“Mississippi’s edge-of-the-seat Senate race will come into focus this week as Democrat Scott Colom maintains his lead over Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) on Monday morning, up by 2,574 votes in the unofficial tally, according to the Associated Press,” the Washington Post reports.“Tuesday is the deadline for counting provisional ballots, known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots, which are required if there is any question about a voter’s status at the polling place. Tuesday is also the deadline for receiving absentee ballots by mail, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.”