Steve Hansen drops out of Sacramento mayoral race, Dr. Flo Cofer's lead grows
SACRAMENTO — Steve Hansen pulled out of Sacramento's mayoral race following the release of the latest results on Tuesday.
Hansen, a former city councilmember, had been in a tight race with three other candidates until Dr. Flojaune Cofer began building a sizable lead last week.
In the latest returns, Dr. Cofer had earned 29% of votes so far while Kevin McCarty, Dr. Richard Pan and Hansen each earned 21% of votes.
McCarty, who is second in the race, was only ahead of Hansen, who is fourth by 550 votes. Unless the leading candidate gains at least 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will move on to the November general election to decide Sacramento's first mayor in eight years. Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced last year he would not be running for re-election.
The race for the second spot is now a close battle between McCarty and Pan.
"While the results released today were not what we hoped, it is not the end of our work fighting for a better Sacramento," Hansen said in a post to social media on Tuesday. "Thank you for believing in me and my vision for what our city could be. As a kid, I never let being knocked down, counted out, or singled out stop me from doing what I thought was important."
Hansen, McCarty, Dr. Pan, and Dr. Cofer had long been considered the top four candidates in what was mostly a tight race. Dr. Cofer is the only one who hasn't held office before.
Sacramento County is expected to release new updates on results every Tuesday and Friday at 4 p.m. until a race is called.