By: Jasmine West
Polls have closed across Detroit and Downriver, ending a closely watched Democratic primary that will help determine who carries the voice of Michigan’s newly drawn 1st State Senate District to Lansing.
Justin Onwenu and former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash entered election night offering voters two different arguments for leadership. Onwenu has campaigned as a new, Detroit-rooted voice with experience in law, organizing and local economic development. Aiyash has asked voters to return an experienced progressive legislator to the state Capitol.
No winner had been declared as of publication.
The newly redrawn district includes part of Detroit and the Downriver communities of Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge and Wyandotte, requiring both candidates to build support across communities with distinct racial, geographic and political identities.
Speaking with the Michigan Chronicle after polls closed, Onwenu said his campaign’s greatest strength was its physical presence throughout the district.
“We’ve been present in our neighborhoods in every single part of our district, Detroit and Downriver,” Onwenu said. “We’ve knocked over 55,000 doors, and that doesn’t happen if you’re not focused on the issues that matter to people.”
He said residents repeatedly raised the cost of living, civil and voting rights and the need for investment across neighborhoods that have too often gone without it.
“There’s been a lot of noise, but we’re focused on the issues that matter, and we’ve actually shown up in our neighborhoods,” Onwenu said.
Onwenu’s campaign attracted support from Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, mayors throughout the Downriver portion of the district, several labor unions and a large share of Detroit’s political leadership. The Michigan Chronicle also endorsed Onwenu ahead of the primary.
The strength of that coalition has made Black political representation one of the defining issues in the race. Detroit could enter the next legislative term without a Black member of the Michigan Senate, even though it remains the state’s largest majority-Black city.
Onwenu said that possibility carries consequences beyond the appearance of the Legislature.
“Representation is important, not just because representation matters, but because we have been ill-prepared to pass the Michigan Voting Rights Act, to actually tackle this affordability and jobs crisis that we’re facing and to make sure that all of our communities and neighborhoods get investment,” he said.
“At a time when Detroit is in danger of having zero Black state senators, I think folks want to see Black leadership that’s prepared, that’s been rooted in our communities and that has a record of delivering.”
Aiyash has countered with his own record in Lansing, where he served in the Michigan House and became majority floor leader. He has criticized outside spending supporting Onwenu and argued that his legislative experience would allow him to begin working immediately.
Asked about those attacks, Onwenu said voters should judge the breadth of his endorsements and his record rather than the campaign’s negative exchanges.
“I was taught and raised a long time ago that if you have to cut other folks down and try to make yourself seem taller, then you must not be that tall,” Onwenu said.
“We’ve been focused on our positive vision,” he continued, pointing to support from district mayors, environmental advocates, unions and elected officials. “It’s really easy to focus on social media videos, being negative. It’s a lot harder to develop a real record, and I think I’ve chosen the latter.”
Affordability remained at the center of Onwenu’s final message. Nearly one-quarter of the district’s residents live below the poverty line, while families across Detroit and Downriver continue to face pressure from utility bills, housing, groceries, transportation and other basic expenses.
“I think everything is about affordability,” Onwenu said. “Whether it’s groceries, whether it’s gasoline, it’s affordability.”
He identified protecting civil and voting rights as the other major concern driving the campaign, arguing that state lawmakers must be prepared to respond to actions coming from the Trump administration.
The results will determine which candidate advances to face Republican Patrick O’Connell in the November general election. They will also reveal which argument moved voters: Onwenu’s call for new, Detroit-centered Black leadership or Aiyash’s case for returning legislative experience to Lansing.
For now, both campaigns are waiting on the same people they have spent months trying to reach.
The voters have spoken. The count will determine whose message they trusted.
