DETROIT (AP) — City Council President Mary Sheffield will be Detroit’s newest mayor and the first woman to lead the city.
Sheffield defeated popular megachurch pastor the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday’s general election.
She will take office in January and succeed three-term Mayor Mike Duggan who announced last year that he would not seek reelection. Duggan is running for Michigan governor as an independent to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.
Sheffield thanked voters in her victory speech Tuesday night, addressing those who voted for her and those who didn’t.
“I am here to listen to you, to fight for you and to serve you,” she said. “Because, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing, a Detroit that works for everyone.”
Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve following Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Duggan was elected in 2013 and took office in January 2014. Under his watch, Detroit has dramatically improved city services, including shorter police response times, public lighting and blight elimination.
Its population also has grown following decades of losses. Earlier this year, the U.S. Census estimated Detroit’s population at 645,705 — a gain of 12,487 residents since a May 2024 estimate, according to the city.
Detroit’s population reached 1.8 million people in the 1950s.
Sheffield, 38, first was elected to the City Council in 2013 at age 26 and has been council president since 2022.
Sheffieldhas said that focusing on educating Detroit’s children, and continuing to improve public safety and life in the neighborhoods will be among her priorities if elected mayor.
“My commitment, Detroit, is to build on the foundation that has been laid working with Mayor Duggan and our council … by expanding opportunities, strengthening our neighborhoods and making sure that Detroit’s progress reaches every block and every family of this city,” Sheffield said alongside Duggan at a September campaign event.
Duggan endorsed Sheffield.
“Our city’s progress is in very good hands and I know she and her team will make sure it not only continues, but expands,” he said in a statement following her victory.
Kinloch conceded the election in a short speech to his supporters Tuesday night. He reiterated what he said throughout the campaign that all of Detroit has to share in the city’s revival.
“You can’t make all of the investments downtown,” Kinloch said. “It has to reach the whole town.”
Kinloch also said he hopes the campaign shows people they need to stay involved in their city government and repeated his campaign themes of pushing for more action on affordable housing, crime and support for neighborhoods across Detroit.
“This city’s in trouble and we need you to stand up and step up more now than ever before,” he urged supporters.
A photo of Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch is displayed during an election night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth.
Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told cheering supporters Tuesday night in Richmond. “We sent a message to the whole word that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”
Democrat Abigail Spanberger speaks on stage after she was declared the winner of the Virginia governor’s race during an election night watch party Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Also Tuesday, Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the race for lieutenant governor and will succeed Earle-Sears, and Democrat Jay Jones defeated Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in the race for attorney general. Jones is set to become the first Black attorney general in Virginia, while Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S.
Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA case officer, won by emphasizing economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year’s elections as they try to break President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ hold on power in Washington and gain ground in statehouses.
Campaigning, Spanberger often sidestepped the historic potential of her candidacy. In victory, she embraced it.
“Just a few minutes ago, Adam said to our daughters, your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia. And I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before,” she said
“It’s a big deal that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything.”
Spanberger’s eyes welled up as she told her family she loved them, as her husband and three daughters, standing behind her, wiped tears from their cheeks.
Spanberger was intentional in how she criticized Trump
Throughout the campaign, Spanberger made carefully crafted economic arguments against Trump’s policies, while she spent considerable sums on ads tying Earle-Sears to the president. She campaigned across the state, including in Republican-leaning areas, and in her first appearance as governor-elect she wore a bright red suit.
Yet Spanberger also emphasized her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not enacted new restrictions or bans on the procedure, and she railed against Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. government shutdown and their negative impact on a state with several hundred thousand federal employees.
That approach helped corral Democrats’ core supporters while attracting the kinds of swing voters who elected Youngkin four years ago. It also continued a historical trend for Virginia: Since Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976, Virginia has backed a governor from the opposite party of every first-term president in the following year. This year is a special case, given the gap between Trump’s terms.
Republicans, meanwhile, must grapple again with a battleground loss by an arch-conservative from the president’s party.
Trump never campaigned for Earle-Sears, though he did give her his tepid support. Their uneasy alliance raises questions about the ideal Republican nominee for contested general elections and how the president’s volatile standing with voters might affect GOP candidates next November. The midterm elections will settle statehouse control in dozens of states and determine whether Republicans maintain majorities in Washington for the final years of Trump’s presidency.
Earle-Sears 61, would have become the first Black woman to be elected as a governor in the U.S.
In her concession speech, she said she hoped Spanberger would support policies that unite Virginians.
“My opponent, Abigail, ran as a moderate. If she governs as one, then she will unite us, and she’ll heal our divide and win our support,” Earle-Sears said. “I hope and pray she does.”
Spanberger balanced policy and biography
Spanberger, 46, ran on a pledge to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s second administration, which has culled the civil service, levied tariffs and shepherded a reconciliation bill curtailing the state’s already fragile health care system.
Accountant Sherry Kohan, 56, who cast her ballot at the Aurora Hills Library in Arlington, said she used to think of herself as a Republican but hasn’t felt aligned with either party since Trump’s first term. She said her vote for Spanberger was a vote against Trump.
