DETROIT – Incumbent Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan won re-election Tuesday, defeating State Sen. Coleman Young II in the 2017 General Election.
Duggan will receive four more years as mayor after voters decided to elect him for a second term by a wide margin.
There was no doubt among Duggan supporters that his campaign would win re-election. Duggan's team said they put a strategy in place, didn't spend a dollar on negative campaigning and had confidence that it would come out on top.
Duggan received upwards of 70 percent of the vote. He took the stage Tuesday night to declare victory.
"With all of the 'Us vs. them' attacks, I decided I didn't care," Duggan said. "I wasn't going to respond to it, and I'm very proud of the fact that at the end of this campaign, we did not spend one dime on TV, radio or mail attacking our opponent.
"Have fun tonight, but be on time because we're going right back to work in the morning."
The cabinet meeting is at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Duggan said he expects a couple of changes in his cabinet, but he's not yet sure what they will be.
Now, Duggan will return to fighting crime, getting into the neighborhood and moving forward.
Duggan's victory margin was the largest since Dennis Archer's victory in 1997.
"Seventy-five percent of Detroiters think the city's going in the right direction," Duggan said. "That's a tribute to a whole lot of people who work for the city and a lot of people in the private sector. I think it was reflected in the numbers today. It was reflected in the numbers in the primary."
It was clear during the debate at the Local 4 studios last month that there was no love lost between Duggan and Young. As the campaign went on, there were many accusations thrown around.
Duggan said Young left him a voicemail while he was on stage declaring victory.
"It was a hard-fought campaign," Young said. "Even though we came up short, this was just the beginning."
Duggan's supporters chanted "four more years" in the room as there was very little stress throughout the night.
The mayor is now focusing on his next missions: moving into the neighborhoods and a new crime center set to unveil later in November.
You can watch Duggan's re-election speech below:
You can watch Young's speech below: