Updated March 26, 4:15 p.m.
The county elections office released a semi-final results update on Tuesday and will soon certify the outcome of the Sacramento mayoral race. The office estimates it has under 100 ballots left to count county-wide.
As of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Epidemiologist Dr. Flojaune Cofer is in the lead with 29.3% of 103,489 ballots counted so far. Assembly member Kevin McCarty follows with 21.6%.
Former state Senator Dr. Richard Pan holds closely behind at 21.3% — and just 293 votes under McCarty. Former City Council member Steve Hansen follows with 21%.
Business owner Jose Avina has received 6% of votes counted, and Asset Protection Manager Julius Engel has gathered 1%.
On March 19, former Sacramento City Council member Steve Hansen conceded the race.
"While the results released today were not what we hoped, it is not the end of our work fighting for a better Sacramento," he said in a statement. "Thank you for believing in me and my vision for what our city could be."
He went on to add he had reached out to Cofer and McCarty to "congratulate them on advancing to the runoff" and that he knows "their love for Sacramento runs deep just like mine."
And last week, Pan also conceded, saying in a statement: "While today's results are not what we hoped for, I am proud of the campaign we ran." He added that he remains "optimistic about our beloved City of Sacramento."
The top two candidates will face off in a November runoff election. The winner will begin serving a four-year term in December and replace Darrell Steinberg, who has served as mayor since December 2016.
Steinberg identifies as a progressive Democrat. The four major candidates are all Democrats, but vary in where they are on the political spectrum. Cofer is to the left of Steinberg while Hansen is to the right of him, especially on homeless issues.
Sacramento’s last mayoral election took place in March 2020, when Steinberg won 77% of the vote.
The Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Office plans to update ballot counts every Tuesday and Friday until certifying the final results on April 2.
Editor's note: Assembly member McCarty placed $2 million in the 2022 state budget to help pay for construction of CapRadio's new downtown studios. He has since put that funding on hold.
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