With Phil Serna not seeking reelection, who will run to replace him?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Phil Serna will not seek reelection, leaving Sacramento County’s 1st District open.
- Eric Guerra has announced his run; Karina Talamantes and Flojaune Cofer are interested.
- Primary election on June 2 will determine finalists; November runoff possible.
With longtime Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna announcing he won’t seek reelection, several political heavy hitters are interested.
Longtime Sacramento City Councilmember Eric Guerra is interested in running for the seat, he told The Sacramento Bee Wednesday. Councilmember Karina Talamantes and Flojaune Cofer, who narrowly lost last year’s election for mayor, said they are considering running for the role.
Serna told the KVIE online publication Abridged on Wednesday he would not be running for a fifth term, marking the conclusion of his 15-year-long term as a supervisor representing the 1st District, which includes the city’s downtown and midtown core and stretches from North Natomas to Tahoe Park.
The 1st District seat will be up for grabs in next year’s election beginning with the June 2 primary. If no candidate receives a 50% majority, the top two candidates would face of the following November.
The following Sacramento leaders have expressed interest in or intent to run for Serna’s seat.
Eric Guerra
Guerra currently represents the city’s 6th District, which includes Tahoe Park, Colonial Manor and Elmhurst. Having served on the council since 2015, Guerra has focused on pedestrian safety, business corridors within his district and public parks. He was also endorsed by Serna.
Guerra said his campaign would focus on economic development, affordable housing and improving coordination between the city and Sacramento County. He cited his work along Stockton Boulevard as evidence of such successful collaboration, noting the development of 100 affordable housing units and efforts to eliminate illegal dumping in the area.
“We have to work together, and I can bring that relationship with the city and the county to be stronger together,” Guerra said. “Many hands make light work. My philosophy has always been, we are stronger together, and we’re only going to succeed in that form.”
If Guerra is elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2026, he would have to leave his council seat ahead of the end of his term, which is in 2028.
As a result, the city could hold a special election for his seat. The council could also appoint an interim member, as it did in 2024 after then-Councilmember Sean Loloee, who resigned following a federal indictment in connection with his supermarket business.
Flojaune Cofer
Flojaune Cofer is an epidemiologist and former mayoral candidate. With a background in public health, Cofer ran for mayor in 2024, focusing on affordable housing, tenant protection and homelessness. She lost to current Mayor Kevin McCarty. If she decides to run, Cofer said she would focus on homelessness.
“Sacramentans don’t care about legacies, dynasties or endorsement. They want a functional city and county government full of problem solvers and collaborators who are responsive to their needs,” Cofer said. “For that reason, I am absolutely considering a run for the county supervisor seat.”
If elected, Cofer said she would focus on health care challenges and homelessness. She criticized the county’s joint homelessness council meeting, held Tuesday, which she said failed to make a “firm commitment” on housing solutions and showed “apathy” to the county’s homelessness population.
“This is what our community cares about, and this should be a top issue for us,” Cofer said. “We’re seeing our SNAP funding being cut, and people are going to lose their health insurance. The county has a $10 billion budget, and we need to be thinking about how we can help each other.”
Karina Talamantes
First-term Councilmember Karina Talamantes is the vice mayor of Sacramento and represents the 3rd District, which encompasses South Natomas, Northgate and Gardenland. Her tenure on the City Council has opened doors to Costco and Top Golf, and her proudest moment was working with vaccination distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, she previously told The Sacramento Bee.
In a statement to the Bee, Talamantes said she was considering running for the seat, noting that Sacramento deserves a “new energy” within county governance.
“Whoever is elected to replace Supervisor Serna needs to do more than rubber-stamp the same policies that have exacerbated and enabled the challenges we’re facing today,” Talamantes wrote in the statement. “As someone who represents a large portion of the district. I’m focused on what’s best for our community. After today’s announcement, I look forward to hearing directly from residents across the supervisorial district about their priorities and hopes for the future.”
Jeff Harris
Jeff Harris served on the Sacramento City Council from 2014 to 2022. Harris lost his seat, which represented portions of East Sacramento and North Sacramento at the time, after the 2020 redistricting drew him out of the 3rd District.
He was one of the more moderate Democrats on the council.
Harris filed paperwork on July 31 to fundraise for a run for Serna’s seat. He did not immediately respond a request for comment Wednesday on whether he would run.
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
