Benny Napoleon holds lead over Duggan, other mayoral candidates

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon was the top choice for mayor in a new poll of Detroit voters, with a lead over DMC CEO Mike Duggan that could grow in the fall if the two face off in the general election.

The automated phone survey conducted by Main Street Strategies earlier this week found that Napoleon led with 39% followed by businessman Mike Duggan with 35%, Lisa Howze with 9%, Fred Durhal with 4%, Chrystal Crittenden with 7% and Tom Barrow with 5%.   

Napoleon’s lead grows to double digits in a head-to-head matchup with Duggan, 45% to 35%, with 20% undecided.  

“Napoleon’s lead increases in the head-to-head matchup because Napoleon benefits from being the second choice of people supporting minor candidates like Howze or Durhal,” said Main Street Strategies partner Joe DiSano.

“With three and a half months to go until the August mayoral primary, this looks increasingly like a two-person race between Napoleon and Duggan,“ added DiSano.  “My expectation is that it will be a dog fight between Napoleon and Duggan throughout the primary and on into the November general election.  The rest of the field is just too far behind to be much of a factor.” 

 
The robo-survey of 1,277 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted Tuesday and has a margin of error of 2.95%.  
Lansing-based Main Street Strategies is not affiliated with nor currently represents any candidate mentioned in this survey.