India, Nov. 7 -- JACKSON, Mississippi - Four days after the polls closed, Mississippi's United States Senate race remains uncalled, undecided and increasingly contested, with Democrat Scott Colom extending a lead that began on election night at 28 votes and has since grown, but not decisively enough to end a battle that now hinges on thousands of outstanding affidavit and provisional ballots, an impending certification deadline and the absence of any mechanism in state law to trigger a recount.

As of approximately 2.45pm on Friday 6 November, Colom had 467,153 votes, or 49.1 per cent, to 465,124, or 48.8 per cent, for Hyde-Smith, with an estimated 96.8 per cent of the votes in. Colom is now ahead by 2,029 votes.

By Friday evening, the A...