Bankole’s Nation Episode 24: Veteran Campaign Strategist Sam Riddle Speaks Out About Detroit Mayor’s Race and What is at Stake

In this week’s episode, journalist Bankole Thompson speaks with Sam Riddle, a veteran of local and national campaigns, about the current race for the mayorship of Detroit.

Riddle offers his candid assessment of the 2025 race to succeed outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan and discusses where the campaign stands in relation to the two main contenders likely to face each other in the general election: Mary Sheffield, the President of the Detroit City Council, and Rev. Solomon W. Kinloch Jr., the senior pastor of Detroit’s Triumph Church, one of the largest and fastest-growing Black congregations in the nation.

Riddle, the political director of the Michigan Chapter of the National Action Network, discusses the significance of the endorsements from UAW Region 1 and UAW Region 1A that the Kinloch campaign received, as well as what these endorsements mean for the closely watched race this year. He also touches on the 2026 gubernatorial race and the 150 local ministers who recently announced their support for Duggan’s independent gubernatorial campaign.