2013 Detroit mayoral election

2013 Detroit mayoral election

←  2009 November 5, 2013 2017  →

Candidate Mike Duggan (write-in) Benny Napoleon Popular vote 74,248 60,440 Percentage 54.94% 44.72%

Mayor before election Dave Bing Nonpartisan Elected mayor Mike Duggan Nonpartisan

The 2013 Detroit mayoral election was held on November 5, 2013, following a primary election on August 6, 2013. Incumbent Mayor Dave Bing announced that he would not run for re-election, and instead opted to form an exploratory commission to run for Wayne County Executive in 2014. A crowded field of candidates emerged to succeed Bing, with Mike Duggan, the CEO of the Detroit Medical Center and the former Wayne County Prosecutor, emerging as the frontrunner. However, Duggan was disqualified from the race for failing to meet residency requirements, so he continued his campaign as a write-in candidate. He placed first in the primary election, receiving 52 percent of the vote to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon's 30 percent. In the general election, Duggan defeated Napoleon by a wide margin, 55–45%, becoming the city's first White mayor since 1973, when Coleman Young was elected.

Primary election

Candidates

• Mike Duggan (write-in), CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, former Wayne County Prosecutor ^[1]
• Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff ^[2]
• Krystal A. Crittendon, former Detroit Corporation Counsel ^[3]
• Lisa Howze, former State Representative ^[4]
• Tom Barrow, accountant, 2009, 1989, and 1985 candidate for Mayor ^[5]
• John Olumba, State Representative ^[6]
• Fred Durhal, Jr., State Representative ^[7]
• Willie G. Lipscomb, Jr., retired district court judge ^[8]
• Angelo Scott Brown, community activist ^[9]
• Herman Griffin, community activist ^[9]
• Sigmunt John Szczepkowski, Jr., perennial candidate ^[10]
• Mark Murphy, community advocate ^[9]
• Jean Vortkamp, community volunteer ^[9]
• John Telford, former interim Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools ^[5]
• D'Artagnan M. Collier, city employee ^[9]

Campaign

Barrow challenged the Duggan's eligibility to run for Mayor, arguing that he had not met the city charter's residency requirements. After the city Election Commission voted to allow Duggan to be listed on the ballot, Barrow sued. ^[11] On June 12, 2013, Wayne County Circuit Judge Lita Pope ordered that Duggan's name be removed from the ballot, and Duggan appealed. ^[12] Shortly thereafter, on June 18, 2013, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Duggan's disqualification, striking him from the ballot. ^[13] Shortly thereafter, Duggan announced that he would continue his campaign as a write-in candidate. ^[14] Though Barrow once again tried to block Duggan's candidacy, ^[15] but his campaign continued. A barber with a similar name, Mike Dugeon, announced his own write-in campaign, causing speculation that his campaign was deliberately started to siphon votes from Duggan. ^[16]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tom Barrow	D. M. Collier	Krystal Critt– endon	Mike Duggan	Fred Durhal	Lisa Howze	Willie Lipscomb	Mark Murphy	Benny Napoleon	Velina Patterson-Dockery	Delores Scott	Sigmunt Szcze– pkowski	Fred Telford	Unde– cided
EPIC-MRA [17]	May 18–20, 2013	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	3%	1%	3%	26%	1%	1%	1%	—	30%	1%	1%	1%	1%	30%
MIRS [18]	April 24–25, 2013	500 (LV)	± 5%	4.7%	—	7.3%	34.8%	2.5%	4.7%	—	11%	27.4%	—	—	—	—	7.6%

Key

• A – all adults
• RV – registered voters
• LV – likely voters
• V – unclear

Results

2013 Detroit mayoral primary election ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Duggan (write-in)	48,716	51.69%
	Nonpartisan	Benny Napoleon	28,391	30.13%
	Nonpartisan	Krystal A. Crittendon	5,311	5.64%
	Nonpartisan	Lisa Howze	4,591	4.87%
	Nonpartisan	Tom Barrow	3,699	3.93%
	Nonpartisan	John Olumba	1,329	1.41%
	Nonpartisan	Fred Durhal Jr.	842	0.89%
	Nonpartisan	Willie G. Lipscomb, Jr.	303	0.32%
	Nonpartisan	Angelo Scott Brown	182	0.19%
	Nonpartisan	Herman Griffin	165	0.18%
	Nonpartisan	Sigmunt John Szczepkowski, Jr.	146	0.15%
	Nonpartisan	Mark Murphy	142	0.15%
	Nonpartisan	Jean Vortkamp	138	0.15%
	Nonpartisan	John Telford	110	0.12%
	Nonpartisan	D'Artagnan M. Collier	91	0.10%
	Write-in		83	0.09%
Total votes			94,239	100.00%

