The Recount Lawyer Who Made Al Franken a Senator Just Called Mississippi but He Has One Big Problem

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, the lawyer who helped turn Al Franken's 725-vote deficit into a Senate seat declared a winner in Mississippi.

Democrat Scott Colom led Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 43 votes, with thousands of ballots still waiting to be counted.

The last time this man showed up in a race this close, the Republican who led after Election Day never got sworn in.

Marc Elias Called Mississippi for Colom Before the Count Was Done

His name is Marc Elias, and he has been the Democrats' go-to election lawyer for a quarter century.

At 11:58 a.m., the Mississippi Free Press put Colom's lead at 43 votes with just over 90% counted.

Less than half an hour later, Elias posted that Colom "is going to be the next Senator from Mississippi" and said he was proud his firm was "leading the legal effort to ensure that happens."

The Associated Press hadn't called the race then, and as of Friday it still hasn't.

Elias Turned a Minnesota Recount Into Obamacare's 60th Vote

In 2008, Republican Norm Coleman came out of Election Day 725 votes ahead in Minnesota.

Elias then steered Franken through six months of recounts and lawsuits, and Franken walked away a 312-vote winner.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that Franken "goes to the Senate having effectively stolen an election."

Franken was sworn in that July as the 60th vote in the Senate Democrat caucus – enough to break any filibuster.

On Christmas Eve 2009, the Senate passed Obamacare with exactly 60 votes.

Every family that watched its premiums climb can trace part of that bill back to a recount in Minnesota.

In 2013, Republican Mark Obenshain led Virginia's attorney general race by roughly 1,000 votes on election night.

With Elias in Democrat Mark Herring's corner, the state wound up certifying Herring ahead by 164, and Obenshain threw in the towel with a recount still underway.

The Daily Signal traced the pattern back to 2000 and crowned Elias the Democrats' Recount King.

Mississippi Democrats Ran to Court on Election Night

Late Tuesday night, the Mississippi Democrat Party asked a DeSoto County judge for emergency relief, alleging "substantial disruptions to voting" and seeking longer polling hours.

By Wednesday morning, the party moved to dismiss its own lawsuit, and the judge granted it.

Magnolia Tribune's report gave no reason for the sudden retreat.

Colom carried DeSoto County by about 3,400 votes anyway.

Mississippi has no runoff, so whoever finishes on top by a single vote takes the seat.

Republicans Demand Every Affidavit Ballot Be Locked Down

On November 5, lawyers for U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) sent a letter to election commissioners and circuit clerks in every county.

They asked counties to wall off affidavit ballots from the rest, log what becomes of every single one, and keep the paper trail intact.

"Candidate Hyde-Smith is entitled to their preservation in an unaltered and identifiable state," the letter read.

It even spelled out that "implementation must not delay lawful tabulation" – nobody is trying to stop the count.

Mississippi GOP Chairman Mike Hurst, who also serves as RNC general counsel, said the party built an "incredible election integrity program for exact moments like this."

Hurst also flagged a "considerable uptick" in affidavit ballots compared to past midterms, and estimates now put the uncounted pile somewhere between 12,000 and 18,000.

Colom's team called the request "desperate," and his lawyers fired off their own letter to all 82 counties calling it unlawful.

The same party that ran to a judge on election night now says asking counties to keep ballots in a labeled, locked pile is desperate.

By Thursday, Colom's lead stood at 1,724 votes, and affidavit voters who showed up without photo ID have until November 10 to produce it.

Independent Ty Pinkins, who pulled nearly 20,000 votes, says he took more of them from Hyde-Smith than from Colom and wants Colom to win.

The Supreme Court Ruling That Left the Mailbox Open

What fires me up most is how Election Day quietly turned into Election Week.

This year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Watson v. RNC that federal Election Day law doesn't stop states from counting ballots postmarked by Election Day that show up afterward.

Justice Samuel Alito warned the decision "creates a serious risk of further undermining public confidence in our elections and our system of self-government."

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said Wednesday that roughly 3,600 absentee ballots still hadn't come back, and they count if they arrive within five business days.

That means a seat Republicans have held for nearly half a century could ride on ballots still in the mail after the polls closed.

Mississippi hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since John Stennis left office in 1989.

Marc Elias already decided the streak is over.

The Republican counties haven't finished talking yet.

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Sources:

• Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, "Is MS' Senate Seat Still in Play? RNC, Cindy Hyde-Smith Camp Demand Sequester of Mail-In Ballots," RedState, November 6, 2026.
• Frank Corder, "Too close to call," Magnolia Tribune, November 4, 2026.
• Frank Corder, "Mississippi Democrats seek injunctive relief for alleged voting issues in DeSoto County," Magnolia Tribune, November 4, 2026.
• Frank Corder, "Pinkins says he played spoiler to Hyde-Smith, not Colom," Magnolia Tribune, November 5, 2026.
• Russ Latino, "Thousands of affidavit ballots could decide Mississippi Senate race," Magnolia Tribune, November 6, 2026.
• Staff, "Cindy Hyde-Smith lawyers send letter to Mississippi counties demanding preservation of affidavit ballots," WLOX, November 5, 2026.
• Staff, "6 Big Election Hits by Marc Elias, Democrats' Recount King," The Daily Signal, November 14, 2018.
• Staff, "Liveblog: Mississippi's 2026 U.S. Senate Election Results," Mississippi Free Press, November 5, 2026.