Mike Duggan’s impressive write-in candidacy for Detroit
mayor, which will no doubt be referenced by pundits for decades to come, is
making national news.
Politico and The Washington Post gave the story coverage and MSNBC’s Chuck Todd wrote on his blog today that Duggan
made his write-in effort look easy, even though he faced some serious campaign
shenanigans and given his attempt to become the first white Motown mayor in
four decades.
Here’s a portion of Todd’s blog post:
“The former Detroit Medical Center CEO, who was forced to
run as a write-in candidate after a judge ruled he hadn’t lived in the
city long enough to qualify for the ballot, placed first on the 16-way ballot
anyway. Now, Duggan will face Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the November
runoff to lead the now-bankrupt Motor City.
“ … unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary showed
write-in votes getting 53% of the vote, while Napoleon took 30% to place a
solid second, with other candidates languishing in single digits. Duggan’s
unlikely write-in bid was hit with a bit of uncertainty after another
similarly-named candidate, a barber named Mike Dugeon, threw his name into the
race. But city officials said nearly all of the write-in ballots were written
correctly for Duggan, who was the heavy frontrunner before he was thrown off
the ballot, and was the leading fundraiser in the race, too.
“Duggan even released an old-fashioned jingle to
help voters remember his surname–remember the ‘GG’ it sang. The Detroit
News also noted that Duggan’s ground game was impressive, and helped give
him the final boost..
“Given how well he did without even his name on the
ballot, Duggan, who would be the majority black city’s first white mayor in
nearly four decades, heads into the fall contest as a heavy favorite. The two
will face-off for the right to succeed outgoing Mayor Dave Bing, who decided
not to seek another term leading the floundering city.”