Progressive candidates are holding onto leads in three of four races for Salem City Council on election night Tuesday after a second release of ballots ahead of 10 p.m. Tonight’s election will determine who steers the city of Salem through a rocky city budget, makes major decisions on housing d evelopment and leads the city’s response to  homelessness. There are nine total seats on the city council. The May 19 election will decide who represents four wards and the city.While the races are technically nonpartisan, endorsements and policy proposals usually fall along partisan lines. Candidates are backed with money and advertisements by either Progressive Salem, represented in blue graphs below, or the conservative PAC, Marion + Polk First, in red.As of Tuesday, progressive council candidates, excluding the mayor’s race, have raised a combined total of $91,702 to conservative candidates’ $193,617, according to Oregon Secretary of State finance data. Below are results from ballot counts released from Marion County around 9:25 p.m. and Polk County by 9:45 p.m. They will continue to release more data in the coming weeks.  They’ll also continue to accept ballots postmarked by 8 p.m. today, if they are received by mail within the next seven days.  As of around 6 p.m. on election night, county clerks reported that a combined total of around 34,328 ballots had been returned from those voting in Salem races, out of 114,863 eligible voters.Read all our city election coverage here.  Ward 2 Manny Martinez, left, is challenging Councilor Linda Nishioka, right, for the ward 2 council seat. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter) As of 9:25 p.m. on Election Day, Linda Nishioka, incumbent Salem City Council president, is leading with 64% of the votes against her opponent Manny Martinez. So far, she has received 1,139 votes to Martinez’ 625.  Ward 2 represents part of downtown Salem south of State Street, and includes Bush’s Pasture Park and South Salem High School. It stretches east to include Geer Community Park and much of the Salem airport. Nishioka serves as the council president and is a retired department director at Willamette Ear, Nose and Throat. Martinez is a political newcomer and small business owner.  Nishioka was first elected to council in 2022 after running unopposed, and has been the council president since 2024.The two candidates both named homelessness as their top issue, with Nishioka saying the city needed to continue developing a range of housing options and Martinez focusing on addressing drug and alcohol addiction in the community. Learn more about the candidates here. As of Monday, May 18, Martinez raised $56,370 and Nishioka raised $31,236, according to Oregon Secretary of State finance data from both 2025 and 2026. Ward 4 Dave Inbody, left, and Deanna Gwyn, right, are vying for the ward 4 council seat. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter) After a second ballot drop at around 9:25 p.m. on Election Day, Dave Inbody is leading with 53.9% of the votes for the Ward 4 seat, which represents the furthest parts of south Salem, starting along Interstate 5 and west toward South Liberty Road. Inbody has 1,572 votes, while incumbent councilor Deanna Gwyn is trailing with 1,340 votes. Gwyn, is a real estate broker seeking a second term and Inbody is a health director at the Oregon Health Authority. Inbody has had a long career in public health and is now working at the Oregon Health Authority as the agency’s operations director working with Medicaid.  Both candidates have said they prioritize housing and development, an issue top of mind for many south Salem voters. Inbody and Gwyn outlined different approaches to addressing development, with Inbody wanting the city to create a long-term plan to improve housing and Gwyn wanting to make permitting easier for developers. Learn more about the candidates here. Gwyn is on her first term on city council after narrowly beating Dynee Medlock in the 2022 November election, earning 52% of the vote with a 3.9% lead over Medlock. As of Monday, May 18, Gwyn raised $41,532 and Inbody raised $15,212, according to Oregon Secretary of State finance data from both 2025 and 2026. Ward 6 Betsy Vega, left, and Mai Vang, right, are vying for the ward 6 council seat. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter) As of 9:25 p.m. Tuesday, Betsy Vega has a slight lead in the Ward 6 Salem City Council race with 552.7% of the vote. Her opponent, Mai Vang, is behind with 46.5% of the vote. So far, 1,324 votes have been counted in the race.  Ward 6 represents the area inside city limits east of Interstate 5, mostly between Northeast Silverton Road and Northeast Center Street.Vang, a family law attorney, is seeking reelection for the Ward 6 seat, which she has held since 2025. Her challenger, Vega, is the owner of Rose City Balloons and Latino Enterprises.  Vang’s special election in May 2025 came after Mayor Julie Hoy, the ward’s former councilor, stepped into her current role. In that election, Vang won 45.1% of the vote, and had a 7.3% lead over Deanna Garcia in a three-way race. Vang and Vega both listed public safety as a top issue and said Ward 6 residents have expressed concerns about getting issues like traffic infrastructure and vandalism addressed by local law enforcement. The two agree the city needs more police officers, but have different approaches, with Vang wanting to make Salem a more desirable place to work and Vega planning to sit down with police leadership. Learn more about the candidates here. As of Tuesday, May 19, Vang has raised $30,559 since the May 20, 2025 election and Vega raised $43,766, according to Oregon Secretary of State finance data from 2025 and 2026. Ward 8 Chris Cummings, left, and Micki Varney, right, are vying for the ward 8 council seat. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter) As of 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Micki Varney is slightly leading the race with 50.4% of the vote, with just 41 ballots separating her from opponent Chris Cummings. Varney, a retired salmon biologist, is running for reelection against Cummings, a local IT business owner who previously ran for the seat in 2022. That race was close, with Varney winning by just 181 votes, getting 51% of the total votes. Ward 8 represents most of West Salem, including areas around Orchard Heights Park, Eola Ridge Park and West Salem High School.  The candidates have shared priorities in homelessness, traffic and public safety, though homelessness has become a top line issue in this race. Cummings wants to bring homelessness to the forefront of the council, while Varney wants to push forward on the progress the council has made on the issue in the past four years including a city team that cleans up encampments, the police department’s Homeless Services Team and the fire department’s mobile crisis team. Read more about their platforms here. As of Monday, May 18, Cummings raised $51,943 and Varney raised $14,695 according to Oregon Secretary of State finance data from both 2025 and 2026. This story was updated at 10 p.m. with additional election results from Marion County. 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