Mississippi’s 2nd District House Race: 2026 Winner

Mississippi's attorney general has concluded that a Senatobia police officer was justified in using deadly force during a June shoplifting call that ended with the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. Officers responding to a reported theft at a Walmart fired at a moving car they said was driving toward them, striking Kohen and wounding another passenger. His mother, who was not charged, disputes that the car headed toward police, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump says a preliminary independent autopsy suggests Kohen was shot from the side, not the front. Authorities have not released body-camera footage, and use-of-force experts are divided on whether the shooting was justified. The case has intensified long-standing tension between Senatobia police and Black residents.

Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney from Columbus, Mississippi, is challenging GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in November's election, aiming to become the state's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic senator since 1982. Mississippi has leaned heavily Republican in recent presidential races, but Colom, who won the Democratic primary in March, is pitching a faith-based message on wages, health care, and jobs to attract Black voters and a share of white support. His campaign has drawn high-profile backing, including an ad from Barack Obama and a Jackson rally appearance and fundraising push from Raphael Warnock. The race will be decided November 3.

Twelve U.S. House seats covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area are on the Nov. 3 midterm ballot, with early voting running Oct. 19-30. Most races feature Republican incumbents—Keith Self, Pat Fallon, Lance Gooden, Jake Ellzey, Craig Goldman, Ronny Jackson, Beth Van Duyne and Roger Williams—facing Democratic challengers, plus a Libertarian in District 26. Three open seats stand out: District 30, vacated by Jasmine Crockett after her Senate run; and Districts 32 and 33, left open by Julie Johnson and Marc Veasey, respectively, after mid-decade redistricting reshaped them from Democratic-leaning to Republican-favored territory. In District 33, Colin Allred faces Patrick David Gillespie. Results are expected after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

A new CNN/SSRS poll shows Democratic Senate candidates with slight, within-margin-of-error leads in two closely watched races. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed leads Republican Mike Rogers 47% to 44% among likely voters. In Maine, Troy Jackson leads incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins 48% to 45%. Both races are considered pivotal to which party controls Congress after the November midterms.

Cost of living and dissatisfaction with President Trump were top concerns for voters in both states, with roughly two-thirds disapproving of his job performance and majorities calling his tariffs harmful. In Maine, Jackson's edge appears driven more by opposition to Collins than enthusiasm for him, with most of his supporters framing their vote as "against" her. In Michigan, a sizable share of voters see El-Sayed as "too liberal," though many still view him as "about right." Both races remain highly competitive, with meaningful shares of persuadable voters in each state ahead of Election Day.

Former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democrat challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, faces fresh allegations from former staffers that she used a racial slur in 2024 while in office. According to a report from the Alaska Landmine, two former aides, speaking anonymously, claim Peltola used the slur after an October 2024 dinner honoring African American soldiers who helped build the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II, reportedly directing it at a veteran and former NAACP official who organized the event.

The claim follows a New York Times investigation, based on accounts from roughly two dozen former staffers, describing a pattern of verbal and physical abuse in Peltola's office, including use of other slurs, which led to a staff shake-up ahead of the primary. Peltola's campaign has denied the latest allegation, calling it a lie from a disgruntled former staffer.

The controversy comes as Peltola seeks to unseat Sullivan in a race with implications for Senate control, though observers note Alaska's small Black population may limit its electoral impact.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has endorsed Rep. Mike Collins in the race to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, backing the Republican congressman he had opposed during the primary. Kemp praised Collins as a "commonsense leader" who has "delivered results as a businessman," while criticizing Ossoff's record as out of step with Georgia values. Collins, who owns a trucking company and represents Georgia's 10th congressional district, is also backed by President Trump and thanked Kemp for joining the effort to "take back Georgia's Senate seat."

Kemp had initially supported Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate, in the GOP primary, which Collins won decisively. The Ossoff campaign dismissed the endorsement's significance, pointing to Kemp's earlier opposition to Collins and leveling sharp criticism at the congressman.

The contest is considered one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle and could help determine which party controls the chamber for the remainder of Trump's term. Polling currently shows Ossoff with a lead, though the race is widely rated a toss-up.

Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson clashed over corruption allegations during a combative debate in Maine's closely watched Senate race, which could help decide control of the chamber next year.

The exchange followed a ProPublica report that the FBI had moved toward investigating bribery claims against Collins before President Trump's agency shakeup sidelined the inquiry. The report alleged that Navatek CEO Martin Kao funneled $150,000 to a pro-Collins Super PAC through a shell company ahead of her 2020 reelection, expecting federal contracts in return. Collins called the claims "absolutely false," noted they were reviewed and dismissed by the Justice Department, FBI, and Federal Election Commission, and labeled Kao, now imprisoned for COVID-19 relief fraud, a "crook."

Jackson pointed to the timing of the investigation's collapse after Trump's election and Collins' frequent alignment with Trump's agenda. Collins countered by citing a bill Jackson backed that benefited his son's lobbying firm and reports that a PAC he led accepted corporate donations despite his no-corporate-money pledge. Jackson said he was unaware of the contributions and had ended the practice.

New polling shows a close contest between Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson ahead of the midterms. A Marist University survey found Jackson narrowly ahead among likely voters, within the margin of error, while a recent Fox News poll showed the race tied and a Suffolk University poll also gave Jackson a slight edge. Election handicappers rate the contest a toss-up. Collins, seeking a sixth term, would become Maine's longest-serving senator if reelected. Jackson, a logger and former state senator, replaced earlier Democratic nominee Graham Platner and has gained endorsements from former diplomats as he works to build name recognition statewide.

A Republican super PAC supporting Sen. Susan Collins of Maine mistakenly ran digital ads targeting her Democratic challenger, state Senate President Troy Jackson, in Portland, Oregon, instead of Portland, Maine. Defending Main Street confirmed its media vendor spent roughly $25,000 on the misplaced ad buy before the error was caught and corrected. The group's ad buyer, working with Cross Screen Media and the 1903 Group, took full responsibility and is refunding the misspent amount, meaning no donor funds will be lost.

The mix-up comes in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Collins is the only Republican senator representing a state carried by Kamala Harris in 2024, making her seat a top Democratic target as the party seeks to flip Republicans' narrow 53-47 Senate majority. While the error itself was minor and quickly fixed, it underscores the intense national attention and spending already surrounding the Maine contest well ahead of the election.

A new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds Democrat Troy Jackson leading Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 50 percent to 46 percent, with less than a month until Election Day. The race is among the most closely watched of the midterms, as Collins is the only Senate Republican defending her seat this cycle in a state that backed Kamala Harris in 2024, and the outcome could help determine control of the chamber, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.

The survey, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, shows Collins struggling with President Trump's unpopularity in Maine, with a majority of voters saying she has been too supportive of him. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who entered the race after Graham Platner's campaign collapsed amid scandal, leads on affordability, health care, abortion and corruption, while Collins holds a wide edge on securing federal funding and bipartisan dealmaking. Collins has cast Jackson as too liberal for Maine, citing his past support for Medicare for All, while highlighting his earlier opposition to abortion rights.