Carolyn Kilpatrick | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait,c. 2005 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Barbara-Rose Collins |
| Succeeded by | Hansen Clarke |
| Constituency | 15th district (1997–2003) 13th district (2003–2011) |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Jackie Vaughn III |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Kilpatrick |
| Constituency | 18th district (1979–1982) 8th district (1983–1992) 9th district (1993–1996) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carolyn Jean Cheeks (1945-06-25)June 25, 1945 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 7, 2025(2025-10-07) (aged 80) Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingKwame |
| Education | Ferris State University Western Michigan University (BS) University of Michigan (MS) |
Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (June 25, 1945 – October 7, 2025) was an American politician who was aU.S. Representative from 1997 to 2011, first forMichigan's 15th congressional district and then forMichigan's 13th congressional district. She was a member of theDemocratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election toHansen Clarke, who replaced her in January 2011 after winning the2010 general election.[1][2][3] Kilpatrick was also the mother of former Detroit MayorKwame Kilpatrick.
Born Carolyn Jean Cheeks in Detroit on June 25, 1945, she graduated from Detroit High School of Commerce.[4] She then attendedFerris State University inBig Rapids from 1968 to 1970 and earned aB.S. fromWestern Michigan University (Kalamazoo) in 1972. She earned aM.S. from theUniversity of Michigan in 1977.[4] She worked as a high school teacher and was later a member of theMichigan House of Representatives from 1979 to 1996.[4]
She was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted not to count the 20electoral votes fromOhio in the2004 presidential election.[5] Republican President George Bush won the state by 118,457 votes.[6]
TheCongressional Black Caucus unanimously chose Kilpatrick as its chairwoman for the110th Congress (2007-09).[4]
On September 29, 2008, she voted against theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[1]
In 1996, Kilpatrick challenged three-term incumbentBarbara-Rose Collins in the 1996 Democratic primary for what was then the 15th District. She defeated Collins by a shocking margin, taking 51.6 percent of the vote to Collins' 30.6 percent. This wastantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. She was reelected six times, never dropping below 80 percent of the vote. Her district was renumbered as the 13th District after the 2000 Census. She faced no major-party opposition in 2004 and was completely unopposed in 2006.
Her first serious opposition came during the 2008 primary—the real contest in this district—when she was challenged by both formerState RepresentativeMary D. Waters andState SenatorMartha Scott in the Democratic primary. Kilpatrick's campaign was plagued by the controversy surrounding her son and his involvement in a text messaging sex scandal. On the August 5 primary election, Kilpatrick won with 39.1 percent of the vote, compared to Waters' 36 percent and Scott's 24 percent.
In 2010, she was again challenged in the Democratic primary. Unlike in 2008, her opposition coalesced around State SenatorHansen Clarke, who defeated her in the August 3 primary. “This is the final curtain: the ending of the Kilpatrick dynasty,” said Detroit political consultant Eric Foster of Foster, McCollum, White and Assoc.[7] NPR and CBS News both noted that throughout her re-election campaign, she was dogged by questions about her son,Kwame Kilpatrick, who is in prison on numerous corruption charges.[8][9]Michigan Live reported that her election defeat could in part be attributed to the Kwame Kilpatrick scandals.[10]
Kilpatrick was a member of the Detroit Substance Abuse Advisory Council, and was a member ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority.
Kilpatrick was married to Bernard Nathaniel Kilpatrick from 1968 until divorcing in 1981.[11] The couple had two children, daughter Ayanna and sonKwame Kilpatrick, a former Mayor of Detroit. She had six grandsons including two sets of twins and two granddaughters. Both her former husband and son were on trial, under an 89-page felony indictment. On March 11, 2013, her son was found guilty on 24 of 30 federal charges and her former spouse was found guilty on 1 of 4 federal charges.[12]
Kilpatrick lived inMetro Atlanta in her later years, and died fromAlzheimer's disease at her daughter's home inFayetteville, Georgia, on October 7, 2025, at the age of 80.[4][13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (inc.) | 167,481 | 74.13 | |
| Republican | Edward J. Gubics | 43,098 | 19.08 | |
| Green | George L. Corsetti | 9,579 | 4.24 | |
| Libertarian | Gregory Creswell | 5,764 | 2.55 | |
| Total votes | 225,922 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hansen Clarke | 22,573 | 47.32 | |
| Democratic | Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (incumbent) | 19,507 | 40.89 | |
| Democratic | Glenn Plummer | 2,038 | 4.27 | |
| Democratic | John Broad | 1,872 | 3.92 | |
| Democratic | Vincent Brown | 893 | 1.87 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Hume | 820 | 1.72 | |
| Total votes | 47,703 | 100.00 | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 15th congressional district 1997–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 13th congressional district 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theCongressional Black Caucus 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
