<p>Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the southern state; JD Vance pointed to the war in Iran as the ‘obvious’ culprit for Republicans’ loss</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/nov/03/midterm-elections-full-results-senate-house-governor-races">Live results</a> | <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/tell-us-how-do-you-feel-about-the-us-midterm-election-results">How do you feel about the results?</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&utm_campaign=BN22326&utm_content=signup&utm_term=standfirst&utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for Breaking News US email</a></p></li></ul><p>Welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2026 midterms where almost 24 hours after Democrats secured their historic sweep of the US Congress, two Senate seats remain in play.</p><p>Counting in <strong>Alaska</strong> is expected to continue into Thursday, while in deep red <strong>Mississippi</strong>, Democrats could be close to pulling off another almighty upset. Currently, Democrat <strong>Scott Colom</strong> is leading his Republican incumbent <strong>Cindy Hyde-Smith</strong> by just 1,138 votes with almost 96% of the vote counted.</p><p><strong>Donald Trump</strong> claimed Republicans fared poorly because he was not on the ballot – after repeatedly urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot.</p><p><strong>JD Vance</strong> pointed to Trump’s ongoing war in Iran as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/jd-vance-iran-war-midterms-election">the “obvious” culprit</a> for the loss.</p><p><strong>Pete Hegseth’</strong>s role leading the unpopular war could <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/pete-hegseth-republicans-midterm-losses">lead to him taking the fall</a> – despite Trump publicly backing him. Republicans including Trump foe Thomas Massie have criticized the defense secretary.</p><p><strong>Ron DeSantis</strong>, Florida’s governor, said the “close to an extinction-level event for Republicans” was caused in part by his party failing to target their ad spending on issues that would motivate voters.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/05/midterm-elections-live-latest-updates-mississippi-senate-race">Continue reading...</a>
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US midterm elections 2026 live: Democrats eye historic upset in Mississippi Senate race as Republican blame game begins
<p>Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the southern state; JD Vance pointed to the war in Iran as the ‘obvious’ culprit for Republicans’ loss</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/nov/03/midterm-elections-full-results-senate-house-governor-races">Live results</a> | <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/tell-us-how-do-you-feel-about-the-us-midterm-election-results">How do you feel about the results?</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&utm_campaign=BN22326&utm_content=signup&utm_term=standfirst&utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for Breaking News US email</a></p></li></ul><p>Welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2026 midterms where almost 24 hours after Democrats secured their historic sweep of the US Congress, two Senate seats remain in play.</p><p>Counting in <strong>Alaska</strong> is expected to continue into Thursday, while in deep red <strong>Mississippi</strong>, Democrats could be close to pulling off another almighty upset. Currently, Democrat <strong>Scott Colom</strong> is leading his Republican incumbent <strong>Cindy Hyde-Smith</strong> by just 1,138 votes with almost 96% of the vote counted.</p><p><strong>Donald Trump</strong> claimed Republicans fared poorly because he was not on the ballot – after repeatedly urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot.</p><p><strong>JD Vance</strong> pointed to Trump’s ongoing war in Iran as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/jd-vance-iran-war-midterms-election">the “obvious” culprit</a> for the loss.</p><p><strong>Pete Hegseth’</strong>s role leading the unpopular war could <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/pete-hegseth-republicans-midterm-losses">lead to him taking the fall</a> – despite Trump publicly backing him. Republicans including Trump foe Thomas Massie have criticized the defense secretary.</p><p><strong>Ron DeSantis</strong>, Florida’s governor, said the “close to an extinction-level event for Republicans” was caused in part by his party failing to target their ad spending on issues that would motivate voters.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/05/midterm-elections-live-latest-updates-mississippi-senate-race">Continue reading...</a>