The Detroit mayoral elections of 2009 took place on May 5, 2009, with a primary on February 24, 2009 to fill the vacancy created when Kwame Kilpatrick resigned as Mayor.
The regularly scheduled election occurred on November 3, 2009, following the primary on August 4, 2009. The May election is a special election, as mandated by Detroit's City Charter, to determine who will serve out the remaining months in the term of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned in September 2008. The November election was the regularly scheduled municipal election. Detroit mayoral elections are contested on a non-partisan basis.
Incumbent mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who as president of the Detroit City Council became acting mayor upon Kilpatrick's resignation, ran in the special election. Other candidates included Dave Bing, a community leader and former NBA professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons, Freman Hendrix, former deputy mayor and a mayoral candidate in 2005, Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans, and others.[1] Dave Bing and incumbent mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. won the top two spots in the special primary on February 24 and proceeded to contest the special general election on May 5. Bing won this election with 52% of the vote and was sworn in as Mayor on May 11.[2]
Primary Results
| Detroit Mayoral Election Primary, 2009 (special)[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Dave Bing | 26,337 | 28.82 | ||
| Ken Cockrel, Jr. | 24,677 | 27.00 | ||
| Freman Hendrix | 21,208 | 23.21 | ||
| Warren Evans | 9,193 | 10.06 | ||
| Coleman Young | 3,744 | 4.10 | ||
| Sharon McPhail | 2,565 | 2.81 | ||
| Nicholas Hood | 2,077 | 2.27 | ||
| Jerroll Sanders | 336 | .37 | ||
| D. Etta Wilcoxon | 309 | .34 | ||
| Brenda Sanders | 199 | .22 | ||
| Donald Bradley | 157 | .17 | ||
| Duane Montgomery | 152 | .17 | ||
| Write-In | 136 | .15 | ||
| Stanley Michael Christmas | 103 | .11 | ||
| Joseph Holt | 101 | .11 | ||
| Frances Culver | 87 | .10 | ||
General Election Results
| Detroit Mayoral Election General, 2009 (special)[4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Dave Bing | 49,054 | 52% | +23% | |
| Ken Cockrel, Jr. | 44,770 | 48% | +22% | |
In the August 4 primary for the regular election, Mayor Dave Bing captured 74% of the vote. He faced off against businessman Tom Barrow in the November 3 election winning by capturing 56% of the vote.[5]
Primary Results
| Detroit Mayoral Election Primary, 2009 (regular)[6] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Dave Bing | 68,623 | 73.90 | ||
| Tom Barrow | 10,302 | 11.09 | ||
| Jerroll Sanders | 9,322 | 10.04 | ||
| Duane Montgomery | 1,911 | 2.06 | ||
| Dartagnan M. Collier | 1,265 | 1.36 | ||
| Bob Allman | 873 | .94 | ||
| Write-In | 566 | .61 | ||
General Election Results
| Detroit Mayoral Election General, 2009 (regular)[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Dave Bing | 70,060 | 56% | -18% | |
| Tom Barrow | 50,757 | 41% | +30% | |
| Write-In | 3,849 | 3% | +3% | |
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