DETROIT — Former Detroit mayor, federal inmate, and philanderer-in-general, Kwame Kilpatrick, has officially entered his bid for mayor in the upcoming 2025 election.

“If redemption is real, then so is my candidacy,” he said, speaking before a modest crowd outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Sunday afternoon.

Flanked by several local pastors, wife Carlita Patrick, and a sound system rented from a pawn shop, Kilpatrick appeared energized, confident, and unbothered by the 24 felony convictions that once derailed his career. 

“Prison taught me a lot,” Kilpatrick said. “Like how to lead from the inside, how to forgive the justice system, and how to properly fill out a resume without lying.” 

With Mayor Mike Duggan stepping aside to pursue an independent bid for governor, the mayoral race has been left wide open, and Kilpatrick’s reentry is poised to complicate what was expected to be an already chaotic race.

His chief rival, City Council President Mary Sheffield, responded to Kilpatrick’s announcement by pivoting her own messaging: "No shade, but I too have made mistakes. Once drove 49 in a 35." Later tweeting, "Just keeping it 💯.”

Another candidate, longtime city fixture Ray Jenkins, launched a TikTok campaign hours later with the post and hashtag " #FelonyEnergy, recounting a youthful incident involving unreturned Blockbuster tapes.

Kilpatrick, now a self-described faith leader and reformed public servant, spent much of his campaign kickoff underscoring the concept of “spiritual parole,” calling his time in prison “a divine internship.” He cited his founding of two Bible study groups, a prison-wide recycling initiative, and his work teaching a financial literacy class—titled From Restitution to Reinvestment—as proof of his “rehabilitative excellence.”

“God gave me a vision,” Kilpatrick said. “And that vision was Detroit. Again.”

Despite objections from ethics watchdogs and people who remember things, Kilpatrick’s campaign has quickly gained momentum on social media, buoyed by endorsements from an eclectic roster of controversial supporters, including the former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, rapper Boosie Badazz and the felonious dynamo herself, Martha Stewart.

"He did his time." Stewart tweeted: "Now let him cook!"

While critics have raised questions about the legality of his run, Kilpatrick insists he is fully within his rights and cites Donald Trump’s 2024 conviction and subsequent successful campaign to the presidency as inspiration.

“If a felon can run for president, surely I can run this city again—especially since I still remember the Wi-Fi password at City Hall. And also I promise not to steal any money this time.”