The dust has settled for candidates and campaigns who stayed up late to watch results come in for Detroit’s primary election Tuesday.
Elections officials hailed Tuesday as a smooth election. Aside from a polling place moving over plumbing issues, there were no major issues reported as voters hit polling places across the city.
Turnout remained low at 16.9%, which totals 85,971 voters. Last week, Detroit Election Department officials estimated turnout would be around 13-18%. It’s an improvement from four years ago when turnout was even lower, at 14%.
Here’s what else was you should know about from the city’s primary election:
New city council candidates emerge
While incumbent at-large candidates are poised to be reelected to city council in November, first time council candidates in District 7 and District 5 will reshape the look and feel of the nine member body.
District 7, which has been represented by outgoing council member Fred Durhal III, who ran for mayor, will be represented by a new council member in January.
The general election matchup includes Denzel McCampbell and state Rep. Karen Whitsett. McCampbell is a former aide to U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and former director of Progress Michigan. He also ran for City Clerk in 2021, taking 29% of the vote against Janice Winfrey.
In District 5, board of police commissioner Willie Burton and UAW retiree Renata Miller will face off in the Nov. 4 general election.
Prior to election to the BOPC, Burton served a two-year appointment on the Detroit Public Schools Police and Public Safety Oversight Committee, and later worked for Wayne County Commissioner Martha G. Scott. Burton was also was the Detroit and Wayne County Field Director for the 2016 Bernie Sanders for President Campaign when Sanders won the state.
A UAW retiree, Renata has served as president of the Historic Indian Village Association where she says she worked to ensure responsible development that respects the city’s heritage while fostering progress. She has also championed youth development through her work with The Lawn Academy, a program that teaches young people valuable life skills.
Mary Sheffield takes more votes than expected
Unofficial results show Sheffield won 50.82% of the vote, taking 43,572 votes out of 85,971 cast.
Sheffield beat Kinloch by a 33% margin, the pastor took 17% (14,893 total) of the votes. Kinloch beat Saunteel Jenkins by 1,161 votes.
Attorney Todd Perkins and former police chief James Craig got the next highest votes, taking around 5%. City councilman Fred Durhal took 3% of the votes. Todd Perkins finished 144 votes ahead of James Craig, earning 5.3%, proving the polls wrong.
Perkins had criticized the Detroit Regional Chamber and other groups for inviting debate participants based on polling, which included Craig and kept him out.
There was talk in the lead up to Aug. 5 that Jenkins could overtake Kinloch’s lead for the second spot, but city resident members at Triumph Church made the difference, proving the power of the Black church.
While Mary Sheffield emerged as the clear favorite for Detroit mayor, Triumph Church got its way last night despite the efforts against their pastor, Solomon Kinloch. What remains unclear is whether the resurfacing of Kinloch’s 33-year-old domestic violence case affected his finish in the primary, and whether it will impact voters in the general election.
“I say to every Detroiter that is watching tonight, whether you voted for me or not, I am here to serve you, to fight for you, to listen to you,” Sheffield said at her party at the Cambria Hotel rooftop Tuesday night. “No matter our background, our language, our zip code, one thing is very clear: We are one Detroit. We may come from different walks of life, but at the end of the day, we all want the same things: safe neighborhoods, affordable homes, good paying jobs and a future that we all can believe in.”
Don’t count out Kinloch, supporters say
While Sheffield earned 43,572 votes to Kinloch’s 14,900, there were 42,399 voters who didn’t vote for the council president.
Kinloch’s campaign will shift toward courting Jenkins, Perkins and Durhal supporters who may still be reluctant to vote for Sheffield.
While Kinloch is a political newcomer, he is flanked by a longtime Democratic official in his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch, who chairs the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party. His campaign is also supported by political heavyweights including Wayne County executive Warren Evans and former U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence.
The 13th spent more than $200,000 on an issue advertisement promoting Kinloch, who said in the ad “Direct action is my life’s work.”
He’s expected to continue talking about the disparity between the “two Detroit’s” that separate the city’s havers and have nots.
There hasn’t been a primary runner-up to defeat the winner of the primary dating back to the 2009 elections.
Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick lost the August 2005 primary to Freman Hendrix 45%-34% after news reports about controversies that happened during his first term, prior to Kilpatrick’s text message scandal that ended his political career.
But Kilpatrick was reelected later that year to a second term, 53%-47% defeating Hendrix by outpacing his ground game, campaigning on a generational shift and vision for the future.
In 2001, city council president Gil Hil had a commanding lead in polls with Kilpatrick far behind in an EPIC/MRA poll in May of that year. The poll had hill at around 50% and Kilpatrick at 16%. In June 2001, another poll showed Hill around 37% to Kilpatrick’s 22%. By the Sept. 11 primary, Kilpatrick gained momentum and finished first: 51% to Hill’s 34%.
Sheffield holds a huge cash advantage over Kinloch according to campaign finance reports from the latest reporting period. While the 13th District poured money into Kinloch’s campaign during the primary, it’s unclear where Kinloch will pull new money form to compete on the airwaves.
The other organization to back Kinloch is the United Auto Workers. The labor union also backed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination for the seat.
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