Detroit mayoral candidates are flexing their resources in an attempt to reach new and undecided voters with new ads airing on local television stations ahead of the Aug. 5 primary election.
While nonprofit leader and former Detroit City Council president Saunteel Jenkins is the lastest mayoral candidate with a TV ad, Triumph Church pastor Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. was the first candidate for mayor to air an ad on local TV stations.
His ad, which is paid for by the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party, doesn’t make direct mention of his candidacy or campaign for mayor, rather highlighting his leadership as a pastor prior to his political campaign.
“Direct action has been my life’s work,” Kinloch said in the video, which uses pieces of his campaign announcement video that outlined his priorities, including building 10,000 new affordable housing units and opening new grocery stores in neighborhoods.
Like Kinloch’s TV spot, an advertisement from Fred Durhal featuring digitally produced “receipts” highlighting Durhal’s accomplishments on council and in Lansing, stops short of asking voters to elect him as mayor.
“Fred Durhal got kids like me millions for reading, STEM and mentorship programs,” a student says during the ad.
The commercial ends by calling on viewers to call a number and thank Durhal for “making Detroit a city for families again.”
It was paid for by Coalition for Detroit’s Growth, a newly formed group with a Lansing P.O box.
Issue ads focus on specific issues rather than promoting a candidate or explicit calls to vote in an election.
Michigan Campaign Finance Network director Neil Thanedar said that while Kinloch’s ad is an issue ad, “The bigger issue is coordination,” he said. “This ad looks like it’s cut directly from Solomon Kinloch’s official announcement video, which was “Paid for by Solomon Kinloch for Mayor.”
Sheffield’s ad includes a promise to focus on every neighborhood, not just downtown, and was paid for by SEIU of Michigan, which endorsed the city council president’s mayoral campaign earlier this year.
“That’s what got me — is she wanted to know what we needed,” an SEIU member says in the 30-second spot. “We’re voting for Mary Sheffield. A true champion for working families.”
The ads are appearing on major television networks.
Jenkins appears to be the only candidate who paid for her television ad using funds from her candidate committee.
“It’s about creating a city where every Detroiter has a chance to succeed,” she says during the 30-second commercial.
A narrator cites her work as the director of Mariners Inn and The Heat and Warmth Fund, where she is currently the CEO.
“She will always put us first,” the narrator says, as a graphic champions endorsements from the Detroit News and Michigan Chronicle, which also endorsed Mary Sheffield.
The public will learn the financial health of each campaign later this month when the campaign finance reporting period ends campaign finance records are submitted. These reports shed light on how campaigns are using money, and reveal the potential influence on candidates.
The last reporting period back in February revealed Sheffield was the lead fundraiser, but that was before Kinloch jumped into the race. Sheffield had the most donors at the end of 2024, and the highest total campaign cash on hand. Records show nearly $468,000 in Sheffield’s war chest at the end of the 2024 reporting period.
Jenkins, Sheffield and Durhal all reported receiving donations from across the state and country. Jenkins and Sheffield are the only candidates to have received donations from Texas, while Jenkins and Durhal are the lone candidates to have received cash for their campaigns from California.
On July 25, candidates will begin reporting their campaign hauls, which will reveal who has the most resources in the final week ahead of the Aug. 5 primary election. The general election, which will include the two top vote getters of the Aug. 5 primary, is Nov. 4.
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