Meet the nine candidates running in the 2025 Detroit mayoral primary
The candidates include two current members of the Detroit City Council, a former city council president, the city's former police chief and a prominent pastor.
The field is running to replace three-term mayor Mike Duggan, who announced in December his independent bid for Michigan governor in 2026.
Here are the candidates running in Tuesday's primary election:
Jonathan Barlow is a business leader and community activist. Barlow graduated from Detroit Public Schools Community District and attended Wayne State University.
His career has included helping homeowners during the foreclosure crisis and working with city leaders to support economic growth.
He is on staff at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, where he is a former youth pastor.
"I believe that we're in a good position. We've never been in this place before, where we can really come together as a village, make Detroit family again, and start to build toward the future," he said in a video posted on his social media.
James Craig is the city's former police chief. Craig's law enforcement career began in 1977, with service both in Detroit and in Los Angeles. He was Detroit's police chief from 2013 until retiring in 2021.
He attempted runs for Michigan governor in 2022 and U.S. Senate in 2023, both times as a Republican.
"Detroit is a city full of promise, but it needs leadership that delivers results. James Craig has a record of making tough decisions and getting things done, and he is ready to do the same as mayor," he said when announcing his campaign.
His campaign themes during the mayoral race are public safety, economic development, education, youth empowerment and government accountability.
Detroit City Councilman Fred Durhal III announced in January 2025 that he was running for mayor.
Durhal previously served on the Michigan House of Representatives, succeeding his father. At the time of his announcement, he acknowledged a downward trend in homicides, which the Detroit police reported seeing fewer in decades. However, he pointed out a continued concern about auto theft and wanted to focus on the community programs that are contributing to the decline in violent crimes.
Durhal sat down with CBS News Detroit on Monday and said one of the key issues that needs to be addressed is neighborhood stabilization and reducing property taxes.
"We've done a significant job of tearing down a lot of the blight and abandonment, but I think folks want to see us push commerical cooridors for creating walkable neighborhoods that improve their quality of life, so that they have access to fresh groceries, they have access to a doctor, a pharmacy, as well as sitdown restaurants adjacent to the neighborhoods that they live in. I think that will help us make sure that everybody is feeling Detroit's growth," he said.
Joel Haashiim began his business career at a young age when he opened his first of three party stores before selling the businesses and becoming a distributor and wholesaler.
Haashiim graduated from the Detroit Public Schools Community District and later attended college and several trade schools.
"I will advocate and promote for a better quality of life," Haashiim said on his campaign site. "We are laying a political and financial foundation for our children and grandchildren.
"Working together, we can create and maintain a better quality of life for our seniors, residents and city workers."
Former City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins officially announced her campaign in January 2025.
Jenkins served on the council from 2010 to 2014, including as president, before being named CEO of the nonprofit The Heat and Warmth (THAW), an organization that aims to help families with heat, electrical and water assistance.
Jenkins says she will focus on investing in after-school programs, creating master plans for every district, cracking down on violent crimes, launching youth programs, and providing residents with access to childcare and affordable housing.
In her sit-down with CBS News Detroit last week, Jenkins said public transportation and jobs are also priorities.
"We have to be responsible fiscal managers of the dollars that we have," she said. "The next mayor will have to come in and do a real assessment of where we are. What are our revenues? What are our liabilities? And we'll have to manage within our budget."
Solomon Kinloch is the 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.
"The central question for Detroit is, where do we go from here? For the first time in a long time, we have a foundation. I want to build on it," Kinloch said.
His campaign goals include good jobs, strong schools, and thriving neighborhoods with affordable housing and safe streets.
Todd Perkins is the founder of The Perkins Law Group, one of the city's largest Black-owned law firms.
A Detroit native, Perkins is a graduate of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School. He received a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Perkins also founded and operates the sports management company, Kilimanjaro Sports Management.
"My experience as an attorney and business owner, relationships with the business and legal sectors, and my deep ties to the community give me the unique ability to unite all of Detroit and continue its positive trajectory and progress," Perkins said on his campaign site.
During a sit-down with CBS News Detroit, Perkins discussed his plans to continue the city's upward trajectory while overcoming challenges that may arise. Perkins identified public safety, education, public housing and economic development as the keys to Detroit's continued growth.
"All of those things have to continue, and they have to continue aggressively, and you have to have someone who has a plan to know how to make sure that those things continue, even understand that we're going to have to do more with less," Perkins said.
City Council President Mary Sheffield was one of the first people to throw their name into the Detroit mayoral race.
Sheffield was first elected to the city council in November 2013, representing the city's fifth district. She was selected council president in 2022.
With her campaign slogan, "Together We Can, Together We Will," Sheffield says 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 says she is also focused on providing access to affordable housing for all Detroiters.
"We will be the place where our best and our brightest, our most vulnerable, our most creative, our most audacious are inspired to find their purpose right here in the city that we all love and call home," Sheffield said in December 2024. "Detroit, I believe that our best days are ahead of us."
DaNetta Simpson is running in the Detroit mayoral primary for a third time. She previously ran for the Michigan House of Representatives.
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