Nov. 11 Election Update: Hardy’s Lead for Mayor Grows, Two School Board Challengers Maintain Edge

In the City of Santa Clara the bottom line in the 2026 election is that nothing has changed since election day. Votes counted since election day have split almost evenlyKaren Hardy, Eric Crutchlow and Kimberely Williams established a lead on Nov. 3, and haven’t relinquished it since. The Registrar’s office reports 23,900 ballots remain to be counted countywide.On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Karen Hardy’s lead in the Santa Clara mayor’s race grew to 558 votes, the largest lead since election day, as the Registrar of Voters continues to count ballots. Hardy has 7,361 votes, or 23%, to Kathy Watanabe’s 6,803 (21%).The order hasn’t moved since election night. David Kertes holds third with 6,325 votes (20%), followed by Kevin Park, who has conceded, with 6,067 (19%). Gary Ferraris has 3,499 votes (11%) and Mike Wiltberger has 2,250 (7%). Hardy picked up 830 votes in the latest count to Watanabe’s 684, after Watanabe had trimmed her lead to 412 votes on Tuesday.In Council District 2, Williams leads