Congressman Jerry McNerney has increased his narrow lead over Republican challenger David Harmer in the tight battle in the 11th Congressional District election.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Secretary of State's office showed the two-term Democratic incumbent with 113,967 votes compared with 111,493 for Republican David Harmer. American Independent Party candidate David Christensen has 12,345 votes.

The 2,474 vote lead is the largest margin for McNerney since the polls closed on Election Day three weeks ago.

McNerney, a Pleasanton resident, leads Harmer, of San Ramon, 48 percent to 46.9 percent. The 1.1 percent gap is the first time McNerney has led by more than a percentage point.

There's been no comment today from the Harmer campaign. In the past, it has said it wants to wait until all the votes are counted before deciding what the next step will be. In an e-mail to supporters, Harmer has asked for money for a recount fund.

The McNerney campaign declared victory nearly two weeks ago. It says the congressman is preparing for his third term.

"The results today confirm what we already know. Congressman McNerney has won another term. The voters have made their decision and he (Harmer) should respect that," said Sarah Hersh, a spokeswoman for the McNerney campaign.

Alameda and Santa Clara counties have finished counting their ballots. Hersh said San Joaquin County has only a handful of ballots left from the 11th district and Contra Costa County has 2,100 still to process.