DETROIT — After a long and challenging start to his campaign, Mike Duggan was finally able to celebrate a victory, after the Primary results came in for the Detroit mayoral race this week.

As a write-in candidate, Duggan received the most votes in the Primary, more than any candidate on the ballot, including Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, who was considered the front-runner in the race.  Duggan’s victory comes on the heels of a filing blunder that had him taken off the ballot in June.

Duggan celebrates victory at campaign gathering.

Detroit’s election employees worked early into Wednesday morning to verify the write-in names that were cast. The race in Detroit was considered to be quite unique, as over 52 percent of the votes that were cast in the primary were cast for write-in candidates, with 46 percent of them going to Duggan. 

A non-issue during the day was local barber Mike Dugeon, who announced his write-in candidacy at the 11th hour and garnered plenty of media attention. While many speculated that Dugeon’s run was nothing more than an attempt to confuse voters, he proved to be a non-factor in the race, receiving only 17 votes total. 

In total, the name “Mike Duggan” was written 44,395 times across all of Detroit’s 614 precincts, while other variations that included “Duggan,” “Mick Duggan” and “Mike Duggin” appeared randomly as well. 

Napoleon speaks to crowd at campaign gathering.

Benny Napoleon landed in a distant second, with 29 percent of the vote, even with the benefit of having his name appear on the ballot.

Lower turn-outs during the Primary could have played a big factor in Duggan’s win. His campaign gained massive momentum from marketing strategies that included television commercials and jingles that spelled out his name, along with manuals on how to write-in his name on the ballot, all of which proved to be effective for voters. 

The announcement of Detroit’s bankruptcy in July may have also had a positive effect on his campaign. Duggan, although criticized for being unfamiliar with the City, was often cited as the most qualified to potentially turn the City around financially, due to his background. In 2004, he became president and chief executive of the Detroit Medical Center and is credited with helping turn the system back to being profitable. He is a former Wayne County prosecutor and deputy county executive as well.

Napoleon, on the other hand, has a hefty law-enforcement background, which also an important factor in a City that has seen accelerating crime rates in recent years, making it the most dangerous City in the country. Napoleon was appointed in 2004 as assistant Wayne County executive and was appointed sheriff in 2009, before his re-election in 2012. He also spent three years as the Detroit police chief, before retiring there in 2001.

While both candidates claimed to be excited for the November elections during their victory celebrations, the mayoral position is no longer the top ranking position in the City. That position goes to state-hired Financial Emergency Manager Kevin Orr, who was appointed to the position by Governor Rick Snyder to handle Detroit’s financial affairs.