| Election Name: | 2001 Detroit mayoral election |
| Flag Image: | Flag of Detroit.svg |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1997 Detroit mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 1997 |
| Next Election: | 2005 Detroit mayoral election |
| Next Year: | 2005 |
| Image1: | Kwame-2006 (1).jpg |
| Candidate1: | Kwame Kilpatrick |
| Party1: | Nonpartisan candidate |
| Percentage1: | 54% |
| Candidate2: | Gil Hill |
| Party2: | Nonpartisan candidate |
| Percentage2: | 46% |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Dennis Archer |
| After Election: | Kwame Kilpatrick |
The 2001 Detroit mayoral election took place on November 7, 2001. It saw the election of Kwame Kilpatrick.
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.
The primary election campaign was regarded to have been largely polite in character.[10] 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.
Hill was endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and United Auto Workers.[10]
Outgoing mayor Dennis Archer did not endorse any candidate.[11] Also declining to endorse a candidate was governor John Engler.[12]
Kilpatrick made a number of gaffes that were seen as hampering his momentum among parts of the electorate.[11] One gaffe was remarking, while on a religious cable television program, that he did not want his sons exposed to a "homosexual lifestyle".[11] 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.[11]
Hill was better-known than Kilpatrick.[13]
For much of the campaign, Hill had a strong lead in polls. He had held a strong lead in polls as early as May.[11] Polling, for much of the campaign, showed him to have massive leads over his competitors.[11] Hill was regarded as the clear front-runner until the last weeks of the primary campaign.[10] Contrarily, Killpatrick was, earlier in the campaign, seen as a long-shot, registering as low as 16% support in polls at one point.[10] Approximately a week prior to the election, a poll was released showing Kilpatrick with a 10% lead over Hill. 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.[12]
In the lead up to the election, it was seen as the most energized primary since the 1973 mayoral election.[14] The primary, however, was overshadowed by the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, which took place the same day.[14] Turnout for the primary wound up being one of the lowest in the city's history, with just 22% of eligible voters participating.[14]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample | Margin of error | Charles Beckham | William C. Brooks | Gil Hill | Nicholas Hood III | Kwame Kilpatrick | Others | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC/MRA[15] | June 19, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 37.4% | 7.8% | 22.5% | – | 23.0% | ||
| EPIC/MRA | May 7–10, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 3.7% | 2.3% | 49.7% | 11.3% | 16.0% | 17.0% | |||
| EPIC/MRA[16] | April 17–18, 2001 | 344 LV | ± 5.3% | 3% | 2% | 13% | 9% | 10% | 43% |
Gil Hill and Kwame Kilpatrick were the top-two finishers, and therefore advanced to the general election.[11]
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.[14]
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,[14] 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 | Margin of error | Gil Hill | Kwame Kilpatrick | Other | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[18] | October 31–November 2, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 47% | 48% | 5% | |||
| SurveyUSA | October 27–28, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |||
| SurveyUSA | October 20–21, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |||
| EPIC/MRA | September 11, 2001 | 400 | 39% | 51% | – | 10% | |||
Kilpatrick defeated Hill 54% to 46%.[19]