Don't count out Kinloch despite Sheffield's big Detroit mayoral primary win, analysts say
The Rev. Solomon Kinloch faces an uphill climb to become Detroit's next mayor heading toward the general election after City Council President Mary Sheffield took 51% of the vote to his 17% in Tuesday's primary.
Capturing more than half of the vote wins a general election, meaning Sheffield would have prevailed even if all of the votes of the seven other mayoral candidates had gone to Kinloch. But political analysts warned that general elections attract more voters and have different dynamics than primaries, giving the 52-year-old minister a chance against the 38-year-old, three-term council member.
Analysts said they were impressed with Sheffield's performance in the low-turnout contest as she strives to become Detroit's first female mayor. But they cautioned against counting out Kinloch, a Detroit megachurch pastor and political newcomer, with less than three months to win over voters ahead of a Nov. 4 matchup.
"I was actually impressed with Solomon Kinloch, who is a novice, neophyte politician, to come out and actually beat veteran politicians for that second slot," said Mario Morrow, a longtime Southfield-based political consultant in Detroit and state politics. "But he's got a lot of work to do."
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/08/06/detroit-mayor-primary-general-election-comeback-solomon-kinloch-mary-sheffield-kwame-kilpatrick/85541255007/