Folsom City Councilwoman Rosario Rodriguez pulled ahead in the three-way race for a seat on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in early returns Tuesday evening. Just after 8 p.m., she had 48% of the vote.

The outgoing supervisor, Sue Frost, said in July that she would not run for reelection for the 4th Supervisorial District. The boomerang-shaped district includes parts or all of Citrus Heights, Folsom, Orangevale, Antelope, Rio Linda, Elverta, Gold River, Rancho Murieta, North Highlands, Carmichael, Foothill Farms and Fair Oaks.

Rodriguez, a conservative, was endorsed by Frost when the supervisor announced that she would step down from her seat. Rodriguez ran against political newcomer and registered Democrat Braden Murphy and the conservative Citrus Heights Mayor Bret Daniels. Daniels had 30% of the vote when the county published early results, while Murphy had 22%.

Although the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors tends to attract less attention than other local government bodies, its five members wield enormous power. They control a massive budget of nearly $9 billion and oversee the agencies that provide health and human services for all county residents. They also govern the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the two county jails.

If Rodriguez is elected, it would maintain the conservative trend in the northeast corner of the county. Frost is an archconservative.

Rodriguez had the most institutional acceptance in the run-up to the election: Along with the endorsement from Frost, she earned the support of 3rd District Supervisor Rich Desmond and 5th District Supervisor Pat Hume.

Though Daniels vocally supports police and worked as a sheriff’s deputy before joining the Citrus Heights City Council, Rodriguez scored coveted law enforcement endorsements during her campaign. She was endorsed by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the Sacramento County Probation Association, as well as Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

Murphy, the outlier in the race, was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, the California Democratic Renters Council, the Latino Democratic Club, and the Folsom Area Democratic Club, among others. He had laid out a vision for reducing homelessness that focused on significant tenant protections to keep renters in their homes.

In the primary, Desmond ran unopposed for reelection to his 3rd Supervisorial District seat. He began his first term in January 2021 representing parts or all of Arden Arcade, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, North Highlands and Foothill Farms.