Bob Dearing waits Wednesday morning in the Adams County Courhouse for the election commission to begin the process of counting absentee ballots. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — The race for Mississippi Senate District 37 will hinge on absentee ballots.

The matchup — between incumbent Sen. Mejanie Sojourner, R — Natchez, and former Sen. Bob Dearing, D — Natchez — is currently down to 74 votes, with Sojourner leading with a total of 8,038 votes.

Absentee and affidavit ballots in Adams County have not been counted, however, leaving hundreds of votes in the balance. Election Commissioner Larry Gardner said he hoped the commission would have some new numbers by Thursday morning, but the counting and vote reconciliation process would take at least two days.

Adams County had 402 total absentee ballots cast, of which 282 fall in the District 37 precincts.

Sojourner took Amite and Pike counties, while Dearing carried Adams and Franklin counties in in-person voting.

“This race will not be called until the final vote is counted,” Sojourner said in a Facebook post early Wednesday morning. “(It is) a great example of how every vote counts.”