Being a large city, Detroit has a large population and a Democratic majority in voting. The political views of a city vary on a variety of topics and issues. But are the political views of residents of Detroit, Michigan conservative?
Detroit, Michigan is not a conservative city. Voters support Democratic party candidates, and the Democratic and liberal campaigns receive significantly more financial contributions than opposing efforts. Abortion views, elected officials, and climate change efforts show liberalism as well.
Knowing the political views of an area can be valuable information. It will help prepare visitors and potential or future residents alike to decide whether the city is a good fit for them.
Recent Voting Statistics
The recent voting statistics
of an area, especially in larger elections, are an excellent method of knowing the political lean of an area. In Detroit, these statistics show a clearly liberal city dominated by a Democratic majority.
In the 2020 presidential election, 68.3% of Wayne County voters, the county that Detroit is in, supported the Democratic party candidate. Only 30.3% voted Republican and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent. Over half of Detroit’s voting population voted for the Democratic party, meaning that a majority of the city supports liberal views.
So, the majority of people vote blue, but there is a large presence of red voters as well. This makes sense because, in the 2016 election, the state voted red, but in 2020 they voted blue. They are not always like this, as states typically have many years where they vote one way before the next sum of years where they vote the other way, but they might become more unpredictable in the future. So, in the 2024 election, we will have to wait and see if Michigan stays blue or goes red again.
Abortion Views
Currently, the state of Michigan does not have any laws protecting abortion rights within state boundaries. This is not, however, an uncommon occurrence, as the 1973 Roe v Wade case declared legal rights to abortion to be protected under the US Constitution. In June of 2022, the US Supreme Court made an announcement that the Roe v Wade case was overturned. This means that abortion rights are not protected or provided on a national level.
Individual states are now responsible to vote and enact laws protecting or denying legal rights to abortions within their state boundaries. Abortion rights activists were clearly upset with the announcement and rallies and protests were held around the nation to show their disapproval. But, people on the pro-life side celebrated this victory and were excited that each state can now decide its own stance on abortions.
In June, following the recent US Supreme Court announcement, abortion rights activists marched through downtown Detroit with banners, megaphones, signs, and banners promoting legal abortion rights. At one point, the protestors blocked off the Windsor Tunnel and covered several blocks downtown. One of the speakers at the rally was Nakia Wallace.
“The only way we defend not only our right to abortion and healthcare, but our right to gay marriage, our right to water, our right to decent housing, our right to everything, is the same way we won it: in the streets.”
Nakia wallace, cofounder of nonprofit detroit will breathe
Another rally was held at the same time in Detroit with a group gathered in Palmer Park. Many Detroit citizens were extremely upset with the ruling and gathered to support one another and publicize their views. Other protests were held on June 29th. Another Michigan protest on July 4th unintentionally blocked an Independence Day parade downtown because of the number of supporters participating.
Many of the rally participants are supporting a pro-abortion rights effort spreading through Detroit right now as well. Efforts are being made toward signing a petition that will put a decision on the ballot this fall. If enough signatures are gathered, the petition would allow Detroit voters to support or oppose the addition of abortion rights into state laws. Some abortion advocates even plan to make Michigan an abortion sanctuary state, following examples of other liberal states across the United States.
But, there are issues with being an abortion sanctuary, and one is that Michigan as a state has a history of voting both red and blue, so it is hard to know if the citizens will want to keep abortions legal, if they will want nothing to do with abortions, or if they will want to have strict laws on abortions, and the citizens might not want people coming to the state for an abortion. So, only time will tell if any of these options come to pass in fall 2022.
Detroit residents are showing incredible support for the liberal stance on abortion. Their advocation of legal abortion practices and rights shows that the city is liberal. The number of protestors and even those who signed the petition alone are a large indication that the city is liberal rather than conservative.
Financial Contributions to Political Campaigns
Political campaigns receive financial donations, or contributions, from residents to support their views and parties. As shown in the voting statistics, Detroit residents support Democratic and liberal views more than those of the Republican and conservative efforts.
From 2018 to 2021, there were 44,687 financial contributions made to Democratic and liberal campaigns in Detroit. These campaigns made a total of $8,380,214 in total. On average, each person contributed $188.
In this same time period, the Republican Party and conservative campaigns earned a total of $5,689,349 in contributions. In total, 3,185 different contributions were made, and each person gave an average of $1,786.
The liberal and Democratic Party campaigns were evidently more successful in terms of financial donations and support over this period of time than their opponents. In fact, liberal views received 41,502 more contributions and made $2,690,865 more in finances than conservative campaigns. Detroit is clearly a liberal city and supports liberal efforts and campaigns in voting and financial contributions.
In reading this, you may think it is great or awful for the city to promote the things they do, but that will change according to your own personal opinion on politics. But, if you are looking to move here, that is a good thing to know. Maybe it will make you more excited to live in a place with like-minded people.
But, you could also think that it sounds hard to live there if you have a different political opinion than most of the other residents. No matter what your political opinions are, you will be able to find people who have the same opinions as you while living in Detroit, Michigan.
Climate Change
Increased and continual efforts to support the environment are signs of liberalism in a city. Detroit has made continual efforts to help decrease the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and to decrease the city’s carbon footprint as well.
In 2017, there was a Detroit, Michigan Climate Action Plan released. This plan was not only created by the city’s politicians, it was made in collaboration with Detroit Universities, 26 businesses, community groups, and several environmental and nonprofit organizations as well.
The plan includes approximately 20 goals for the city’s future, all directed toward becoming a more environmentally friendly environment and community. While there are smaller goals leading up to this, one of the outlined plans is to have an 80% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions throughout the entire city!
Other efforts of the Detroit Climate Action Plan include increased use of several renewable energy resources within the city, improved recycling and compost efforts in waste management, better energy efficiency in homes, and better plans for the effects of stormwater runoffs.
These local and governmental participants created the plan in an effort to address a variety of climate-impact issues in the city. Some of these issues include rising temperatures, flooding problems, and even an increased report of power outages in certain areas of the city.
Detroit has also formed the Detroit Climate Equity Advisory Council. This council will work with other environmental activists such as the city’s Green Task Force to make Detroit a more eco-friendly city. However, no matter what a city government does, you can always put effort into yourself to be better about what you do for the environment. You can donate to causes you believe in, reduce your waste, switch to reusable plastics, and more.
Elected Government Officials
The elected city officials are a reflection of the city’s priorities and views in terms of political issues and beliefs. Currently, the mayor of Detroit is Mike Duggan. Mayor Duggan has been serving as the city’s mayor since 2014 after he was elected in 2013. Currently serving his third term as Detroit’s mayor, Duggan’s victories prove that he has a consistent and highly populated support group among the city’s many residents. He is a member of the Democratic party, showing that the residents are not necessarily focused on government officials that have conservative views.
Being a Democrat, Mayor Duggan supports liberal views such as the efforts to combat climate change, strict gun laws, and legalized abortions. Detroit is a liberal city and supports liberal leaders who will advocate their political beliefs.
