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Grosse Pointe’s Journey From Red Enclave to Blue Bellwether: Hope for a Democratic Revitalization and a Canary in the Coal Mine for Republicans
April 16, 2025
In a tree-lined street in Grosse Pointe Shores — an exclusive lakeside community long synonymous with old-guard Republicanism — election day used to be almost a formality for the GOP. As recently as 2020, one precinct in this wealthy enclave gave Donald Trump about 64.5% of its votes. But fast forward to 2024, and the political ground in the Grosse Pointes has shifted underfoot. In a reversal of historic patterns, Democratic candidates are now winning across most of the Grosse Pointe communities, reflecting a dramatic suburban realignment that has taken hold in metro Detroit and beyond.
The five Grosse Pointes — City, Park, Farms, Woods, and Shores — sit just outside Detroit in Wayne County. For decades, these affluent, nearly all-white suburbs were reliable Republican strongholds in an otherwise Democratic county. Local lore recalls the era of country-club conservatives and neighbors sporting “Reagan/Bush” yard signs with pride. “Historically conservative Grosse Pointe” was simply a political fact. Yet in recent election cycles, that fact has been turned on its head. By 2020, Joe Biden carried nearly all of the Grosse Pointes, winning 55.9% in the City of Grosse…
