US midterm elections 2026 live: Democrats eye historic upset in Mississippi Senate race as Republican blame game begins

This is the available feed excerpt, which may be shortened or in the publisher’s original language.

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’ lossLive results | How do you feel about the results?Sign up for Breaking News US emailWelcome 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.Counting in Alaska is expected to continue into Thursday, while in deep red Mississippi, Democrats could be close to pulling off another almighty upset. Currently, Democrat Scott Colom is leading his Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 1,138 votes with almost 96% of the vote counted.Donald Trump claimed Republicans fared poorly because he was not on the ballot – after repeatedly urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot.JD Vance pointed to Trump’s ongoing war in Iran as the “obvious” culprit for the loss.Pete Hegseth’s role leading the unpopular war could lead to him taking the fall – despite Trump publicly backing him. Republicans including Trump foe Thomas Massie have criticized the defense secretary.Ron DeSantis, 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. Continue reading...