Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom is pointing fingers at election forecasters such as the Cook Political Report, saying they “made it much more difficult” for Southern Democrats to fundraise this election cycle. “At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other ‘prognosticators’ who had me and other…
Page A233From§Eachthe evening edition — 9 November 2026
The Justice Department's suit triggered only on a narrow Republican loss; Mississippi's trailing Republican filed second.
As it ran on the front
The chief put the assignment on the board in one line, which is how this crew likes an assignment: a lawsuit that only works if you lose.
Walk it from the top. On 12 October a former president cut an ad for Scott Colom, the Democrat running in Mississippi — outside help, arriving late, which matters in a minute. On 23 October an order went to the Justice Department; on 24 October the suit was filed, before a single Alaska vote had been counted, asking a court to block certification if the Republican lost narrowly. On 28 October the president called the Peltola campaign's reported recruitment of a second Dan Sullivan illegal and called for her disqualification, and Republican officials asked for an investigation. On 31 October an election attorney told the New York Post that setting those ballots aside was "not even possible," and a former FEC chair told Fox News that prosecutions under the last administration set the precedent for the probe. The Peltola campaign repeated its denial and said nothing about the federal investigation.…
…(cont) Then Friday. Peltola's campaign sued the State of Alaska — not for a result, for records: which absentee ballots the Division of Elections rejected, and why. Monday the Sullivan campaign moved to intervene. The planner stood there admiring that motion, because the motion is the demonstration: the records door swings for whoever walks up to it, including the side that is behind.
So here is the plan, assembled from parts already lying in this pile.
The muscle goes first, because you wreck before you weld. The contingent pleading comes out. A complaint drafted on 24 October for a loss that had not occurred names no ballots, because there were none to name, and the relief it asks for is the relief an attorney said on 31 October no court can grant.
The tinkerer takes the records suit off the bench. Every rejected absentee ballot has a voter attached to it, a reason, a date. That filing produces a list, and the list is readable by anyone, including the trailing campaign that joined it Monday. Nothing in it turns on who is ahead.
The pilot gets it there before certification rather than after, in both states; Mississippi has its own ballot-handling fight running with the race still uncalled.
And we weld for our own side with the same cheer. CBS has Mississippi a toss-up with Colom slightly ahead; the Examiner has his lead widening. He told the Examiner the forecasters' ratings "made it much more difficult" for Southern Democrats to raise money. Probably true. It is also not a filing. Cook Political Report keeps no docket, accepts no motions, releases no records. The instrument that does was filed Friday, in Alaska, by the campaign that is ahead, and joined Monday by the one that is not.
“Read the order of events and the con names itself: they wrote the lawsuit in October for a loss that hadn't happened, and the trigger wasn't a ballot, it was the margin. Now the Republican who's behind in Mississippi files second, and the Democrat who's ahead is on television blaming a ratings newsletter for the money he didn't raise. One side built a tool for losing and passes it around; our side wrote a complaint to the forecasters.”
“Nobody is contesting an election — a motion to intervene just means both sides read the same records, which is transparency, and we're the side asking for transparency. Did I say asking? We joined. And if a Democrat's real problem is that a newsletter rated his race, take it up with the newsletter; that's not a crisis, that's a subscription.”
Earlier in this story
- The Justice Department sued to block Alaska's certification before a single vote was counted, naming no ballots, triggered only by a narrow Republican loss. By The Wrecking Crew · the evening edition, 8 November 2026
The receipts
Republicans' reconciliation package puts $70 billion into ICE's department NBC News, May 2026
Courts Reject Trump’s Attempt at Deploying ICE to Intimidate VotersA judge ordered Homeland Security to stop sending agents door to door in nine key states to hunt for “voter fraud.”
Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom extended his lead against Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in the Senate race, outpacing her by just over 1,800 ballots. Initially, the election was a lot closer, with Colom leading the incumbent by fewer than 100 votes.
