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The 2001 Detroit mayoral election took place on November 7, 2001. It saw the election of Kwame Kilpatrick.
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At the age of 31, Kilpatrick became the youngest mayor ever elected in the city's history.[1]
On April 7, 2001, incumbent mayor Dennis Archer made the surprise announcement that he would not be running for a third term.[2]
Twenty-one candidates ran.[3]
The nonpartisan primary election was held on September 1, 2001.
Hill had initially supported Kilpatrick for mayor, before reversing and launching his own campaign.[12]
The primary election campaign was regarded to have been largely polite in character.[13] Hill and Kilpatrick, in particular, were noted to be respectful in their regard of each other during the primary, unusually so for a Detroit mayoral election.[12]
Hill was endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and United Auto Workers.[13][14]
Outgoing mayor Dennis Archer did not endorse any candidate.[14] Also declining to endorse a candidate was governor John Engler.[15]
Kilpatrick made a number of gaffes that were seen as hampering his momentum among parts of the electorate.[14] One gaffe was remarking, while on a religious cable television program, that he did not want his sons exposed to a "homosexual lifestyle".[14] Kilpatrick also faced some controversy, including reporting by the Detroit Free Press that he had solicited a $50,000 contribution to his Kilpatrick Civic Fund from the president of a tax-funded homeless shelter, as well as the management arm of the homeless shelter. The donation was used for voter education in advance of the November 2000 elections.[14]
Hill was better-known than Kilpatrick.[16]
For much of the campaign, Hill had a strong lead in polls.[12] He had held a strong lead in polls as early as May.[14] Polling, for much of the campaign, showed him to have massive leads over his competitors.[14] Hill was regarded as the clear front-runner until the last weeks of the primary campaign.[13] Contrarily, Killpatrick was, earlier in the campaign, seen as a long-shot, registering as low as 16% support in polls at one point.[13] Approximately a week prior to the election, a poll was released showing Kilpatrick with a 10% lead over Hill.[12] By the end of the primary campaign, Hill and Kilpatrick were well-established in recent polls as the front-runners to advance to the general election.[15]
In the lead up to the election, it was seen as the most energized primary since the 1973 mayoral election.[12] The primary, however, was overshadowed by the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, which took place the same day.[12] Turnout for the primary wound up being one of the lowest in the city's history, with just 22% of eligible voters participating.[12][17]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample[a] | Margin of error |
Charles Beckham |
William C. Brooks |
Gil Hill |
Nicholas Hood III |
Kwame Kilpatrick |
Others | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC/MRA[18] | June 19, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 37.4% | 7.8% | 22.5% | – | 23.0% |
| EPIC/MRA[18] | May 7–10, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 3.7% | 2.3% | 49.7% | 11.3% | 16.0% | 17.0% | |
| EPIC/MRA[11] | April 17–18, 2001 | 344 LV | ± 5.3% | 3% | 2% | 13% | 9% | 10% | 43%[b] |
Gil Hill and Kwame Kilpatrick were the top-two finishers, and therefore advanced to the general election.[14]
Kilpatrick received 51% of the vote, while Hill received 34% of the vote.[3] Turnout was 22%.[17]
Exit polling indicated that Kilpatrick ultimately led in support among most demographic groups. Hill, however, did lead with older voters.[12]
Kilpatrick's very strong performance was a surprise, while Hill was seen as underperforming.[17]
While, due to his strong performance in the primary, Kilpatrick was initially seen as a very strong front-runner for the general election,[12] later polls began to show a close race in the general election.[3]
As in the primary, outgoing mayor Dennis Archer did not endorse either candidate.[3]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Gil Hill |
Kwame Kilpatrick |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[19] | October 31–November 2, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 47% | 48% | 5% | |
| SurveyUSA[19] | October 27–28, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |
| SurveyUSA[19] | October 20–21, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |
| EPIC/MRA[13] | September 11, 2001 | 400 | 39% | 51% | – | 10% | |
Kilpatrick defeated Hill 54% to 46%.[4]
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