The Supreme Court race remains too close, and the final outcome could depend on absentee and sworn voting

The Mississippi Supreme Court runoff election between incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens and Republican state Sen. Jenifer Branning remained too close to call Tuesday night as political forecasters signaled a careful counting of ballots that could take days.

With 91% of all votes reported, the Associated Press reported that Branning received 50.2% of the vote while Kitchens received 49.8% of the vote. The reported vote margin was about 500 in favor of Branning as of 10:45 p.m.

The closely contested race could be due to absentee and affidavit ballots, which are not included in the AP’s election night tabulation. State law currently allows election workers to process mail-in ballots up to five days after Election Day, as long as the ballot was postmarked by the date of the election.

The Mississippi Republican Party worked hard for months to oust Kitchens, one of the dwindling numbers of centrist jurists on the Supreme Court, and consolidated its infrastructure behind Branning. Conservative leaders are keenly aware that Kitchens will be the next to lead the court as chief justice, a post with administrative powers, if current Chief Justice Mike Randolph steps down.

Although judicial candidates in Mississippi are technically nonpartisan, political parties and business associations often donate money to candidates and run ads on their behalf, making them increasingly as partisan as traditional campaigns.

Kitchens is one of two centrist members of the Supreme Court and is widely viewed as the Democrats’ preferred nominee, although the Mississippi Democratic Party has not endorsed his candidacy. Republicans directly supported Branning.

Kitchens, a Crystal Springs resident, was first elected to the court in 2008. He is a former district attorney and attorney in private practice. During the election campaign, he highlighted his experience as a lawyer and judge, particularly his years of prosecuting criminals and his rulings in criminal cases.

Branning, also a practicing attorney, was first elected to the Legislature in 2015. She chaired the Senate Elections and Transportation Committees. During her time in the Capitol, she was one of the more conservative members of the Senate. She voted against changing the state flag to remove the Confederate battle emblem, voted against expanding Medicaid to the working poor and equal pay for women, and supported mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crimes.

While campaigning for the judge’s seat, she promised to ensure that “conservative values” were always represented in the judiciary, but stopped short of endorsing political positions, which is prohibited for judicial candidates from Mississippi.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, the two candidates collectively raised about $187,000 and spent $182,000 in the final stretch of the campaign.

Counties must certify election results and send them to the secretary of state’s office by Dec. 6, meaning counting efforts could last through the Thanksgiving holiday and into the first half of December.