Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's undecided Senate race

Democratic candidate Scott Colom expanded his narrow lead over incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's still undecided Senate race. 

Colom was leading Hyde-Smith by over 1,700 votes on Thursday afternoon, with 96% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press, which has not yet called the race for either candidate. 

On Wednesday, Colom, a local prosecutor, was running neck-in-neck with his Republican opponent. Should Colom ultimately succeed in his bid for the seat, it will further pad the majority the Democrats achieved in the midterms. 

Independent candidate Ty Pinkins also gained votes as they were counted, showing 2.1% of the total on Thursday, up from 1.7% on Wednesday. 

Should Colom succeed in the race, he would be the state's first Black senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction Era.