Sen. Dan Sullivan's (R-Alaska) campaign on Monday filed a motion against Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign to intervene in its rejected absentee ballot lawsuit. Her campaign sued the state of Alaska on Friday to obtain access to records for absentee ballots that were rejected by the Alaska Division of Elections.
An attorney for Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom said Republican efforts to separate particular ballots are illegal under state law and should not be followed, according to a letter sent to county election commissioners Thursday. The letter comes in reaction to the National Republican Senatorial Committee's request to…
In special elections, Democrats have retained 10 points more of their previous turnout than Republicans Ballotpedia, 26 February 2026
Mississippi Senate race still a toss-up; Democrat holds slim leadThe Senate race in deep-red Mississippi remains unresolved, as Democrat Scott Colom has mounted a surprisingly competitive challenge to incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
· Alaska Senate race: what to know about Democrats’ alleged ballot-stacking effort from the morgue, 2 Nov 2026
· Trump rages at Alaska Democrat whose campaign reportedly recruited man with same name as Republican opponent – live from the morgue, 28 Oct 2026
· Alaska Senate race: what to know about Democrats’ alleged ballot-stacking effort from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· ‘Mississippi matters’: Scott Colom aims to turn Mississippi blue from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Obama rolls out ad for Dem Scott Colom in Mississippi Senate race from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· Trump ask to set aside ‘Decoy Dan’ Alaska Senate ballots ‘not even possible’: attorneys from the morgue, 31 Oct 2026
· Peltola repeats denial of ballot-stacking reports, stays silent on federal probe from the morgue, 31 Oct 2026
· Trump prosecutions under Biden set precedent for DOJ’s Alaska ‘Decoy Dan’ probe, ex-FEC chair says from the morgue, 31 Oct 2026
· Murkowski snubs Trump-backed Alaska candidate, endorses Democrat for governor from the morgue, 28 Oct 2026
· DOJ sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Sullivan loses from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Alaska Election Gambit Shows Justice Dept. Has Bowed to Trump’s Demands from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Donald Trump challenges Alaska Senate trace from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Trump administration sues to block possible Democratic win in Alaska Senate race from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· The controversy surrounding convicted former election official Tina Peters from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Alaska Senate race featuring two Dan Sullivans is ‘blatantly corrupt’: Joe Concha from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Trump officials abandon effort to investigate election threats, experts warn from the morgue, 1 Oct 2026
· Tina Peters turns down job with California county's registrar of voters from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Election deniers stoke Trump-driven ballot security fears before midterms from the morgue, 6 Oct 2026
· Facing an electoral wipeout, Trump goes after the system from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Justice Dept. Demands That California Counties Help Identify Noncitizen Voters from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifts Alaska and South Carolina Senate races in favor of Democrats from the morgue, 6 Oct 2026
· Appeals Court Rejects 'Likely Unlawful' Trump Push to Undermine Mail-In Voting as Supreme Court Looms from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· US justice department sues California over alleged noncitizen voting from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· Trump knocks Alaska voting system: 'How stupid are we to do this?' from the morgue, 9 Oct 2026
· Corey Lewandowski Always Found His Way Back to Trump. Until Now. from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump announces $6.6bn defense shipyard owned by top Republican donor’s firm from the morgue, 6 Oct 2026
· Companies Backed by Trump Sons Have Scored Over $6 Billion in Pentagon Contracts: Analysis from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· DOJ demands that California counties help identify noncitizen voters from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· DOJ demands that some California counties set aside alleged noncitizen ballots from the morgue, 25 Oct 2026
· California officials ordered by DoJ to set aside ‘likely’ noncitizen ballots from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· LA feds move to halt ballot counting over 20K suspected noncitizen voters from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump 'Laying the Groundwork for Election Meddling' With DHS Hunt for Noncitizen Voters from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· California has no real safeguards for voting and voter registration from the morgue, 21 Oct 2026
· Federal efforts over alleged noncitizen voting escalate with California arrests from the morgue, 20 Oct 2026
· Federal voter fraud arrests intensify in California days after DOJ warning from the morgue, 19 Oct 2026
· Trump DOJ issues stark warning to California ballot counters after suing state over 20K suspected noncitizen voters from the morgue, 17 Oct 2026
