Detroit City Council race: Here’s who leads for 2 at-large seats, per poll

DETROIT – A new poll revealed which candidates are leading for the two at-large seats within the Detroit City Council.

WDIV and the Detroit News partnered on a poll of likely Detroit voters that was conducted May 27-29 over the phone.

Participants were read a list of candidates in alphabetical order and asked, “If you had to vote today, please tell me who would be your first choice for the at-large city council seat.”

If participants said they didn’t know, they were asked which way they are leaning.

Here are the results of that question:

• Levan Adams -- 1%
• Janee Ayers -- 9.8%
• Victoria Collier -- 0.4%
• James Harris -- 3.5%
• Shakira Hawkins -- 2.2%
• Gary Hunter -- 1.4%
• Ramon Jackson -- 0%
• Valerie Parker -- 0%
• Mary Waters -- 31.7%
• Coleman Young II -- 20.7%
• Don’t know/refused -- 29.3%

Then, participants were asked, “Which candidate would be your second choice for the at-large city council seat?”

Here are the results:

• Levan Adams -- 1.9%
• Janee Ayers -- 4.5%
• Victoria Collier -- 2.5%
• James Harris -- 3.9%
• Shakira Hawkins -- 4.2%
• Gary Hunter -- 1.4%
• Ramon Jackson -- 1.4%
• Valerie Parker -- 1.1%
• Mary Waters -- 17.5%
• Coleman Young II -- 32%
• Don’t know/refused -- 29.5%

More from this poll

Here are some other findings from this poll:

• Poll: Here’s who leads Detroit mayoral race 2 months before primary election
• What Detroit voters believe are most important issues in the city right now
• What are biggest challenges facing Detroit public schools?
• Detroit voters want more spending in neighborhoods, less focus on downtown
• Do Detroiters approve or disapprove of President Trump?
• Detroit voters strongly oppose city supporting federal government in immigrant removal

Poll methodology

WDIV and the Detroit News commissioned a survey of likely August 2025 primary election voters within the city of Detroit. The poll was conducted y The Glengariff Group, Inc.

It was a 500 sample, live operator telephone survey from May 27-29, 2025.

The margin of error is +/- 4%, and there is a 95% level of confidence.

Of the respondents, 10.4% were called via landline telephone, and 89.6% were called on a cellphone.