More than a dozen key races remain too early to call one week after
Election Day
[November 11, 2026]
By CAMILLE BAKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The strength of Democrats’ majorities in the House and
Senate remains undetermined one week after Election Day as more than a
dozen races are still too early to call Tuesday.
Democrats are on track to hold 54 Senate seats in January, but could
pick up one or two more from Republicans as votes are counted in Alaska
and Mississippi. With 255 seats in the House, Democrats will have their
largest majority elected to the chamber since the 2008, with the
potential to pick up several more seats as the remaining races are
called.
Here’s a look at where things stand in some of the uncalled races:
Mississippi's Senate seat remains too early to call
Late in the afternoon Tuesday, Democrat Scott Colom was about 2,600
votes ahead of Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the race for Senate
in Mississippi.
There are two key deadlines in the vote-counting process in Mississippi
this week: Mail-in absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday, and
counties are required to submit their certified election results —
including tallies of provisional ballots — to the state by Friday.
It is unclear exactly how many ballots are left to count.
Unlike in some other states, there is no central vote reporting system
for Mississippi, and few counties release election results online.
Instead, Associated Press journalists and analysts communicate with each
of the state’s 82 counties directly for the latest available information
on vote counts.
The state will certify its results on Dec. 3.
On Monday, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said about
14,200 provisional ballots had been processed, of which about 80% were
accepted, and about 2,700 mail-in absentee ballots had not yet been
returned.
Mississippi does not have automatic recounts or permit candidates to
request a recount. Recounts in the state are held only in the event of a
court order. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for
a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or
legal challenge to change the outcome.
The vote count is ongoing in Alaska's Senate race
Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by about 2,500
votes in Alaska's Senate race on Tuesday afternoon, with an estimated
76% of the vote counted. The results of some absentee ballots are
expected to be released late Tuesday, though the final absentee ballots
mailed back from outside the U.S. are accepted as late as Nov. 18, 15
days after Election Day.
Ranked choice voting could also affect the timeline. Peltola is just
over 1 percentage point short of the majority needed to win outright. If
neither candidate wins a majority, the race will proceed to ranked
choice tabulation on Nov. 18. The state's “target date” for certifying
the election results is Nov. 25.
Recounts in Alaska are automatic only in the event of a tie vote.
Candidates may also request a recount within five days of the state's
certification.
More than a dozen House races are still up in the air
In most of the House races that have not been called, the margin between
the leading candidates was less than 1 percentage point among votes
counted as of late Tuesday afternoon.
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A stack of mail-in ballots are seen at the Anchorage Region II
Elections Office, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP
Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
In North Carolina, four races remain undecided, the most of any
state, and Republican incumbents were being challenged in all. There
are no automatic recounts in North Carolina, but candidates may
request a recount if the margin between candidates is 1% or less of
the total votes. The state must receive the recount request by noon
Eastern time Nov. 17, two business days after the county canvass in
the state. The state is scheduled to certify its results Nov. 24.
In California, only one of the remaining House races, in the 23rd
District, will affect the chamber's balance of power. The other
uncalled race is between two Democrats. Mail ballots must be
received by Tuesday and counties must certify their results Dec. 3.
The state will certify its results Dec. 11.
In South Carolina's 2nd District, a recount is ongoing in the race
between Republican incumbent Joe Wilson and Democrat Zyon Khalia.
Wilson led Khalia by only about 3,000 votes in the original tally by
late Tuesday afternoon, when 99% of the votes had been counted.
In Minnesota's 1st District, the race was still undecided late in
the afternoon Tuesday, with about 300 votes separating the top two
candidates and an estimated 99% of votes counted. Recounts are not
automatic in Minnesota, but a candidate can request a
publicly-funded recount if the margin between the winning and losing
candidates is less than 0.25% of the vote.
In Tennessee’s 4th District, about 300 votes lay between Democrat
Victoria Broderick and Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais as of
late afternoon Tuesday. In that state, recounts are held only as
part of a legal challenge in the courts. There are no automatic
recounts, and losing candidates may not request recounts.
Two governorships remain undecided
Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher led state Republican Senate
President Ty Masterson in the race for governor of Kansas by less
than 1 percentage point late Tuesday afternoon. On Nov. 4, the state
announced that a close-race audit of election results requiring a
hand count of selected ballots had been triggered in six close
Kansas races, including the gubernatorial race. The audit must be
completed before Nov. 16, the day by which counties must certify
their results.
In the race for governor of Alaska, only about 76% of votes were
estimated to have been counted late Tuesday afternoon, and the
Democratic candidate, Jonathan S. Kreiss‑Tomkins was leading
Bernadette M. Wilson by about 45,000 votes, 49.6% to 28.9%. The race
will advance to ranked choice tabulation if no candidate receives
more than 50% of votes.
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