Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield was named the winner of the 2025 mayoral election on Tuesday, the Associated Press projects, becoming the first woman elected to the city’s top position.
Sheffield swept the election with 76,561 votes over the Rev. Solomon Kinloch, who garnered 22,588 votes as of 10:40 p.m., according to unofficial results.
“Tonight, we will celebrate this historic and monumental victory, but tomorrow, we know we go to work,” Sheffield said during her remarks Tuesday night.
Kinloch delivered remarks shortly after the race was called for Sheffield, saying, “I stand here tonight with no regrets.”
Sheffield would become the city’s first new mayor in over a decade after Mayor Mike Duggan announced in November 2024 that he would not seek a fourth term in office. Duggan, who served three four-year terms, is running for Michigan’s governor in the 2026 race as an independent.
Duggan endorsed Sheffield after the August primary election. Meanwhile, Kinloch received endorsement from the United Auto Workers union.
Live 2025 Detroit mayor election results
View the results below as they come in.
The candidates
Sheffield already made history as the youngest person to be elected to the city council in 2013 and then the youngest person to serve as council president in 2022.
Sheffield announced her campaign for mayor in December 2024, saying she was focused on strengthening the city’s economy and education, reducing crime, supporting small businesses and lowering property taxes for residents and businesses.
Kinloch has served for 27 years as senior pastor at Triumph Church in Detroit. Under his leadership, Triumph has expanded to eight campuses and has been called one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States.
Before becoming a pastor in 1998, Kinloch worked at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant, where he was a member of UAW Local 235. He is a graduate of Northwestern High School.
Key issues
During the mayoral debate, both candidates spoke about public safety, growing the local business environment, good-paying jobs and infrastructure maintenance and updates for neighborhoods.
Sheffield said earlier this year that she is focused on strengthening the city’s economy and education, reducing crime, supporting small businesses and lowering property taxes for residents and businesses. She said she plans to partner with local libraries and schools to support local youth.
She says she was also focused on providing access to affordable housing.
Kinloch said his campaign goals included good jobs, strong schools, and thriving neighborhoods with affordable housing and safe streets. One of his platforms is addressing food insecurity through finding support for affordable grocery stores, investments in community gardens and meal deliveries. He also intends to work on building out reliable, high-speed internet service, claiming that 42% of homes in the city lack reliable connections.
Under his campaign, he has focused on the Detroit Children’s Trust Fund, which creates an investment from the city on behalf of each child who is born, raised and educated in Detroit. The money could then be used to buy a home, start a business or pursue further education.
The accomplishments he cited in church leadership included organizing free grocery delivery for thousands of families in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and arranging for groceries distributed to autoworker families when Local 900 went on strike. He also helped distribute digital tablets to students so they could stay connected with classroom assignments when in-person teaching was not available.
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