Stephanie Uhl, 38, who also said she voted for Spanberger, had the federal government shutdown on her mind when casting her ballot at the library in Arlington, just across the river from Washington.
Uhl was working without pay for the Defense Department and though she said, “I can afford (it) just fine,” she was bothered “that it affects so many other people.”
Spanberger’s background also figured heavily into her victory. As a former CIA case officer, she noted her public service and national security credentials. And she pitched herself as the mother of daughters educated in Virginia’s public schools and a Capitol Hill veteran who represented a swing district and worked across the aisle.
The pitch helped the Democratic nominee withstand Earle-Sears’ attacks on cultural issues, notably the Republican’s assertion that Spanberger is an extremist on civil rights and health care for transgender people. Spanberger, who consistently argued that local school districts should decide whether transgender students can participate in competitive sports, cast her opponent as the candidate more out of step with the middle of the Virginia electorate.
Her strategy echoed the approach Democrats used to flip U.S. House control in the 2018 midterms, halfway through Trump’s first presidency. Spanberger was among several high-profile women who brought national security or military credentials to campaigns in battleground districts. Another of those women, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, was vying Tuesday to become New Jersey’s Democratic governor.
Together, they were held up as examples of successful mainstream Democrats at a time when the party’s left flank has been ascendent, most notably Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and the party’s nominee in Tuesday’s New York mayoral contest.
In Congress, Spanberger was a quiet workhorse
When she first got to Washington, Spanberger concentrated on lower-profile issues: bringing broadband to rural areas, fighting drug trafficking and veterans’ services. And she quickly established a reputation for working with colleagues across the political spectrum.
In her new role, she will face tightening economic projections, rising utility costs and growing unemployment — in part because of the Trump administration’s federal contraction. But she could have the advantage of a friendly Legislature if Democrats are able to maintain their majority in the House of Delegates. All 100 seats in that chamber were on the ballot Tuesday, as were other statewide offices, including lieutenant governor and attorney general. The state Senate, also controlled by Democrats, was not on the ballot this year. If Democrats have the so-called trifecta in Richmond, as Republicans do now in Washington, they could enact many policy priorities that lawmakers advanced to Youngkin only for him to veto the bills.
Spanberger won despite a late surprise that threatened Virginia’s Democratic ticket. In October, news reports revealed that Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, sent texts in 2022 suggesting the former Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.”
Republicans across the U.S., including Trump and Earle-Sears, demanded Jones drop out. He apologized and said he was ashamed of the messages but declined to leave the race.
The controversy dogged Spanberger. She condemned the text messages but stopped short of asking Jones to withdraw from the race, and she notably did not withdraw her endorsement.
“I have denounced political violence, political rhetoric,” Spanberger said in her lone debate with Earle-Sears, “no matter who is leading the charge.”
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Barrow reported from Atlanta. Helen Wieffering contributed from Arlington, Virginia.
This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)
TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday was elected governor of New Jersey, shoring up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member of Congress, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and quickly cast her victory late Tuesday as a referendum on the Republican president and some of his policies from health care to immigration and the economy.
“We here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children,” Sherrill told her supporters gathered to celebrate her victory. “We see how clearly important liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted, ignoring the law and the Constitution.”
New Jersey Democratic Gov. elect Mikie Sherrill and Lt. Gov. elect Dale Caldwell celebrate during an election night party in East Brunswick, N.J., Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Ciattarelli called Sherrill to congratulate her on the results and said he “gave her my very best wishes in hopefully solving New Jersey.”
The start of voting on Tuesday was disrupted after officials in seven counties received e-mailed bomb threats later determined by law enforcement to be unfounded, said the state’s top election official, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way. A judge granted a one-hour extension at some polling places after Democrats made a request for three schools that received e-mailed bomb threats earlier Tuesday.
Sherrill, 53, offers some reassurance for moderates within the Democratic Party as they navigate the path forward for next year’s midterms. A former prosecutor and military veteran, Sherrill embodies a brand of centrist Democrats who aim to appeal to some conservatives while still aligning with some progressive causes. She campaigned on standing up to Trump and casting blame for voters’ concerns over the economy on his tariffs.
Earlier at Sherrill’s victory party, other Democrats were also framing the results Tuesday as a rebuke to the Trump agenda 10 months into his administration.
“Today we said no to Donald Trump and yes to democracy,” said New Jersey’s Democratic Party chair LeRoy J. Jones Jr. to the people gathered.
She will be New Jersey’s second female governor, after Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who served between 1994 and 2001. Her victory also gives Democrats three straight gubernatorial election wins in New Jersey, the first time in six decades that either major party has achieved a three-peat.
Ciattarelli lost his second straight governor’s election after coming within a few points of defeating incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago.
New Jersey’s odd-year race for governor, one of just two this year along with Virginia, often hinged on local issues such as property taxes. But the campaign also served as a potential gauge of national sentiment, especially how voters are reacting to the president’s second term and Democrats’ messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In the closing weeks of the campaign, Sherrill lambasted the president’s threat to cancel a project to build new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River to replace the aging, disintegrating tubes now used by trains headed to and from New York City. She also pledged to order a freeze on electric utility rates, which have recently soared.
