DETROIT – Detroit mayoral candidate Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. is pushing back against a new poll that shows City Council President Mary Sheffield holding a commanding lead in the race.
The poll, commissioned by Local 4 and The Detroit News, conducted Oct. 16-18 among 500 likely city voters, found Sheffield with about 65% support for the Nov. 4 election.
Kinloch trailed with 14%, while 20% of voters remained undecided and 1% backed other candidates.
Speaking with Local 4’s Jason Colthorp on Flashpoint, Kinloch questioned the poll’s accuracy.
“I don’t know who that poll is talking to because I’m out here in the street every day and that’s not the feedback we’re getting,” he said. “The only poll I’m concerned about is the one that people go to on November 4th when they go to the polls. And at 8:00 when they close, that will be the word of the land.”
Kinloch said he entered the race to bring attention to critical issues often overlooked, including affordable housing.
“It was not a hot button until I got in this race,” he said. “When you start talking about job opportunity, there’s an exodus of the Black middle class in this city. When you start talking about the majority of the kids in the city in poverty and the poverty rate the highest it’s been since 2017, when you look at the fact that that’s a failure of institutional politicians — I got in to bring attention to it and that’s what I continue to do.”
He added that the voters he talks to want “something different” and “a city that works for us all.”
The Sheffield campaign said that the poll results are consistent with what they’ve been hearing from Detroit residents:
“Detroiters have seen the progress with their own eyes and they want it to continue and go further into the neighborhoods. They are rejecting the divisive rhetoric and tactics of the past and want a leader who can bring people together and deliver real results. With that said, we will continue pounding the pavement with our plan for the future of Detroit in an effort to earn the support of each and every voter on November 4th.”
Mary Sheffield for Detroit’s Future
Both candidates are vying to succeed Mayor Mike Duggan, who has endorsed Sheffield.
Duggan is pursuing an independent bid for governor in 2026.
Kinloch’s full interview on Flashpoint will air Sunday, Oct. 26, at 10 a.m.