Poll: 40 Percent Will Write In Pick For Detroit Mayor

DETROIT (WWJ) - A new poll shows that Detroit voters may not be afraid to go against the odds.

The survey, looking at the Detroit mayoral race, found that 40 percent plan to write in a name during Tuesday's primary and more than 90 percent of those people plan to write in the name "Mike Duggan."

The poll — commissioner by MIRS and conducted by Target Insyght — found that Duggan leads among black voters and in all age groups.

Pollster Ed Sarpolus says no write-in candidate for a major office has ever won an election in Michigan. However:

"This is new territory for us, because ... you know, what they say in the poll they do at the ballot box," Sarpolus said. "No matter what happens — even if half these people actually do it — Mike Duggan still makes it through the primary."

Among candidates who are already on the ballot, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon got more than 29 percent support, with Tom Barrow well behind at just under eight percent, and 9.2 percent undecided. Former Rep. Lisa Howze got 6.4 percent; Krystal Crittendon got 5 percent; Rep. John Olumba got 1.4 percent and Rep. Fred Durhal at 0.9 percent.

Sarpolus believes a high voter turnout would help Napoleon, who is closing the gap among senior voters.  Barrow, he said, is hoping Duggan supporters don't follow through with their write-in plans.

State Elections Director, Chris Thomas says that results from Detroit's mayoral race may not be known until well after the vote next Tuesday, because of the process of counting write-ins.

"The city of Detroit will count write-ins and they will count them by each name variation," said Thomas. "However, the city will not attempt to determine which variations go to each candidate. That's the job of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers."

That process will be further complicated due to the fact that Duggan's name is similar to that of another write-in candidate: Mike Dugeon. (More on this, HERE).

The canvassers have up to 14 days to count the votes.

The Target Insyght poll surveyed 500 likely voters.