Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will become the first woman to be mayor of the city after handily defeating Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. in Tuesday’s general election.
With 49% of precincts reporting, Sheffield was ahead 78.2% to 21.8%.
The Associated Press called the election for Sheffield at 9:18 p.m.
Sheffield, 38, entered the race as the clear frontrunner after defeating eight other candidates with 50.8% of the vote in August’s primary. Kinloch, pastor of Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations including two in Detroit, finished a distant second with 17.4%.
Sheffield’s victory is a historic milestone for Detroit, which has never elected a woman as mayor in its 324-year history. Sheffield will also be one of the youngest to hold the office, continuing a political rise that began when she became the youngest-ever city council member at age 26.
Sheffield has served as the council’s president since 2022. In her 13 years on the council, she has become a leading advocate for affordable housing, tenants rights, neighborhood development, property tax reform, and a clean environment. As council president, she has been a vocal critic of inequitable investment strategies, calling for a shift away from tax incentives for downtown developers and toward policies that directly benefit Detroit’s most vulnerable residents.
Throughout the campaign, Sheffield continued to call for more affordable housing, economic equity, and government transparency, pledging to prioritize neighborhoods that have been left behind by downtown development. She also called for strengthening police accountability and improving city services.
“When we are united, there is nothing we can’t achieve,” Sheffield told Metro Times when she announced her campaign in December 2024. “We need a Detroit where everyone has reached their potential.”
Kinloch, who grew up in poverty, campaigned on his faith-based leadership and said he was inspired to run to ensure all Detroiters have a better future.
But he has faced mounting scrutiny over delinquent water bills, property tax issues, Triumph Church’s real estate dealings, his $1.3 million mansion in Royal Oak Township, residency requirements, and a conviction for assaulting his first wife with a butcher knife.
Sheffield’s landslide victory follows dozens of endorsements from labor unions, community groups, pastors, and key political figures, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit City Councilman Fred Durhall III.
Sheffield is expected to take office on Jan. 1, succeeding Duggan, who did not seek reelection after three terms in office. Duggan is running for governor as an independent.
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