Milpitas Mayor: Carmen Montano Leads Hon Lien by 93 Votes in Updated Nov. 4 Count

UPDATED NOVEMBER 5 — NEWER NOVEMBER 4 COUNTY SNAPSHOT. The Santa Clara County results displayed by KQED at 7:28 p.m. Wednesday, November 4 show Carmen Montano with 4,027 votes (41.2%), Hon Lien with 3,934 (40.3%) and Santosh Sahoo with 936 (9.5%). The top-two lead is now 93 votes in the reported count, compared with the 33-vote margin in the earlier late-night snapshot preserved below. Both snapshots are unofficial; no election has yet been certified. The city also has new detailed California58 coverage of two City Council seats and the three-seat school-board vote. Do not combine these separate contest totals.

Previous late-night 33-vote margin (historical report)

MILPITAS — November 4, 2026. The Milpitas mayoral election has changed direction since the first count. In an earlier preliminary snapshot, Hon Lien was ahead of Carmen Montano by 71 votes. The updated November 3, 11:30 p.m. results now show Montano with 3,817 votes (40.9%) and Lien with 3,784 (40.5%) — a difference of only 33 votes in Montano’s favor.

Four candidates in the race

Santosh Sahoo has 900 votes in the late-night report, while Voltaire Montemayor has 827. With four candidates and a narrow gap between the top two, the final ordering cannot be treated as settled. The county still needs to complete its election canvass.

Two council seats are separate

The Milpitas council election is a different contest: Bill Chuan has 3,747 votes and Garry Barbadillo 3,522, ahead of Seema Kanani at 2,851 in the vote-for-two race. Candidate vote shares in that contest are not comparable to the citywide mayor totals.

Earlier California58 report: Lien led in the first count. The lead has since reversed in the updated snapshot. No winner is officially certified.

Results source: KQED’s Santa Clara County election tables, reporting figures from county election offices, updated November 3, 2026 at approximately 11:30 p.m. Pacific. Future county canvass updates can change these figures. Statewide overview: California58 Elections 2026.

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