Trump made gains in Detroit over 2020, but voter turnout falls far short of targets

DETROIT — Republican former President Donald Trump saw increased support in Detroit this election compared with 2016 and 2020, while voter turnout in Michigan's most populous city failed to match city election officials' expectations.

Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris received 90% of Detroit's support on Tuesday, while Trump earned 8%, with the remainder going to third party candidates. The former president made a series of stops in Detroit, including a speech at the economic club and a few appearances at Huntington Place.

Harris also made a series of stops in Detroit, including her last stop at a Sunday church service two days before the election.

But the Republican improved his performance in the Democratic stronghold compared with the 2020 election, when Democrat President Joe Biden beat him 94%-5%, and 2016, when Hillary Clinton bested him 95%-3%.

In all, Trump received 19,667 votes, according to the unofficial election results, nearly 6,800 more votes than the 12,889 he got in 2020 and over 14,000 more than the 5,601 votes he got in 2016.

By contrast, Harris's 221, 629 votes not only fell over 19,000 short of the 240,936 votes Biden received four years ago, but they were 13,000 fewer votes than the 234,871 votes that Clinton received in 2016.

Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey and other officials predicted Tuesday's election would see a robust 53% voter turnout, an increase over 2020 that would have matched the voter participation when Barack Obama, America's first Black president, was elected in 2008. Daniel Baxter, chief operating officer for the Detroit Department of Elections, said early Wednesday would fall short of a 51% turnout goal.

Their predictions fell flat. Instead, Detroit's turnout fell to 47.2% in Tuesday's election, a decline from the 50.9% four years ago and the 48.6% participation rate from 2016.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she expected nearly 5.5 million ballots will have been cast by the time all the ballots are counted, but it was unclear whether a record would be set. In 2020, there were 5.5 million total voters. Almost 4.9 million voted in 2016.

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