Sherrill steps into the governorship role after serving four terms in the U.S. House. She won that post in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office, flipping a longtime GOP-held district in an election that saw Democrats sweep all but one of the state’s 12 House seats.
During her campaign, Sherrill leaned hard into her credentials as a congresswoman and onetime prosecutor as well as her military service. But she also had to defend her Navy service record after a news report that she was not allowed to participate in her 1994 graduation ceremony from the U.S. Naval Academy commencement in connection with an academic cheating scandal at the school.
Sherrill said the punishment was a result of not turning in some classmates, not because she herself had cheated. But she declined to release additional records that the Ciattarelli campaign said would shed more light on the issue.
For her part, she accused Ciattarelli of profiting off the opioid crisis. He is the former owner of a medical publishing company that made continuing education materials for doctors, including some that discussed pain management and opioids. Sherrill called it “propaganda” for drug companies, something Ciattarelli denied.
Sherrill will inherit a state budget that swelled under Murphy, who delivered on promises to fund the public worker pension fund and a K-12 school aid formula after years of neglect under previous governors, by high income taxes on the wealthy. But there are also headwinds that include unfunded promises to continue a property tax relief program begun in the governor’s second term.
Also on the ballot Tuesday were all 80 seats in the Assembly, which Democrats control with a 52-seat majority.
New Jersey hasn’t supported a Republican for U.S. Senate or the White House in decades. The governor’s office, though, has often switched back and forth between the parties. The last time the same party prevailed in a third straight New Jersey election for governor was in 1961, when Richard Hughes won the race to succeed Gov. Robert Meyner. Both were Democrats.
This combination photo shows candidates for governor of New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli, left, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill during the final debate in governors race, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP Photos/Heather Khalifa)
The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners is an 11-member civilian oversight organization broken into 7 districts. Most candidates are running unopposed in their district or did not make the primary.
City Clerk
Incumbent Janice Winfrey is running unopposed in the November general election.
Community Advisory Councils
Only three of Detroit’s seven City Council districts have Community Advisory Councils: District 4, District 5 and District 7. No candidates met the deadline to submit signatures to get on the Aug. 5 primary ballot.
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A conservative Dearborn mayoral candidate who has made “faith, family, and freedom” the centerpiece of his campaign has struggled to pay his own bills, even as he poured more than $50,000 into his race for mayor.
Here are a few a things to know as voters head to the polls Tuesday:
ON THE BALLOT
Oakland County voters will see ballots full of local candidates for mayor, council and other public-board seats as well as ballot proposals from charter amendments to millage requests.
TURNOUT
Turnout is hard to predict because there are too many variables, according to a county clerk spokeswoman.
To learn more, visit the Oakland County clerk’s elections page: https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting.
WEATHER The National Weather Service’s White Lake Township office predicts mostly sunny skies with a high near 57 and occasional wind gusts as high as 18 mph.
POLL HOURS
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every jurisdiction.
WHO CAN VOTE
You can vote at your polling place until 8 p.m. Tuesday – anyone already in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot. You have the right to register to vote and vote up to 8 p.m. Tuesday.I
NEED TO REGISTER?
If you’re not registered to vote or need to change the address for your voter registration, visit your city or township clerk’s office as soon as possible Tuesday to avoid lines. You can vote at your clerk’s office. You cannot register to vote after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
HOW TO VOTE
Check out the front and back of your ballot to review your choices. Be sure to vote for nonpartisan candidates and on any ballot issues. The non-partisan group MichiganVoting.org has a tutorial on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n483tnkddoE.
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If you’re at a polling place and make a mistake, election workers can spoil that ballot and issue a new one.
WHAT DO I NEED TO VOTE
Voters must be at least 18 years old and U.S. citizens. People currently in jail or prison cannot cast a ballot. Voters must show proof of being a Michigan resident and living in their city or township for at least 30 days before Tuesday. Proof must be either: a Michigan driver’s license or state ID; or a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check that shows your name and address or another document issued by a federal, state or local government agency. Michigan residents attending college can register to vote based on their school or home address. Out-of-state residents who are U.S. citizens attending Michigan schools can register to vote based on their school address. Michigan residents attending out-of-state schools can register to vote at their Michigan address. It is illegal to cast ballots in two different states for the same election.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS:
These must be returned by 8 p.m. Tuesday to your municipal clerk’s office. If you filled out an absentee ballot but haven’t returned it and want to make changes, visit your municipal clerk’s office to spoil the ballot and get a new one.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TUESDAY
Unofficial results will start to be posted shortly after 8 p.m. on the county clerk’s website: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/MI/Oakland/124349/web.345435/#/summary.
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At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, the County Election Certification Board, which includes two Democrats and two Republicans, meets to validate results in the county canvassers training room in the west wing extension of the first floor of the county courthouse at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac. This meeting is open to the public.
