2025 Election Recap: Pontiac Elects First Out LGBTQ+ Mayor While Detroit Council Strengthens Queer Representation
Blue wave sweeps across Michigan, reflecting national trend
The 2025 election cycle has come to a close, and there has been a lot of noise around a few high-profile Democratic wins in New York City, Virginia and New Jersey — victories that reflect the electorate's objection to Trump's second term, and more specifically voters' embrace of protections for queer Americans. While Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City has made headlines, there were also plenty of moments to celebrate right here in Michigan as Detroit voters pushed forward a night of historic firsts of their own.
City Council President Mary Sheffield will make history as the city’s first female mayor, and one of few Black women to lead major cities across the country. In addition to Sheffield's victory, the city also elected Denzel McCampbell to the council, giving Detroit two openly LGBTQ+ councilmembers. McCampbell will join Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who easily secured her second term. Santiago-Romero made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to Detroit City Council in her first term. Charlie Pugh became Detroit's first openly LGBTQ+ elected official when he was elected council president in 2009.
In addition to these results out of Detroit, LGBTQ+ candidates made history across the state this cycle. Queer candidates Drew Duncan and Jacqueline Slaby were elected to the Kalamazoo City Commission. In Pontiac, Mike McGuinness, Michigan’s first openly LGBTQ+ elected official, was elected as the city’s new mayor.
These victories reflect an encouraging trend of statewide voter advocacy, according to officials who know what it means to break barriers.
“People made a very clear statement. Not only are they actively opposing things that are happening at the federal level, but they're also opposing anti-LGBTQ candidates,” said State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, who serves Michigan’s 17th House District and is the first openly bisexual member of the House.
That opposition is especially vital as Michigan’s Republican-controlled House mirrors national efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. Pohutsky said those dynamics make the election of advocates and allies all the more critical.
“It's really important to note that a lot of federal actions were softened because of the actions of our statewide elected officials and our legislatures. So we have protections in place against a lot of really heinous federal actions that other states don't,” she said.
This defense of LGBTQ+ rights will be all the more consequential as voters and candidates in Michigan look toward 2026. During the midterms, the state will elect a new governor, a new U.S. senator, 13 new representatives for the U.S. House and countless local and regional officials. Although daunting, leaders across the state count the 2025 cycle as a moment of promise looking forward to 2026.
“I feel incredibly hopeful going into 2026 following the elections this week,” said State Rep. Jason Morgan, who represents Michigan’s 23rd House District. “I'm seeing voters elect really a range of candidates who seem genuinely focused on the people.”
That range of candidates will include some dynamic races, with queer candidates up and down the ballot. Jeremy Moss, Michigan’s first openly gay state senator, is running a campaign for Michigan’s 11th U.S. congressional district. Similarly, Eric Chung is running for Michigan’s 10th congressional district. If either or both win, they would become the first openly gay members of Michigan’s congressional delegation.
Across the state, LGBTQ+ rights remain on the ballot. Twenty-one anti-LGBTQ+ bills are currently in some stage of consideration in the Michigan Legislature, measures that could live or die depending on upcoming elections. Nationally, there are 616 such bills moving through state legislatures. According to Morgan, voters now have a sharper understanding of what’s at stake.
“I know some queer people who in this last election had a sense that Trump and Republicans were somehow coming around on LGBTQ+ issues and would not attack their basic rights. And it is wildly clear now that Republicans will stop at nothing to roll back LGBTQ+ rights in this country from trans rights to marriage equality,” Morgan said.
That awareness stems from the GOP’s relentless national focus on trans lives. During the 2024 cycle, Trump and his allies spent nearly $215 million on anti-trans TV ads alone. This political obsession with trans people has sent a clear message to voters, according to Jerron Totten, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s LGBT and Allies Caucus.
“I believe that voters are beginning to see that our community has been used as scapegoats for conservative talking points and conservative policy,” said Totten. “I believe that the voters are seeing that there is no data behind transgender people using bathrooms and committing crimes while they're in the bathrooms. And I believe the American people are acknowledging that we have far more pressing issues to confront than attacking LGBTQ+ people just for existing.”
Totten’s caucus has already made an early 2026 endorsement of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan’s soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat.
National polling shows that voters are increasingly rejecting fearmongering around queer and trans people. In key races across Virginia, New York City and New Jersey, the top concerns for most voters were taxes, the economy and the cost of living, not gender or sexuality. Voters want easier lives, and they are ready to fight for them at the polls according to Totten.
“People are pushing back against Trump policies and they are making it known that they will hold elected officials accountable for how they respond, or not, to the infringement of the rights of the American people,” he said.
As voters and candidates turn their attention to the midterms, Pohutsky emphasized the importance of voting as both resistance and activism.
“This is a fascist administration that thrives on chaos and harm that it does to some of the most vulnerable people in the country, namely our community. Everything is on the line. There is no overstating how important 2026 is going to be, so we really need people to obviously get out to the polls,” she said.
For LGBTQ+ Michiganders, this election cycle has underscored both the challenges and momentum shaping the state’s political future. From Detroit to Kalamazoo, voters showed a willingness to elect leaders who reflect the diversity of their communities, and a clear refusal to be swayed by divisive national rhetoric.
As the next cycle looms, Michigan’s growing coalition of queer candidates and allies signals something even more powerful than political wins: a collective insistence that equality, safety and representation are nonnegotiable.
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