Taking a dive into Hamtramck’s election results

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck voters were somewhat out of step with other voters in the state.
But, keeping with the Hamtramck tradition, voters here still strongly supported the Democratic Party.
To the likely surprise of few, considering Hamtramck’s majority Muslim voting and progressive blocs, voters here overwhelmingly supported candidate Abdul El-Sayed to become Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate.
According to unofficial election results supplied to The Review by the city clerk’s office, 2,575 voters cast their ballots for El-Sayed, compared to only 473 for his Democratic rival, Haley Stevens.
Statewide, El-Sayed went on to squeak by Stevens in the election, by only about one full percentage point.
Hamtramck’s support for El-Sayed from the Muslim community was surprising in the sense that he is a progressive who supports LGBTQ rights.
In 2024, Muslim voters here supported President Trump in that election. Trump’s policies are largely in direct opposition to what El-Sayed stands for.
In other election races, voters here went against the grain compared to others in the city’s state Senate District 3 race, by throwing their support to Mohammed Alam over John Conyers III.
Conyers, the son of the longtime Detroit Congressman John Conyers, went on to win the support of the voters in District 3.
Hamtramck voters also threw their support to Democratic challenger Seema Ahmad for State Representative District 7 over incumbent Tonya Phillips, who nevertheless succeeded in winning the primary thanks to the support of other voters in her district.
Voters here were in agreement with others in the state in supporting the Democratic candidate for governor, Jocelyn Benson, who is the current secretary of state, but who has been termed out of that office.
Despite an anti-tax movement in Hamtramck, voters here supported a Wayne County public transportation millage by a margin of 1,667 votes to 1,107.
And, locally, the recreation tax renewal was also supported.
In all, 3,597 votes were cast, out of the city’s 15,513 total registered voters, or 23 percent.
In a continuing trend, more voters here participated in the election by absentee ballot, with 1,910 choosing that method. Those who physically showed up at the polls totaled 1,521.
Only 166 voters came to city hall early to vote.
Posted Aug. 14, 2026