Sacramento Supervisor Race: Cofer First, Guerra Second as Runoff Appears Likely

Former Sacramento mayoral candidate Flo Cofer and Sacramento City Councilmember Eric Guerra appeared headed toward a November runoff Wednesday in the race to succeed Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, according to unofficial election results from the Sacramento County elections office.

With ballots still being counted following Tuesday's primary election, Cofer held the lead with 11,035 votes, or 38.53 percent, while Guerra was in second place with 8,722 votes, or 30.4 percent.

Former California Assemblymember Deborah Ortiz was running third with 5,283 votes, or 18.45 percent, and Tim Riley trailed with 3,599 votes, or 12.57 percent.

The District 1 seat became open after Serna, who has represented the district since 2010, chose not to seek another term.

Under Sacramento County's election rules, a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the top two finishers advance to the November general election.

Based on the current vote totals, Cofer and Guerra appear positioned to move on to the runoff, although thousands of ballots remain to be counted.

Cofer entered the race after narrowly losing her 2024 bid for Sacramento mayor to current Mayor Kevin McCarty. Guerra, who represents District 6 on the Sacramento City Council, previously sought higher office in 2022 but lost a contest for the California Assembly to Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D - Elk Grove).

Ortiz, a former state assemblymember and longtime Sacramento political figure, sought a return to elected office in the open-seat contest.

Election officials will continue processing vote-by-mail ballots and provisional ballots in the coming days. Final certified results will not be available for several weeks.