Voter casts a ballot at Pontiac High School. on Aug. 5, 2025. (Peg McNichol / MediaNews Group)
Highland Park activist Robert Davis is suing Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch Jr. for slander and defamation, claiming the megachurch leader maliciously lied about him during and after a recent debate.
A Pontiac activist has filed an emergency court motion questioning whether mayoral candidate Michael McGuinness is eligible to run for office under a state constitutional amendment inspired by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s corruption scandal.
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit voters will choose a new mayor Tuesday in the city’s first open-seat mayoral race in a dozen years.
City Council President Mary Sheffield and Triumph Church pastor Solomon Kinloch, both Democrats, will face off for the city’s top job after placing first and second in the Aug. 5 nonpartisan primary. The winner will replace outgoing three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for governor of Michigan as an independent.
The city faces a vastly different situation than it did when Duggan was first elected in 2013. In July of that year, it became the largest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy. The city now has a budget surplus, 12 years of balanced budgets and projected economic growth for the next five years. Homicides and violent crimes are down, while the city’s population has increased for the second consecutive year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Still, the next mayor will face numerous challenges, including a shortage of affordable housing and vast economic disparities along racial lines.
Sheffield has led the field in fundraising throughout the campaign. As of the August primary, her campaign fund more than doubled that of her eight competitors combined.
In the general election, she has far outraised and outspent Kinloch. As of Oct. 19, her campaign had spent more than $1.8 million on her campaign and had roughly $772,000 in the bank. By that same point, Kinloch had spent about $160,000 on the race and had less than $11,000 remaining in the bank.
Since receiving more than 50% of the vote in the August primary, Sheffield has picked up key endorsements from Duggan, as well as from two of her former primary opponents, former city council president Saunteel Jenkins and city council member Fred Durhal. Jenkins received 16% of the primary vote, narrowly losing a spot on the general election ballot to Kinloch, who received about 17%. Durhal received about 3% of the vote.
Soloman Kinloch (left) and Mary Sheffield (right) face off in the race for Detroit’s next mayor this November
The Detroit electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic. In the 2024 presidential election, voters in the city supported Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump by about a 9-1 ratio.
At a September rally in Howell, Michigan, Vice President JD Vance sent a public message to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that the administration is “happy” to send the National Guard to Detroit. “All you gotta do is ask,” he said.
The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Michigan’s mandatory recount law does not apply to Detroit’s mayoral race. Instead, candidates may request and pay for a recount, with the payment refunded if the recount changes the outcome. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What to expect on Tuesday:
How late are polls open?
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The AP will provide vote results and declare the winner in Detroit’s mayoral race.
Who gets to vote?
Any voter registered in Detroit may participate in the mayoral general election.
What do turnout and advance vote look like?
There were more than 518,000 registered voters in Detroit as of the August mayoral primary.
Turnout in that primary was about 17% of registered voters. About 32% of mayoral primary voters cast their ballots in person, while the remaining 68% voted early in person or by absentee ballot.
Turnout in the 2021 mayoral general election was about 19% of registered voters, with about 67% of voters casting early or absentee ballots.
As of Monday, nearly 45,000 ballots had been cast in Detroit before Election Day.
How long does vote counting usually take?
In the August primary, the AP first reported results at 8:32 p.m. ET, or 32 minutes after polls closed. The vote tabulation ended for the night at 4:30 a.m. ET, with 100% of votes counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.
As Detroiters prepare to cast their votes in the 2025 Detroit municipal election, one City Council candidate’s record raises serious questions about her ability to represent the people of Detroit. State Representative Karen Whitsett currently holds public office, and her actions during her time in Lansing demonstrate a disregard for the needs and values of […]
Detroiters who believe the city is moving in the right direction are far more likely to vote in next week’s mayoral election than those who say it’s on the wrong track, according to a new University of Michigan survey. The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS), conducted from Aug. 6 to Oct. 1, found that […]
Hamtramck City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, 52, is running for mayor in Hamtramck.
If elected, Mahmood would become the first Bangladeshi American Muslim mayor in the city.
Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib is not running for re-election. President Trump has nominated him for ambassador to Kuwait. He awaits a U.S. Senate vote.
Mahmood’s platform
Mahmood says voters are concerned about property taxes, high water bills, and deteriorating infrastructure.
“Everything is high in Hamtramck due to the fact of one of the oldest city in Michigan is over 100 years old, and last few years, the city was being neglected,” he says.
Mahmood says he will work hard to bring the city back to good shape, “Where people can come and invest their money. We get different sources to earn the money so we don’t have to raise the taxes every year.”
Mahmood has previously served as the sergeant-at-arms for the Unite Here! Local 24 union, representing hospitality workers; the Democratic Party’s 13th district Vice Chair, and president of the Michigan Bangladeshi-American Democratic Caucus (MI-BADC). He’s the founder and president of Golapganj Helping Hand USA, a charity organization that serves people in Bangladesh and in the U.S.
Investigations for election fraud in Hamtramck
Hamtramck voters have expressed concern about pending investigations of alleged election fraud by several councilmembers.
Mahmood says people are taking advantage of voters, some whom are newer immigrants, and may not know some of the laws of elections.
