[1] On April 7, 2001, incumbent mayor Dennis Archer made the surprise announcement that he would not be running for a third term.

[13] Hill and Kilpatrick, in particular, were noted to be respectful in their regard of each other during the primary, unusually so for a Detroit mayoral election.

[12] Hill was endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and United Auto Workers.

[14] One gaffe was remarking, while on a religious cable television program, that he did not want his sons exposed to a "homosexual lifestyle".

[13] Contrarily, Killpatrick was, earlier in the campaign, seen as a long-shot, registering as low as 16% support in polls at one point.

[13] Approximately a week prior to the election, a poll was released showing Kilpatrick with a 10% lead over Hill.

[12] By the end of the primary campaign, Hill and Kilpatrick were well-established in recent polls as the front-runners to advance to the general election.