San Carlos Council: McDowell, Rak and Venkatesh Lead Four-Candidate Race for Three Seats

SAN CARLOS — November 4, 2026. In San Carlos, four candidates are seeking three City Council seats. San Mateo County’s semi-official election-night results show Sara McDowell with 5,157 votes, followed by Adam Rak at 4,919, and Pranita Venkatesh at 4,410.

Fourth candidate and the key margin

Mark D. Iwanowski has 2,676 votes. With three seats on the ballot, the early gap between Venkatesh in third and Iwanowski in fourth is 1,734 votes. The official percentages are 30.05% for McDowell, 28.66% for Rak, 25.70% for Venkatesh and 15.59% for Iwanowski.

What to understand about percentages

These are shares of all recorded votes for candidates, not the share of individual voters supporting each candidate. Voters may choose up to three names. Additional mail and provisional ballots have not all been counted and the election remains uncertified, despite the apparent overnight ordering.

All figures are from San Mateo County’s semi-official final election-night report updated November 4, 2026 at 2:03 a.m. The county explicitly says many mail, conditional and provisional ballots remain uncounted. The next update is scheduled for November 5 before 4:30 p.m.; certification is planned for December 3.

Sources: San Mateo County official election-night results; County Elections Office: reporting schedule and outstanding ballot notices. For statewide contests, visit California58’s election hub.

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