U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar earned a narrow majority of Detroit votes Tuesday, eking past City Council Member Mary Waters while securing a wider margin of victory across the 13th Congressional District.
Detroit businessman and actor Hill Harper earned more votes in Detroit than his Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, but Harper lost the statewide race to U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly. The two contests are among many differences, some subtle and others more drastic, in how Detroiters cast ballots for races that included people outside the city.
Detroit turnout in the Tuesday election was 16%, according to unofficial Election Day results, slightly behind Wayne County’s 19% turnout. The city’s turnout landed within Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey’s projection of 15-18%.
Thanedar beat Waters by 2 percentage points in Detroit, while attorney Shakira Hawkins finished in distant third place. The 13th District also includes Wayne County communities to the southwest and east of Detroit. Across the district, Thanedar beat Waters by 20 percentage points.
Most of Waters’ votes (71%) came from Detroit. Less than half of Thanedar’s votes came from the city. Thanedar earned 42,786 votes across the 13th District, securing 54% of the vote while Waters earned 34% and Hawkins earned 11%.
Thanedar will face Republican Martell Bivings in November, who ran uncontested in the GOP primary. Bivings earned 12,759 votes, and only 8% came from Detroiters. The district is strongly Democratic and Thanedar is likely to win re-election.
Thanedar, an immigrant from India, is representing a majority-Black district that had a Black representative in Congress dating back nearly 70 years. Thanedar ended the streak by winning a nine-way primary race in 2022. Thanedar said Tuesday night that if he were reelected, it would be because he’s served their needs.
“I often ask that question to my constituents, I say ‘I’m not African American, does that bother you?’” Thanedar said. “It’s not about who I am, my race, my skin color for them, it is about someone who will help them. They want their lives changed, their quality of life improved. That’s what they asked for.”
Former state Sen. Adam Hollier finished second in 2022 and attempted a rematch against Thanedar, but was disqualified after failing to submit enough nominating petition signatures.
Waters collected several endorsements from prominent figures, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and the United Auto Workers union. Black political leaders in Detroit said they felt disconnected from Thanedar and didn’t trust him to represent Black residents.
Thanedar flexed his own slate of endorsements, including from Black leaders like U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, but said his reputation with the average voter is more important.
Voters who talked with BridgeDetroit at the polls on Tuesday said Thanedar was an established presence while a series of negative ads paid for by a third-party political group effectively cast Waters as untrustworthy.
Waters could not be reached Wednesday morning. Her campaign adviser Sam Riddle said Thanedar created an “alternative political universe” through a glut of campaign advertising. Waters raised roughly $164,000, according to campaign finance disclosures. Thanedar had $7 million at his disposal, including $5.2 million of his own cash he loaned to the campaign.
“It’s very difficult to run across that kind of money,” Riddle said. “This guy was permitted to buy another election and he was permitted to distort who Mary Water is and has been in terms of her public service. Did the ads play a factor? Hell yeah.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, represents the west side of the city and is Palestinian American. She ran unopposed in the 12th District Democratic primary and will face Republican James Hooper, who beat Linda Sawyer.
The Democratic U.S. Senate primary ended in defeat for Harper, a Detroit native who set up his campaign headquarters on Livernois Avenue. Slotkin secured the Democratic nomination with 76% of the statewide vote.
Slotkin’s lead was slightly smaller in Wayne County – she beat Harper 60% to 39% – and she earned fewer votes in Detroit. Harper collected 13,526 more votes from his fellow Detroiters.
Republican Mike Rogers earned the GOP nomination to face Slotkin in the November general election. Rogers earned 64% of the statewide vote. Only 1,992 Detroiters voted in the Republican primary, compared to 77,318 who voted in the Democratic primary.
Detroiters supported Democrats Jonathan Kinloch, Martha Scott, Lisa Carter and Irma Clark-Coleman in contested primaries for Wayne County commission seats.
Adrienne Scruggs earned the majority of Detroit’s vote in a nonpartisan race for 3rd Circuit Court judge, but she lost the race to John Larkin. Detroit voters made up 30% of the total votes cast.
Larkin earned 40% of the vote across Wayne County, finishing slightly ahead of Scruggs (37%) and Nicole Castka (23%). Detroiters supported Scruggs (55%) by a much wider margin compared to Larkin (25%) and Castka (20%).
Three ballot proposals passed with the support of Detroit voters. Proposal L, which renews a millage to fund the Detroit Public Library, passed with 86% of the vote.
Proposal P, which renews a millage to fund Wayne County parks, passed with 74% of the vote. Detroiters had stronger support, with 85% of voters backing the proposal.
Proposal A, which removes a requirement that Wayne County find a new financial auditor at least every eight years, also passed. The result was narrower across Wayne County (54% to 46%) compared to Detroit (60% to 40%).
Here’s a look at how races for the State Legislature shook out:
1st District: State Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, earned Democratic nomination with 83% of the vote. He’ll face Republican Valerie Whittaker, who ran uncontested.
3rd District: State Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, earned 49% of the vote and won a three-way primary for the Democratic nomination. Farhat earned 62% of the vote in Detroit. He beat Ziad Abdulmalik and Gus Tarraf. Farhat will face Republican Richard Zeile, who ran uncontested, in the general election.
5th District: State Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park, earned 48% of the vote in a four-way primary. Runner-up Crystal Bailey earned 40% across the district. Weiss will face Republican Will Sears, who ran uncontested.
7th District: Attorney and Detroit activist Tonya Myers Phillips earned 69% of Detroit’s vote in the three-way primary and similarly earned 68% across the district to secure the Democratic nomination. She will face Republican Barry Atlman, who beat Shelby Wininger by 50 votes.
8th District: State Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit, earned 73% of the vote, beating Chris Gilmer-Hill in a two-way primary. She will face Republican Alex Kuhn in the November general election.
9th District: Michigan’s first Black House Majority Leader Joe Tate, D-Detroit, earned 75% of the vote in the Detroit district. Tate beat two opponents and will face Republican Michele Lundgren in November.
10th District: State Rep. Veronica Paiz, D-Harper Woods, earned 76% of the vote against Justin Counts. Paiz had a slightly smaller majority (64%) in the Detroit part of her district. She will face Republican Griffin Wojtowicz in November.
12th District: State Rep. Kimberly Edwards, D-Eastpointe, secured the nomination with 68% of the vote. She performed better in the Detroit part of her district, earning 75% of the vote in a three-way primary. Edwards will face Republican Randell Shafer in the general election.
16th District: State Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, earned a commanding 91% of the vote on Tuesday, and had 93% of the Detroit vote. She will face Republican Brian Duggan in November.