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mike Duggan	Benny Napoleon	Undecided
EPIC-MRA [20]	October 24–26, 2013	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	50%	26%	24%
EPIC-MRA [21]	September 17–19, 2013	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	49%	25%	26%
EPIC-MRA [17]	May 18–20, 2013	400	± 4.9%	40%	40%	20%

Key

• A – all adults
• RV – registered voters
• LV – likely voters
• V – unclear

Results

2013 Detroit mayoral general election results ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Duggan	74,248	54.94%
	Nonpartisan	Benny Napoleon	60,440	44.72%
	Write-in		455	0.34%
Total votes			135,143	100.00%

Aftermath

Barrow joined with the group Citizens United Against Corrupt Government (CUACG) to challenge the results of the election. Barrow appealed the ruling that allowed Duggan to pursue a write-in campaign and sought a recount of the primary election results. ^[23] Prior to the election, CUACG sought to halt the mailing of absentee ballots, arguing that the city Election Commission did not comply with procedural requirements before approving the ballots. ^[24] Barrow and CUACG appealed, contesting the validity of the election results. In 2014, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the claims. ^[25]

References

1. Helms, Matt (February 27, 2013). "Duggan kicks off Detroit mayoral run". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 5A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
2. Helms, Matt (March 26, 2013). "Sheriff to announce run for mayor". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
3. Helms, Matt (January 15, 2013). "Crittendon said to be exploring run for mayor". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 3A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
4. Hackney, Suzette (February 4, 2012). "Howze to run for Detroit mayor". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 4A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
5. "2 more join mayoral contest". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. May 17, 2013. p. 7A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
6. AlHajal, Khalil (May 14, 2013). "State lawmaker who left Democratic Party running for Detroit mayor". MLive . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
7. Scott Dorsey, Melanie (November 27, 2012). "Lawmaker Durhal announces his campaign for mayor of Detroit". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 4A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
8. Stables Battaglia, Tammy (November 8, 2013). "Judge who was a mentor to decades of law students dies". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 5A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
9. "16 Candidates Running for Mayor of Detroit". New York Times . New York City. August 3, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
10. Helms, Matt (July 11, 2013). "Forum draws many Detroit mayoral hopefuls, but not the front-runner". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. A7. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
11. Zaniewski, Ann (June 1, 2013). "Barrow tasks court to push Duggan off the mayoral ballot". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 5A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
12. Egan, Paul (June 15, 2013). "Court to take up Duggan residency question on Monday". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 4A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
13. Barrow v. Detroit Election Commission, 836N.W.2d498 , 511-12(Mich. Ct. App.2013)("We hold that Duggan has not met the qualifications for inclusion of his name of the ballot by the plain terms contained in the charter.").
14. Helms, Matt (June 29, 2013). "Duggan launches write-in campaign for Detroit mayor". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
15. Helms, Matt (July 2, 2013). "Barrow tries to block a write-in effort from Duggan". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 3A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
16. Helms, Matt; Walker, Marlon A. (July 26, 2013). "Dugeon v. Duggan: Candidate brings confusion to race". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
17. Helms, Matt; Guillen, Joe (May 30, 2013). "Duggan v. Napoleon: Contest is a dead heat". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A, 8A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
18. Helms, Matt (May 2, 2013). "Duggan leads Detroit mayoral race in poll, but Napoleon's close behind". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 5A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
19. "ELECTION CERTIFICATION - August 6, 2013 Primary - MAYOR, CITY OF DETROIT" (PDF). September 3, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
20. Helms, Matt (October 30, 2013). "Duggan maintains commanding lead over Napoleon". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
21. Helms, Matt (September 23, 2013). "Duggan leads Napoleon in Detroit race for mayor". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
22. "City of Detroit, Michigan - Nov. 5, 2013 General Election" (PDF). 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
23. "Wayne County canvassers certify primary recount". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. September 27, 2013. p. 6A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
24. Stables Battaglia, Tammy (October 3, 2013). "Judge allows mailing of Detroit absentee ballots". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 5A. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
25. Barrow v. Detroit Election Commission, 854N.W.2d489 , 492-93(Mich. Ct. App.2014).