Real-Time Results: Manhattan Beach Midterm Election 2026

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Incumbent City Councilmember Amy Howorth led the race for two seats on the Manhattan Beach City Council late Tuesday night, with former Councilmember Richard P. Montgomery holding a narrow lead over fellow former Councilmember Mark Burton for the second seat.

Returns released at 9:44 p.m. by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office showed Howorth with 5,728 votes, or 35%, followed by Montgomery with 4,827 votes, or 29.5%, and Burton with 4,381 votes, or 26.8%.

Montgomery led Burton by just 446 votes, while former Planning Commissioner Joseph Ungoco was fourth with 1,417 votes, or 8.7%.

The preliminary results included mail-in ballots processed before Election Day and early in-person votes. With ballots still outstanding, the outcome remains undecided, particularly in the contest for the second council seat.

Scroll down for real-time Manhattan Beach and Los Angeles County election results.

Voters can also track their ballots through California's BallotTrax system.

Can't see the results widget? Visit the Los Angeles County election results portal for the latest available figures.

Manhattan Beach City Council: Four Candidates, Two Seats

With two of the five City Council seats up for election, Manhattan Beach voters were permitted to select up to two candidates from a field that includes an incumbent, two former council members and a former planning commissioner.

Howorth is seeking reelection alongside Montgomery, who served four terms on the council between 2005 and 2023, and Burton, who served from 2013 to 2017 and previously held the city's rotating mayoral position.

Ungoco, meanwhile, served two terms on the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission and has previously run for City Council.

The winners will join a council responsible for overseeing the city's finances, development decisions, public safety services and infrastructure, with issues such as downtown development and municipal facilities continuing to feature in local government discussions.

The successful candidates are scheduled to take the oath of office at the council's Dec. 15 meeting, according to the city's election calendar.

Read Patch's Manhattan Beach voter guide for more information about the candidates and local races.

Manhattan Beach School Board Election Uncontested

Three candidates qualified for three seats on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees, leaving the contest uncontested.

Incumbents Christina "Tina" Shivpuri and Kristen "Wysh" Weinstein sought additional terms, while Nathalie M. Rosen, a community organizer and parent, qualified for the remaining seat.

Rosen has been involved in parent organizations at Pennekamp Elementary School and Manhattan Beach Middle School and has served on the executive board of the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation.

Incumbent trustee Jen Fenton did not seek another term.

The five-member school board oversees district policy, finances, educational programs and the superintendent. With the number of qualified candidates matching the number of available seats, the district did not have a competitive school board election this November.

Congressional And State Legislative Races

Manhattan Beach voters also participated in congressional and state legislative contests, including races to replace two departing South Bay lawmakers.

In the 36th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu faced Republican Houston Brignano. The district includes Manhattan Beach and other South Bay and Westside communities, with the result contributing to the national contest for control of Congress.

In California's 24th State Senate District, Democrats John M. Erickson and Brian Goldsmith competed to succeed state Sen. Ben Allen, who is running for California insurance commissioner.

Meanwhile, in the 66th Assembly District, Democrats Paul Seo and Sara Deen faced one another for the seat being vacated by term-limited Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi.

Seo is the mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes, while Deen serves on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education.

The results will determine who represents Manhattan Beach in Washington and Sacramento as lawmakers confront questions involving housing affordability, transportation, education, public safety and California's financial outlook.

No Manhattan Beach Ballot Measure This November

Unlike several neighboring communities, Manhattan Beach did not have a city-specific ballot measure in Tuesday's election.

City officials spent much of 2026 considering changes to the business license tax system, including a proposal projected to generate approximately $550,000 in additional annual revenue.

However, the City Council declined to advance the measure at its Aug. 4 meeting, leaving the proposed overhaul off the November ballot.

Residents instead considered two countywide charter amendments alongside California's statewide propositions.

Los Angeles County Sheriff And Ballot Measures

Across Los Angeles County, incumbent Sheriff Robert Luna faced former Sheriff Alex Villanueva in a rematch of their 2022 election, when Luna defeated Villanueva to become sheriff.

County voters also considered two proposed charter amendments addressing public safety labor disputes and government ethics.

Measure A proposed establishing binding arbitration for certain labor disputes involving county public safety employees, including firefighters and sheriff's personnel, while prohibiting strikes by specified workers such as district attorney investigators, medical examiner employees and lifeguards.

Measure E sought to strengthen the independence and structure of the Los Angeles County Ethics Commission and related oversight offices, addressing appointment procedures, qualifications, responsibilities and other administrative requirements.

Both measures required a simple majority for approval.

Review Los Angeles County's official election information.

Gubernatorial Race

California voters headed to the polls Tuesday, facing high gas and grocery prices, the effects of climate change on wildfires and rising seas amid a shortage in insurance coverage and the ever-present housing affordability crisis.

The governor’s race was somewhat anticlimactic following a chaotic primary with a crowded field of candidates roiled when the frontrunner was forced to step down amid sexual assault allegations. Since then, Becerra maintained a steady lead over Hilton in the polls.

In the final days of the election, a new SurveyUSA poll showed Becerra with a 22-point lead.

Click here for real-time results in the California Governor’s races.

Congressional Races

All 52 of California’s Congressional seats were on the ballot.

Congressional races across California were under intense scrutiny following voter approval of Proposition 50, a partisan redistricting measure expected to reshape the state’s political map. Thanks to the redistricting, only a handful of districts were truly competitive. Democrats hoped to flip as many as five Republican House seats in a bid to overturn the GOP’s slim House majority.

Democrats think they can flip as many as five seats, with four seeming very much in reach, according to the polls. Both parties are spending like control of the House is on the line.

Click here for real-time results in California’s Congressional races.

Propositions

There were 14 statewide propositions on the ballot this week. Arguably, the most hot-button ballot initiatives involve taxation. Proposition 40 is the highly discussed billionaire tax, while Propositions 41 and 42 aim to counter the measure. Proposition 3 also addresses taxes on the state's highest earners.

Click here for real-time results for all of California’s ballot measures.