As the ballot counting plods along in Mississippi’s razor-thin Senate race, Republicans sound confident that they’ve got the votes to come out on top. If they do, it would be a rare bright spot for the GOP in a bleak midterm election that already has cost Republicans control of Congress. 

Mike Hurst, chairman of the Republican Party of Mississippi, told The Federalist in an exclusive interview Thursday that the brunt of the 17,000 affidavit, or provisional, ballots to be counted is coming from traditionally Republican or red-leaning areas of the state. 

“We have a lot of hope that this is going to break our way,” said Hurst, who also serves as general counsel for the Republican National Committee. 

“Usually affidavits are only proven correct about 25 percent of the time,” Hurst said. “We are seeing up to 75 percent or 80 percent validated. That’s what’s getting us excited. Internally that’s why we’re pretty bullish about this election.” 

‘Reinforce Her Path to Victory’

As of Thursday evening, about 20,000 outstanding ballots remained to be counted, Hurst said. Incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith trailed Democrat challenger Scott Colom by 1,813 votes, one-tenth of a percentage point (49% to 48.9%). 

Early Wednesday morning, several hours after Mississippi poles had closed, the candidates were separated by just 43 votes, with about 96 percent of the ballots counted, the Associated Press reported. 

RNC officials told The Federalist that 50 volunteer attorneys and observers have joined an “experienced in-state Election Integrity team” in Mississippi to protect every last valid vote. The RNC, they said, is tracking outstanding ballots, monitoring the count, and scrutinizing the process to ensure Mississippi election law is followed at every step. 

“Cindy Hyde-Smith is going to represent Mississippi in the United States Senate for the next six years,” the senator’s X account confidently predicted on Thursday afternoon. 

“We believe thousands of votes remain to be counted from dozens of Republican counties, and we are confident those votes will reinforce her path to victory,” the post added. 

‘Something We’ve Never Seen in Mississippi’

Hyde-Smith’s campaign and the RNC are prepared to sue if county commissioners and circuit clerks in Mississippi’s 82 counties fail to quarantine all of the provisional ballots from the regular absentee ballots. 

Hurst called the high volume of election-tipping provisional ballots unlike anything the state has ever seen.

“We are hearing that there are a number of Republicans who, for whatever reason, have been taken off the voter rolls and had to take provisional ballots,” the attorney told The Federalist. “It’s something we’ve never seen in Mississippi before, something Democrats are not aware of.” 

Hurst noted a close friend of his who hasn’t missed an election in 30 years who was forced to cast an affidavit ballot after being kicked out of the voter rolls. 

Hyde-Smith’s campaign expects Dem lawyers “to pull out every stop.” 

Colom’s campaign manager called the GOP demand letters to elections officials “a desperate stunt” by national Republicans who “know they’re about to lose a race,” according to the Clarion Ledger. More so, Colom’s lawyers sent a letter to local elections officials, blasting the Republicans’ demands as “unlawful and extraordinary measures.” They claimed the RNC’s arguments “have no basis in Mississippi law.” Colom is being represented by the law firm led by Russia collusion hoaxer Mark Elias. 

But Elias, hailed as a “Human rights hero” by the leftist American Bar Association, has defended Democrats in lawsuits arguing for provisional ballots to be counted. Now, his law firm is arguing to stop an unprecedented number of provisional ballots from being included in the count. 

Hurst said about 3,000 mail-in ballots remain uncounted. Under Mississippi law, upheld this summer by the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling, mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day are counted if they are received within five business days. 

An army of Republican Party volunteers has been deployed “where votes are still being decided,” an RNC Election Integrity team member told The Federalist. 

“RNC and Mississippi GOP attorneys and observers are in counties across the state where ballot review and counting remain underway, watching how outstanding ballots are handled and how election officials determine which ballots legally qualify to be counted,” the RNC official said. 

Mississippi has no automatic recount trigger. Officials said it could be days before all of the votes are in, processed and counted. The final tallies must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by Friday, Nov. 13.