Democrats Win Southern Senate Races on Turnout Shift
Democratic Senate nominees across six southern states outperformed the national swing, with turnout patterns driving the 2026 midterm results.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Elections
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Democrats won Senate races across the South in the 2026 midterm elections, with turnout patterns driving the results. Turnout in Harris-won counties declined 19% across six southern states, compared with 26% in Trump-won counties.
Why it matters
The six analyzed southern states swung an average of 22 points toward Democrats, well above the national swing of about 14.5 points. The results follow Louisiana v. Callais, a Supreme Court decision that gutted part of the Voting Rights Act and led to changed congressional maps across the South.
Democratic Senate nominees in the six states earned more raw votes than Harris in 170 counties, while Republican nominees fell hundreds of thousands of votes short of Trump across the region. Mississippi's count remains open, with Colom's roughly 5,600-vote lead over Hyde-Smith still subject to final tallies.
The players
Scott Colom
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Mississippi who ran against incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Cindy Hyde-Smith
Republican U.S. senator from Mississippi whose race against Democrat Scott Colom remains close as ballots are tallied.
Jon Ossoff
Democratic U.S. senator from Georgia who won a 14-point victory in the 2026 midterm elections.
Roy Cooper
Former Democratic governor of North Carolina who won the 2026 U.S. Senate race by a 20-point margin.
Michael Whatley
Republican candidate in the North Carolina U.S. Senate race who lost to Roy Cooper.
The details
Colom earned roughly 8,100 more votes than Harris did in Mississippi in 2024, and majority-Black counties posted about 85% turnout versus 76% in white, non-Hispanic majority counties. In Georgia, Jon Ossoff won by 14 points despite finishing with roughly 79,000 fewer votes than Harris won two years earlier, while former Gov. Roy Cooper won the North Carolina Senate race by 20 points as Michael Whatley trailed Trump's 2024 total by 1.25 million votes.
Timeline
2024: Trump and Harris presidential vote totals serve as the baseline comparisons.
November 3, 2026: Southern Senate races were decided with Democratic gains across the region.
Political Context
The Southern results follow Louisiana v. Callais, a Supreme Court decision that gutted part of the Voting Rights Act and led to changed congressional maps across the region. Critics of that ruling argue it weakened protections for Black voters, a concern the high turnout in majority-Black Mississippi counties appears to underscore.
Changed congressional maps in several Southern states may alter which districts voters are represented in going forward. Voters in close races should check final certified results, since Mississippi's count is still being tallied.
The takeaway
Turnout, not just partisan swing, shaped these Southern Senate outcomes, so track how turnout changes in your own county before drawing conclusions about future races.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in Elections for the broader midterm picture.
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