“Some of the people are taking advantage out of it, picking up their ballot or picking from mailbox, frauding their signature. Of course I’m against it. That’s not what democracy is,” he says.
He says people have the right to choose their leaders, and community leaders play a role in educating voters.
Mahmood, who is part of a residency fraud investigation by the Michigan State Police, says he has been living in Hamtramck since 2021, when he ran for a seat on the city council.
“And that time they investigated everything. I don’t know why it became an issue after a few years, even though not when I was running… after I get elected, few years later, it became an issue,” he says.
Mahmood says he owns other homes, including one in Troy, where his family lives.
He says he is running for mayor in Hamtramck because he loves the city, and he hopes to bring people together.
“Everybody needs to have a step forward to a one inclusive city… We all need to respect each other, respect their values, respect their religious freedom,” he says.
Mahmood’s opponent, Adam Alharbi, is an engineer for the Department of Commerce.
Lynn Blasey, Community Arts Partnerships co-director for the College for Creative Studies, is running as a write-in candidate.
On Nov. 4, Dearborn residents will vote for mayor of the city. Current mayor Abdullah Hammoud is running for a second term against political newcomer, independent Nagi Almudhegi.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
A Republican is the only city clerk candidate on the ballot in Democratic-dominated Southfield, a prospect that worries Democrats and has GOP leaders arguing that the Democrats are in disarray.
Republican Gavriel “Gabi” Grossbard is running for the Southfield clerk’s seat after losing his 2023 bid to current city Clerk Janet Jackson, a Democrat who was disqualified from running for reelection. Democrats are hoping either City Council member Coretta Hogue or city clerk’s office worker Wynett Guy can prevail as write-in candidates, but political experts said write-in campaigns are often uphill battles.
The clerk oversees local elections and public records in the predominantly Black city of more than 75,000 residents. This would include overseeing the local results of the 2026 midterm election, when Republicans are seeking to win an open U.S. Senate seat as well as take back the governor’s office and state Senate.
The Michigan Democratic Party has highlighted this race in part due to a November 2020 federal lawsuit that Grossbard filed with three other voters that sought to decertify the presidential ballot counts in the Democratic strongholds of Wayne, Washtenaw and Ingham counties. Grossbard and his co-plaintiffs accused election officials of clerical errors, fraud and counting illegal votes.
The lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan sought to invalidate more than 1.2 million votes — more than 848,500 votes for Democrat Joe Biden and more than 368,400 votes for President Donald Trump, a Republican — after Biden defeated Trump by 154,000 votes. But Grossbard and his co-defendants withdrew the lawsuit five days later.
“There’s good reason that, in a majority-Democratic city, we wouldn’t want somebody like that to be clerk,” said Michigan Democratic Party President Curtis Hertel, adding that “it’s incredibly important that those people’s votes are counted in a free and fair election in 2026 and beyond.”
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said he’s known Grossbard to be “a reasonable, nice guy” and would be ethical in the clerk’s office if elected. Siver also said he doesn’t believe Grossbard is “MAGA” or a Make America Great Again diehard, although the mayor is not supporting his bid for clerk.
Grossbard didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, and campaign manager Pea Gee did not arrange an interview with the candidate despite multiple requests.
Jackson, a former Oakland County commissioner who beat Grossbard 75%-25% for the clerk’s office in 2023, was taken off this year’s ballot due to an unresolved campaign finance fee.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad called Jackson a “Keystone cop” for getting disqualified from an election she’s charged with overseeing.
“How catastrophic for the city, one of the biggest in Oakland County, to have this level of incompetence,” Runestad said. “So then, they’re now stuck with trying to plug in whoever they can as opposed to a gentleman who went about it the right way, filed in time, filed his paperwork correctly and is on the ballot.”
State Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy at the request of local Democratic chapters, Hertel said.
“She doesn’t come in with a learning curve,” said Southfield / Lathrup Village Democratic Club President Joseph Person, referencing Guy’s position in the clerk’s office. “(Grossbard and Hogue) come in with a learning curve.”
Expert: Write-in efforts ‘extremely difficult’
But the Democrats have unique challenges to win the Southfield clerk’s race, a political analyst said.
Write-in candidacies usually are “extremely difficult” because of the huge educational effort required by campaigns to ensure voters remember a candidate’s name and write it on the ballot, said Southfield-based consultant Mario Morrow Sr.
The Southfield situation complicates the situation further because of the dueling write-in candidacies, he said.
“Just off the bat, the write-in candidates might end up splitting votes if they get people to support them, which leaves the person who, love him or hate him, is a legitimate candidate, on the ballot, and very well could end up in this spot,” Morrow said.
Guy originally sought to be placed on the election ballot, but said her name was removed because Grossbard pointed out disqualifying aspects in her campaign. Grossbard’s campaign manager, Gee, rejected the claim, arguing that Guy failed on her own to ensure she complied with state election law.
As a result, Guy mounted a write-in campaign.
Guy said she would make sure the clerk’s office flows more efficiently if elected. She also said she would better educate its employees about the office’s functions.
