Kevin McCarty will be Sacramento next mayor, according to a final tally by Sacramento County election officials.

McCarty’s victory is over opponent and epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer. The final election results showed McCarty with 50.51% of the 190,923 ballots counted, as of 3 p.m. Monday. Cofer had secured 49.49%, a mere 1,941 votes behind McCarty.

McCarty, who declared victory last week, celebrated the final tally Monday on X.

“Time to get work,” said McCarty, who included a screenshot of the final results.

In statement on her campaign website, Cofer said she called McCarty Monday evening to offer her congratulations.

“We had the first of many very forthright conversations about the future of Sacramento,” Cofer said. Last week, Cofer said she would not concede in the election until every vote was counted.

Cofer, regarded as the underdog in the mayor race, announced her candidacy in April 2023. Cofer, a political newcomer and south Sacramento resident, had worked in state and local public health policy. She had focused her campaign on policies to help the city’s underserved areas, including the homeless community.

“While I wished the outcome of the election was different, I want to take this moment to reflect on the movement we’ve built over the past 20 months,” Cofer said. “We proved that Sacramento is a city filled with people who want effective solutions without compromising our compassion. We proved that there is viability and popularity in running a people-powered campaign without taking corporate contributions.”

McCarty had spent years rising in Sacramento politics, from the city commission to City Council to assemblyman. His campaign focused on homelessness, housing affordability and neighborhood safety.

McCarty’s had collected endorsements from current Mayor Darrell Steinberg, former city council members and local business organizations including the Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce.

After declaring victory last week, McCarty took to a City Hall press conference to map out his mayoral term. He offered plans to audit the city’s homelessness response and bring more business, jobs and housing.

McCarty will be sworn in next Tuesday along with two new council members, Roger Dickinson and Phil Pluckebaum. McCarty has selected Pluckebaum to lead a 12-member team of small business owners, home inspectors, engineers, law firms and others to sketch out an business development plan.

This story was originally published December 3, 2024, 1:48 PM.