DETROIT (WWJ) — Detroit’s mayoral race is officially set — City Council President Mary Sheffield will square off with the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in November.
Sheffield, viewed by many as the front-runner in the race, earned a large majority of the votes, with the AP declaring she had advanced only about an hour after polls closed.
The race for second place was tight throughout the night between Kinloch and former Detroit City Councilwoman and THAW CEO Saunteel Jenkins, but Kinloch came out on top, with the AP giving him the nod just after midnight.
In Tuesday’s primary election, Detroit voters narrowed the field of candidates down from nine to two.
Sheffield and the second candidate will be looking replace outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving his role after more than a decade as he campaigns as an independent to become governor of Michigan.
Other candidates included former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, attorney Todd Perkins, City Councilman Fred Durhal, businessman John Barlow, Joel Haashiim and DaNetta Simpson.
Sheffield was first elected to Detroit City Council in 2013 at the age of 26 — the youngest person ever elected to the council. She has been the council’s president since 2022.
In a speech to supporters at a campaign event Tuesday night, Sheffield said “the victory tonight is not mine — it is ours!”
“It belongs to every little boy and girl in this city who was told to dream small, it belongs to every neighborhood in this city that has felt left behind,” Sheffield said. “It belongs to every senior, like my grandmother — 88 years old — who paved the way and whose shoulders I stand on.”
“And for every college graduate, every young professional who told me they wanted to stay in Detroit, if only they could see a future… this is our moment,” she said to a raucous applause.
Sheffield also thanked all the candidates who “took the courage to stand up and show love for this city by running for office” because it is “not easy.”
Kinloch, meanwhile, spoke in front of a lively crowd of supporters at the Roostertail restaurant in Detroit, saying "we're on our way to accomplishing something historical."
"Because I started at the bottom... and we're on our way to the top," he said to a chorus of cheers.
Kinloch, a longtime pastor at Triumph Church, said Detroit is like a "Tale of Two Cities."
"One where the renaissance and the road to prosperity have not reached enough of the people. Until we reach the whole town, we have not done nearly enough," Kinloch said.
He added that he and his team would not "lead from the comfort of a downtown office."
"But I'll meet Detroiters where they are... in the neighborhoods, where institutional politicians go when they're looking for a photo opportunity," Kinloch said.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest team coverage of the Primary Election . >>> LISTEN LIVE!