Hogue said she put her name down before she knew Guy was going to launch a write-in campaign.
The City Council member said she is concerned about the prospect of split votes, but said she was the only write-in candidate before Guy threw her hat in the ring. Hogue also said she has experience running a voting precinct.
Asked about the possibility of a weakened write-in vote due to the two candidates, Person said he’s not concerned about “hypotheticals” and is instead focused on helping Guy win the election.
2020 lawsuit becomes focal point
Grossbard’s supporters said he was within his rights to try to decertify a portion of Michigan’s votes in the 2020 presidential election if he believed there were irregularities.
Grossbard and three other plaintiffs said in the lawsuit they were worried their votes were “unconstitutionally diluted” by fraudulent ballots, including some of the absentee ballots counted at what was then the TCF Center in Detroit.
“There exists sufficient evidence to place in doubt the November 3 presidential-election results in identified key counties, including issues with transparency, fraudulent changing of dates, a software glitch, clerical errors, illegal votes, and many other issues and irregularities,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit cited other lawsuits and conservative blogs in its reasoning and claimed the plaintiffs would analyze poll books and other records to create “expert reports” to provide proof of fraud. None of the other lawsuits seeking to overturn Michigan’s election results succeeded. Grossbard and his allies withdrew the lawsuit without explanation on Nov. 16, 2020.
The lawsuit would have invalidated more than 20% of Michigan’s 5.5 million votes if successful.
“This case was clearly designed to spread misinformation about the security and integrity of Michigan elections,” state Attorney General Dana Nessel said of the lawsuit.
Gee said Grossbard “had some concerns, didn’t break the law, put their name on a lawsuit.” Runestad agreed.
“It’s perfectly legal to be able to do this. It happens all the time that people feel that there were things that were not kosher in the election process,” Runestad said.
Gee said Grossbard would be “more cognizant” of election integrity than other candidates since he’s sued over them before.
Guy said she wouldn’t care about Grossbard’s politics if he hadn’t challenged the 2020 election.
“I was concerned about the city, so they needed to be told, and not just blindly vote for someone who’s the only person on the ballot without knowing their track record,” Guy said.
Noting prior clerk’s misconduct
Gee accused the Democratic Party of hypocrisy because it supported former Southfield Clerk Sherikia Hawkins in 2019. Hawkins was convicted in 2022 of misconduct in office for ending the city’s 2018 election without counting nearly 200 absentee ballots. She was forced to resign from office, leading eventually to the Jackson-Grossbard race in 2023. She was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Gee also accused the Democrats of making the campaign “about a Jewish man running against one African American write-in candidate,” and pointed out that both Guy and Hogue are Black.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Hertel called Gee’s claim “ridiculous.”
“The only thing that we have talked about in this campaign is his lack of credibility in county elections when he himself has been part of denying them,” Hertel said.
Grossbard said he will “defend and preserve the individual right to vote, secure the voting process, and will fight voter suppression,” according to his campaign literature. The campaign materials also said Grossbard will expand services to include passport applications and process birth and death certificates in a timely manner.
Grossbard would bring council minutes up to date if he were elected, Gee said. She claimed these records have fallen out of compliance with Michigan’s Open Meeting Act under Jackson.
“I’m surprised that the Democratic Party is worried about the candidate as opposed to the people getting their accurate information,” Gee said.
Jackson did not respond to a request for comment regarding Gee’s claim.
Democrats mount ‘huge undertaking’
While the Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy in their efforts to keep Grossbard from office, the dynamic of dueling write-in candidates persists.
Volunteers have knocked on more than 7,000 doors in support of Guy, Southfield Democratic Club’s Person said. The Michigan Democratic Party has also invested in mailers and digital campaign materials for her election, Hertel said.
Mayor Siver claimed the local Democratic Club initially said it would support Hogue, but then switched to Guy a few days later.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry. I’m not going to go back on my word to Coretta Hogue. I wish Wynett Guy every success, but I am backing Coretta,'” Siver said.
Person said Hogue “didn’t have any money” and wanted the club to “do the heavy lifting for her,” which contributed to the club’s decision.
Hogue said she believes “people have personal gains that they’re seeking” in their decision to support Guy but did not elaborate when asked what those were. She also pointed out that she was the only person running against Grossbard who wasn’t kicked off the ballot.
“It’s been a dirty campaign,” Hogue said. “I think that it’s really shown in how people are choosing to support and endorse and are overlooking qualifications.”
Like Grossbard, Hogue said she would get the City Council meeting minutes up to date. She also claimed integrity needs to be brought back to the office.
Grossbard’s Gee called Hogue a “valid and viable candidate.”
The result is that defeating Grossbard is “a huge undertaking” for the Democrats, Morrow said.
“It would have probably been beneficial if everybody was on the same page and wanted to go after Gabi, that one of the two write-in candidates would have pulled out,” Morrow said. “That would have been an easier task to take on.”
