. 4, 6:29 PM ET; ballot-batch time unstated
CandidateParty / ballot labelReported votes
Scott ColomDemocratic464,926
Cindy Hyde-SmithRepublican · incumbent463,788
Ty PinkinsIndependent19,934

There is a limit to the Mississippi timestamp: 6:29 p.m. Eastern is NBC’s results-page update clock, not a separately disclosed time for the underlying ballot batch. The Mississippi secretary of state’s results index did not provide a general-election statewide count in the captured version. These figures are therefore attributed to NBC, rather than presented as an official state tally.

The charts keep each state’s vote totals on its own zero-based scale. A lead measures the votes currently separating candidates; it does not measure how many ballots remain or tell us who will receive them. We are not turning either narrow lead into a probability or using these two races to manufacture a new national Senate total. The next substantive update is a new count with its own source clock or a named outlet’s changed call status.

Sources and clocks

  1. Alaska Division of Elections — unofficial summary PDF
    Printed Nov. 4, 2:19:06 AM; time zone unstated; original retained.
  2. NBC News — Alaska Senate result page
    Page last update Nov. 4, 6:26 PM ET; no winner, too early to call.
  3. NBC News — Mississippi Senate result page
    Page last update Nov. 4, 6:29 PM ET; no winner, too close to call; ballot-batch clock not supplied.
  4. Mississippi secretary of state — results index
    Captured index linked 2026 primaries, not a current statewide general-election tally.

Original source files and hashes are retained with this editorial package. The source clocks above remain distinct from retrieval time. Tables provide the data behind the graphics. Analysis and graphics: 21CEE.