· Intel Democrats on how they'll react if Trump alleges election meddling from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump told DOJ to sue to block Alaska Senate results if Republican narrowly loses from the morgue, 26 Oct 2026
· Trump says he personally ordered DOJ lawsuit intervening in Alaska Senate election from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Ramaswamy accuses Acton of ‘lying’ about attack ad, but court records contradict mother’s claim – live from the morgue, 24 Oct 2026
· DoJ sues to block certification of Alaska Senate results if Republican incumbent loses from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump-Ordered DOJ Lawsuit in Alaska Seen as First Salvo in GOP Effort to Undermine Midterm Elections from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump on the Alaska election lawsuit: 'I'm the one that said, "do it"' from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump administration sues to block certification of upcoming Alaska election from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· DOJ files lawsuit to block results in Alaska Senate race after two Dan Sullivans land on November ballot from the morgue, 23 Oct 2026
· Trump previews trip to Alaska to campaign for Dan Sullivan, ripping into the other Dan Sullivan from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Trump urges Alaskans to vote for the ‘real’ Dan Sullivan in tight midterms battle from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Sullivan trails Peltola in Alaska Senate contest: AARP poll from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Trump vows to probe other Dan Sullivan in alleged Dem plot to sabotage ‘real’ Alaska GOP senator from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Trump administration sued over plans to send election monitors to voting sites from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· AGs v. Trump: How an AWOL Congress made hundreds of lawsuits possible from the morgue, 16 Oct 2026
· The Electoral College meets in the state capitals to officially elect the next President. Joe Biden, the presumptive president-elect, is officially elected president after securing California's 55 ele from the morgue, 14 Dec 2020
· US federal agents raid home of Democratic congresswoman and Trump critic Ilhan Omar from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· Ilhan Omar’s Home Raided by DHS Following Trump-GOP Deportation Threats from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· Federal Agents Search Home of Rep. Ilhan Omar from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· Rep. Ilhan Omar’s residence searched as part of ongoing criminal investigation: DOJ from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· Rep. Ilhan Omar's D.C. home searched by Homeland Security investigators from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· Rep. Ilhan Omar’s DC home raided by DHS as part of probe into Dem’s immigration paperwork from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· Homan confirms 'criminal' investigation involving Ilhan Omar, says he knows 'things are going on’ from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026
· WATCH: Ilhan Omar denies feds have contacted her after border czar Homan confirms 'criminal' investigation from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026
· Could Trump revoke Ilhan Omar's citizenship for alleged brother marriage? Ex federal prosecutor breaks it down from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026
· Did Ilhan Omar marry her own brother? The claims explained from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026
· Russia’s Lavrov blasts US, Western allies as “warmongers’ in fiery UN tirade from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026
· Russia and China unite against US over Iran and Cuba in UN speeches from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026
· U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026
· The United Nations Security Council has resoundingly rejected a United States bid to extend a global arms embargo on Iran. In a Security Council vote, United States only got support from the Dominican from the morgue, 14 Aug 2020
· U.S. Threatens New Economic War on Iran by Targeting China & Tehran's Other Top Trading Partners from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026
· In Defiant UN Speech, Iranian President Says US and Israel Are the Real Terrorists from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026
· Trump slams reporting on removal of his endorsements from GOP candidate's website from the morgue, 27 Sep 2026
· Donalds removes several Trump mentions from campaign website from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026
· GOP hopeful removes ‘Pro-Trump’ mention from campaign slogan in deep-red seat from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026
· Where Trump’s 2026 endorsement record stands after primary season from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· U.N. experts say U.S. may have committed war crimes with 2 Iran strikes from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026
· Trump Says 'Big Decision' Coming on Whether to 'Annihilate' Iran from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026
· Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategy from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Senate Democrats, minus Fetterman, urge Hegseth to provide receipt for Iran war costs from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Trump admits Iran war will not end before midterms from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.