Gabi Grossbard of Southfield, right, and Sheldon Freilich of Bloomfield Hills, center, pose together as Aaron Tobin of Oak Park, left, snaps a photo before a panel discussion hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition on Oct. 28, 2024 in Bloomfield Township. Grossbard is the only candidate on the NOv. 4 ballot running for Southfield clerk. (Katy Kildee/MediaNews Group)
A lot of these problems are big. To solve them, Detroit relies on money from the federal and state government.
So, how much can one city with limited resources do to halt the rate of homelessness—and even reverse it?
With the mayoral election next month, Anthony Eid joined The Metro to discuss these things. He’s the senior director of public policy for the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, and the policy and advocacy coordinator for COTS, a housing agency in the city.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit’s candidates for mayor are in their final weeks of campaigning. And a new poll shows voters are making up their minds.
A Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll shows City Council President Mary Sheffield with a commanding lead in the race over Pastor Solomon Kinloch. The survey…conducted from October 16-18 shows Sheffield supported by about 65% of those surveyed, Kinloch with 14%, and about 20% undecided.
The Glengariff Group conducted the poll of 500 respondents. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Just a reminder: a poll is a snapshot in time of the people surveyed. Polls don’t vote – people do. Early voting starts on Saturday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4.
Additional headlines for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
GM Earns
General Motors reports that it earned $1.3 billion in the third quarter of this year. The Detroit automaker says its adjusted earnings hit $2.80 per share, surpassing Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Third quarter revenue passed $48.5 billion.
The automaker says Cadillac’s North American sales were the best for the first three quarters of the year since 2013 and GMC posted the best year to date sales ever. GM’s stock price jumped 15% after news of the earnings was released.
Diwali celebration
Detroiters will have a chance to learn more about South Asian culture through this week’s Diwali in the D festival. Diwali is the Hindu celebration of lights, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.
Diwali in the D offers free events throughout this week and runs through Saturday.
First Responders BBQ
A local veterans’ group is holding a special barbecue in Detroit on Friday.
Chapter 9 of the Vietnam Veterans of America will hold the event to show its appreciation for the city’s first responders. Police officers and firefighters are invited to come to the barbecue from noon-5 p.m. on Friday.
It’s being held at the Chapter 9 headquarters – 2951 Woodward at Temple in Detroit. That’s just north of Little Caesars’ Arena.
Smokeless Ban
Detroit City Council has approved an ordinance banning the use of smokeless tobacco in the city’s sports stadiums.
Smoking of cigarettes and e-cigarettes has been prohibited in the facilities for years. City Councilman Fred Durhal says the new measure will help provide a healthier example to Detroit’s young people.
The new ban applies to Comerica Park, Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena.
Pistons Opener
The Detroit Pistons open their new season on the road tonight against the Chicago Bulls.
Detroit finished last season with 44 wins and 38 losses. Pistons guard Jaden Ivey had knee surgery recently and is expected to miss the next four weeks.
Tip off at the United Center tonight is at 8 p.m. ET.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Detroit’s candidates for mayor are in the final weeks of their respective campaigns. City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Reverend Solomon Kinloch are working to get out their visions for the future of the city.
Jeremy Allen is the executive editor for the Michigan Chronicle. WDET’s Jerome Vaughn spoke with him about the upcoming mayoral election.
Allen says this year is unusual because Detroit voters seem to have largely made up their minds already.
“It’s pretty clear that people are either for Mary Sheffield or for Solomon Kinloch. And there are—there’s really no in-between. And so, what I’m seeing from the community is folks who are invested in this race are fully invested on one side or the other, and there’s no in-between.”
Allen says residents aren’t saying they want to read more and learn more about a candidate before making a decision about who they’ll vote for.
Key issues
As far as key issues in the race, Allen says he’s found Detroiters have a wide range of concerns about the city moving forward. Overarching issues that need solving are crime—or the perception of crime—and the tension between downtown development and development in city neighborhoods remain near the top of the list.
The future of Detroit’s school system is also something residents are keeping an eye on. While education isn’t under the purview of the city’s mayor, Allen says the next mayor should set up some sort of task force should be set up to work more closely with Detroit Public Schools Community District.
“…to ensure that the city of Detroit can educate its children to be better citizens down the road, because all research points to the fact that a better educated community has impacts down the road and all measurables for quality of life.”
Black leadership
No matter which candidate wins on November 4, Detroit will have its first Black mayor in more than a decade. Allen says that will make a difference when dealing with Detroit residents—and when dealing with the federal government.
“I think once a Black mayor assumes leadership of the city of Detroit, I think the gloves are going to come off for how the federal government looks at and talks about the city of Detroit. There will be more room for scrutiny. I think there will be much more room for just this negative tone towards the city that we haven’t seen in the last few months.”
The Michigan Chronicle has endorsed Mary Sheffield for mayor. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have also given their endorsements to Sheffield. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4. Early voting begins Saturday, October 25.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. used their televised debate on Channel 7 to address issues and criticize each other with increasingly personal attacks.
Only a few weeks remain until Detroit’s city elections. The results will impact the entire metro region.
Candidates want to reach undecided voters like Uber driver Deaujejuan Braxton.
He says he’s seen some positive changes in his eastside Detroit neighborhood.
But Braxton says there are still issues that Detroit’s next mayor needs to address.
