Silicon Valley voters Tuesday faced a slew of critical decisions — who to elect to the area’s first open congressional seat in decades, how to reshape local city councils and the race on everyone’s mind: Who to send to the White House.
After a battering election season rife with political attacks and mud-slinging, it all came to a head as hundreds of thousands of Santa Clara County voters went to the polls. Polls opened at 7 a.m. today and closed at 8 p.m. Find a vote center by clicking here. If you’ve already filled out your vote-by-mail ballot, here’s where you can drop it off.
Elections officials are expecting 80%-85% voter turnout today, with presidential elections typically drawing out more voters.
Read our full election guide here, including a look at how money is shaping this year’s consequential contests.
Our San José Spotlight team of reporters blanketed the city Tuesday to bring the latest results, reactions and analysis from the field. Bookmark this page for continued live election results after polls close, brought to you in partnership with the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ.
Click on stories below for a look at who is winning each race:
- Sam Liccardo leads early results in Silicon Valley congressional race
- Patrick Ahrens leads in Assembly District 26 race
- Betty Duong leads competitive Santa Clara County race
- Abe-Koga will be next Santa Clara County supervisor in District 5
- Pamela Campos leads San Jose D2 race by thin margin
- Willow Glen native Mulcahy maintains lead in San Jose D6 race
- D8 San Jose Councilman Domingo Candelas headed to victory
- George Casey looks to be the new San Jose D10 councilmember
- Santa Clara votes new candidate in and familiar politician out
What’s at stake
Voters chose whether to send the Bay Area’s own Kamala Harris to the White House four months after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. She faced off with former President Donald Trump who lost the presidency four years ago. Trump appeared to forge a path to victory late Tuesday by winning key battleground states like Pennsylvania and declared a win in a speech to supporters.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo went head to head with Assemblymember Evan Low for a rare shot at Congress — replacing retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo. The race is one of the most costly and closely-watched in Northern California.
Farther down the ballot, San Jose voters weighed four council races, including two open seats in Districts 2 and 6 (replacing termed-out Councilmembers Sergio Jimenez and Dev Davis, respectively). San Jose Councilmembers Domingo Candelas and Arjun Batra, both appointed in 2023, faced reelection against challengers.
At the county level, the most competitive matchup was between Madison Nguyen and Betty Duong for the District 2 supervisorial seat. Duong had a significant lead late Tuesday as she’s poised to become the county’s first Vietnamese American policymaker. In District 5, Sally Lieber and Margaret Abe-Koga faced off for the a seat on the five-person Board of Supervisors.
In the South Bay’s only open Assembly race, two candidates — Patrick Ahrens and Tara Sreekrishnan — competed to replace Low in District 26. Ahrens appeared to be winning by strong margins Tuesday.
There are just over 1 million registered voters in Santa Clara County. See all results from the county here.
At an election night party hosted by Democrats, dozens of supporters gathered around TVs to watch the presidential election results trickle in.
Low and Ahrens made an appearance at the South Bay Labor Council’s gathering Tuesday night, embracing in a hug.
loads of people watching MSNBC report on results across hs country. cheers erupted when they showed the results from Colorado’s abortion proposition. about 8 minutes until polls close here in California pic.twitter.com/pp0i22z7gR
— B. Sakura Cannestra (@SakuCannestra) November 6, 2024
Across town at a fancy Spanish and Peruvian restaurant on Santana Row, supporters of Liccardo welcomed ballot returns that showed the ex-mayor leading by wide margins in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Low had not conceded the congressional race Tuesday though it’s unlikely he’ll catch up to Liccardo’s lead.
Liccardo fired up his supporters by calling for national unity as the presidential election appeared to be favoring Trump.
Strong turnout
Six hours before polls closed, an East San Jose cultural hub — the Mexican Heritage Plaza — began seeing a steady line of voters form.
“There’s so much deep sense of civic engagement and responsibility here in East San Jose,” Vanessa Shieh, the plaza’s co-executive director, told San José Spotlight. “There is a deep sense of responsibility and desire to see improvement in the community.”
Shieh said people in East San Jose, which has historically seen low voter turnout, are starting to advocate for their needs — especially around affordable housing.
“There are deep divides in our political circles and communities,” she added. “What people here in East San Jose deserve is an ability to thrive right here in this community where they live.”
Michael Borja, a spokesman for the county Registrar of Voters, said 43% of mail-in ballots — or about 480,000 — have already been returned.
“If you have a vote center nearby, you can also vote in person,” he told San José Spotlight. “Just be sure to be in line before 8 p.m. You’ll still be processed as long as you make the cut off and are in line.”
Lynette Huang, a 33-year-old analyst, was among the first to cast her ballot right as polls at the county elections office Tuesday morning.
“It’s super important every four years to speak for yourself and assert your rights,” Huang said. “Because I’m a resident of Santa Clara, it’s important to ensure our community is safe. I focus on our crime rate and what we can do to make our community safer.”
San Jose resident Jackie Beloney is unemployed and worried about the economy. But what drew him to the polls Tuesday is women’s reproductive rights — a cornerstone issue in this year’s presidential race.
“I have a granddaughter and I want her to be heard,” said Beloney, 71. “It’s about what the constitution represents. Freedom for everybody. It’s supposed to protect the people and the voices of the people.”
Check back for more updates.
Live election results
Congressional District 16
Assembly District 26
Santa Clara County
San Jose City Council
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