Dr. Flo Cofer pulls further away in tight Sacramento mayoral race
SACRAMENTO — Dr. Flojaune Cofer has pulled further away in what has been a tight race for Sacramento mayor, updated results showed Friday.
Sacramento County released new numbers in the race that show Dr. Cofer has secured 28% of the votes so far while Dr Richard Pan, Kevin McCarty and former City Councilmember Steve Hansen are all tied at 21%.
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff in the November general election between the top two candidates. Dr. Cofer has gained 26,287 votes. Only 531 votes separate McCarty (20,269), Pan (20,107) and Hansen (19,738).
Hansen, McCarty, Dr. Pan, and Dr. Cofer have been considered the top four candidates in what continues to be a tight race. Dr. Cofer is the only one who hasn't held office before.
"I'm not part of what is commonly referred to as the establishment, you know?" Dr. Cofer told CBS13 on March 13. "I have many more ties in the community to people who don't feel seen and heard."
Sacramento County is expected to release new updates on results every Tuesday and Friday at 4 p.m. until a race is called.
Political Data Incorporated's Paul Mitchell said Dr. Cofer's ascent to the top spot in the race comes as more young voters' ballots have been counted in recent days.
"This race has been, since election day, the closest race in the state," Mitchell said, "because there is no other race in the state where we see all four candidates all so closely matched."
Longtime Sacramento political strategist Steve Maviglio said Dr. Cofer's message as a non-establishment candidate separates her from the pack.
"It was a change versus more of the same for Cofer," Maviglio said. "You know, they like to say, 'You can use a shoehorn to get inside these candidates,' because you need to. The race is tightening up. I don't know how many of these four are sleeping at night because it's that close. It can go any way,"
The remaining two candidates in the race sit quite a distance from the top four in this race. Jose Avina has secured 6% of the votes while Julius Engel has less than 1%.
The county election's office said they likely will not be able to certify this race until April 2.
This will be the first time California's capital city will elect a new mayor in eight years. Current Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has held his seat since 2016, announced last year that he would not run for re-election.
