Manteca Council Election: Breitenbucher Leads District 3, Morowit Ahead in District 4

MANTECA, California — November 5, 2026. The widely watched Manteca mayoral race saw a change of leader as San Joaquin County released new November 3 election-night batches. Less prominent but equally local to the affected voters were the District 3 and District 4 City Council elections. Both appear separately in the county’s official unofficial-results dashboard.

City Council District 3

The county reports David Breitenbucher with 1,889 votes (71.26%) versus Lei Ann Varletta Larson with 762 (28.74%). That is a lead of 1,127 votes in the ballots counted for District 3. Those totals cover the District 3 contest only. They do not describe the entire city’s electorate or the number of ballots remaining throughout San Joaquin County.

City Council District 4

The official report lists Mike Morowit with 2,671 votes (55.59%), Dani Bettencourt with 1,479 (30.78%) and Rogger F. Gutierrez with 655 (13.63%). Morowit’s early lead over Bettencourt amounts to 1,192 votes. Because there are three candidates in District 4 but two in District 3, readers should compare actual contest totals and voting districts rather than draw conclusions from two headline percentages alone.

Mayor: a previous report documented a lead reversal

In the citywide mayoral contest, the county’s latest accessible election-night results show Jacob Naven 8,560 votes (52.70%) and Gary Singh 7,684 (47.30%). California58 already documented how the apparent lead changed from Singh to Naven across reporting batches in the detailed mayoral story. The numbers should not be combined with either council race, since residents vote citywide for mayor and only inside their own district for council.

The distinction between leading and being elected

All candidate totals quoted above come from the San Joaquin Registrar’s official November 3 election-night dashboard. County election officials must review outstanding eligible mail ballots, provisional and conditional ballots, and complete a required manual tally before results become official. The fact that the margin in District 3 is larger than in the mayoral election does not confer a different certification status on that race.

Municipal issues for the next council

Manteca’s elected officials will confront practical city-government questions — infrastructure, land use, housing growth, traffic, fiscal policy, and services delivered across neighborhoods. The exact impact of a council election depends on the duties of the body, not merely on the candidates’ totals. Local taxpayers also have an interest in knowing which district represents their address.

Reporting links

California58’s San Joaquin County roundup covers earlier election-night changes. Check the county Registrar of Voters for the next results release. This article reflects the latest accessible early-November-4 report as checked on November 5; it does not declare anyone a certified winner.

Primary source: San Joaquin County official general-election results dashboard, candidate totals and vote shares, accessed November 5.

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