The Metro: Breaking down the 2024 election in Dearborn, southeast Michigan

Donald Trump’s second presidential victory has a lot of people questioning how much the Democratic and Republican parties are changing — especially as more working class voters, young people and voters in big cities pull for Trump, almost regardless of their racial or ethnic background.

In southeast Michigan, Trump unsurprisingly won Macomb County, but he also flipped a number of Downriver cities and the city of Dearborn. And while many in Oakland County voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, fewer people came out for her than for President Joe Biden four years ago. 

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Dennis Darnoi, founder of Densar Consulting — a political consulting firm that tracks voter data in Michigan — joined The Metro on Wednesday to help break down how Michiganders voted. He says the economy played a major role in people’s decision making. 

“Michigan families are financially stressed. You know, there’s a survey in June showing that Michigan families were the most financially distressed families in the nation, with Texas being second to it,” Darnoi said. “So there was this sort of thought that if we put Donald Trump back into office, that there was this dream of returning to a, you know, pre-COVID economy that Trump put in place. And so, you know, even though the economists have come out and said that part of Trump’s economic plan is going to increase the deficit more than what Vice President Harris was proposing, people just vote their pocketbook.” 

Continuing our election analysis, we zoom in on Dearborn. The election results there tell us that many Arab American voters are dissatisfied with the the Biden-Harris Administration over its ongoing support of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza — and now Hezbollah in Lebanon — and the billions of dollars in military aid the U.S. has contributed to the war effort despite global calls for a ceasefire.

Trump won 42% of voters in Dearborn, with Green Party and pro-ceasefire candidate Jill Stein capturing 18% of the vote — more than any other place in Michigan, according to Darnoi. 

Amer Zahr has been pushing for Arab Americans to use their power at the ballot box. The Palestinian-American comedian, attorney and activist has said he doesn’t like Harris or Trump, but said, “one has clearly proven to be deadly.” 

While some people in the community have supported Trump and his beliefs, Zahr says he thinks most Arab Americans voted for an administration that did not support Israel’s wars. 

“But anyone who voted for Trump based on his policies, I don’t think that’s what most of the Arab Americans were doing. They wanted to beat Harris. And very clearly, because of the policy,” Zahr said. “I think we’re going to see the Democratic Party maybe turn into the party that actually finally criticizes Israel openly. We saw that before. They did it under Trump.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on Nov. 13, 2024: 

• The Nu Omega Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is holding a free community panel addressing Black men’s mental health, It’s OK Not to Be Ok , at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Third New Hope West Campus. Kevin R. Scott, a decorated combat-era Marine corp Veteran and peer specialist at Detroit’s John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, joined the show to discuss the event.
• The Royal Oak Market: Art Fair Edition will include live entertainment, food and family-friendly activities. There will be 60 jury-selected artists with work on display and for sale. To talk about the fair, Allison L. Neal, senior director of marketing and partnerships for the guild of artists and artisans, joined The Metro.

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