Democrat Scott Colom still held a lead of 2,574 votes over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Saturday as Mississippi counties kept working through the last ballots in a Senate race that could make history.

Colom had 467,930 votes to 465,356 for Hyde-Smith with roughly 97% of the expected vote tallied. The race has not been called. If Colom holds on he would become the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, when Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce served in the 1870s.

His margin has grown a little each day since Tuesday. In several north Mississippi counties that have finished their affidavit ballots, Colom ran well ahead of his overall share, cutting into Hyde-Smith's usual edge in Republican territory.

The ballots still out

Most of the remaining votes are affidavit ballots, the state's name for provisional ballots cast by voters whose eligibility must be checked. Absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive by Tuesday. Affidavit voters also have until Tuesday to be verified. Counties must certify their results by Friday.

No one agrees on how many ballots remain. The state Republican chairman put the figure at 23,000 to 25,000. The Colom campaign has estimated up to 15,000 affidavit ballots. Secretary of State Michael Watson said Friday that counties had processed 11,202 of them and accepted about 78%.

Much attention is on Hinds County, the state's most populous county and a majority-Black area where Colom leads by about 60 points. Officials there were still counting affidavit ballots over the weekend and had not released figures.

Lawyers on standby

Mississippi has no automatic recount law, though a court can order one. Both campaigns have sent lawyers to watch county election offices. Hyde-Smith's team said it expects votes from Republican counties to restore her path to victory.

Colom says he is confident. He has also blamed state election officials for voter roll purges that left many residents casting affidavit ballots. Watson said in a statement Saturday that his office's safeguards keep elections secure and asked voters to be patient.

Democrats have already won control of the Senate. A Colom victory would widen that majority in a state Trump carried by double digits in 2024. In Alaska the other uncalled Senate race, Democrat Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan by a few hundred votes.