Listen: Detroit voter Deaujejuan Braxton seeks candidates ‘grounded in morality’
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Deaujejuan Braxton: A lot of gentrification, first and foremost, is going on. Even rent prices have almost doubled, in some cases, just over the past few years. And of course, if the people can’t afford it, they’re forced to move. Even looking at a lot of the high-rises downtown, it was elderly people living there and they are getting moved out. New business is coming in. And you can see the switch.
As far as the good happening, there are some small programs you hear about that certain organizations are coming up with to help the people that still live here. Affordable housing programs, a little stipend in order to maybe pay your first month’s rent, even help with paying the water bill or a light bill, things like that.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Some people I talk to about stuff going on in the neighborhoods say crime is still an issue. What’s your view about that?
DB: I see crime as going down, actually. I spoke to a law enforcement officer who got into the Uber, he was a 911 dispatcher. And he told me that people have a false perception of there being a high crime rate. He said it’s actually relatively low in comparison to other places. But he said they do have a high theft issue, specifically downtown, as far as stealing cars. He said not really violent crimes as much.
My thing is, we need more programs for children in the city to get them off the streets and out of this poverty that they’re facing. Because there’s a lack of good paying jobs. We’re not even making a living wage here. And if you’re not making a living wage, we know that there’s going to be more crime due to that alone. Because you have to survive, you have to live, you have to eat, have a roof over your head.
QK: We do have the city elections underway right now in Detroit. Have you been following any of the candidates or any of the issues that they bring up?
DB: In regards to voting for anybody to have some type of high office, I feel as though they should have some high level of morality, just in general. You have to believe in God, first and foremost, to me. If you don’t, I feel like you are subject to do anything at any given moment based upon the current circumstances in your life, whether it be embezzling money or anything else, if you fall on hard times. You have to have something outside of yourself to keep you grounded.
I came across some people at grocery stores who try to get you to sign a petition to have people show identification in order to vote. I definitely don’t agree with that. They probably are putting me in a database to try to figure out who I voted for. They’re going to look at the demographics of your race, your age, and they’ll put all that into play as soon as you show your identification. That’s a worry, because when you give up your freedoms in any capacity, you’re subject to give up all of them later on.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. used their televised debate on Channel 7 to address issues and criticize each other with increasingly personal attacks.
Detroit’s mayoral candidates have their only scheduled debate this week.
The Reverand Solomon Kinloch faces City Council President Mary Sheffield in the general election. Kinloch, a political newcomer, says city leaders haven’t done enough to increase affordable housing in Detroit. He votes to do that and continue pastoring his church if voters elect him.
“All of us got a responsibility, not to just do something from a spiritual perspective, but to do something social and political. That’s my rearing and my raising. I believe that this is a great opportunity to inspire an entire city that ordinary people can do some extraordinary things.”
Sheffield argues dealing with Detroit’s housing and financial issues demands someone with the kind of experience she’s gained over a dozen years on Council.
The debate will be on Channel 7 starting at 7 p.m this Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Dearborn Heights City Council Chairman Mo Baydoun is now the Acting Mayor due to Mayor Bill Bazzi’s resignation. The U.S. Senate confirmed Bazzi’s nomination to serve as the Ambassador to Tunisia.
Acting Mayor Baydoun says he will work closely with city council, public servants and local unions to bring fresh perspectives and solutions. He also says he will focus on public safety, city services, infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization.
Residents of Dearborn Heights will vote for a new mayor in November between Baydoun, the highest vote getter during the primaries, and Councilwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell.
People can bring their clothes, electronics, bikes, toys and other things to fix for free. There is also free parking available.
The repair popup takes place every 3rd Sunday in October, November and December from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Moondog Cafe 8045 Linwood Street in Detroit.
The next repair clinic takes place Sunday, October 19.
The program will begin with a walking tour of Asian Americans and allies buried in the cemetery, followed by a panel discussion about AAPI history in America and healing.
The event takes place next Friday Oct. 24th at the Elmwood Cemetery 1200 Elmwood Ave. in Detroit.
It is free and open to the public.
Samaritan Operation Christmas Child
The international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is looking for gifts and donations for Operation Christmas Child starting next month. Volunteers are collecting and delivering gifts for kids who have faced war, poverty or disaster.
This year the initiative will have 5,000 drop off locations across the nation, hoping to serve 12 million children. People can also donate $10 for a box of goodies to fill a shoebox full of gifts for a child. Collection week is November 17-24.
If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org.
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Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
There are about 2,200 urban gardens across Detroit. In a place with a lot of empty tracts, that can be a great use of land.
And, over the past few years, the city has done things to assist the people who tend to it. There’s now an entire department dedicated to the inner workings of urban farmers.
Recently, the city alongside the Eastern Market Partnership are collaborating to offer $225,000 in grant funding to Detroit-based farmers.
But even with the new dollars being made available, preserving and expanding farms can be challenging because upkeep can be costly and labor-intensive. With Mayor Mike Duggan leaving office, there will likely be turnover and questions about the priorities of the new administration.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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