Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

At 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick declared victory in the 13th Congressional District primary race.

Early in the evening with 13 percent of the vote in, the incumbent Kilpatrick had been as many as 25 points behind former state rep. Mary Waters.

But like the proverbial turtle in the race against the fast-starting rabbit, Kilpatrick, whose son is the beleaguered mayor of Detroit, kept gaining on Waters whose lead was eclipsed not until midnight when 70 percent of the returns were in. With a slight lead at 71 percent returned, Kilpatrick claimed victory.

Waters, whose election-night party was at the Jefferson Avenue Fuddruckers in Detroit said the race was too close to call as she left at 1:00 a.m. for bed.

By 3:00 a.m., only one percent of the vote remained uncounted, and Kilpatrick’s lead had grown to 1,600-some votes — a margin that gave Kilpatrick an insurmountable-looking 39 percent to 36 percent lead.

Waters and fellow Democratic primary rival Martha Scott (who came in third) had been strongly outspent by Kilpatrick. The Democratic representative will likely return to Congress in this heavily Democratic district.

It’s also possible that this victory by his mother might provide Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with some extra political capital to stay in office while he fights his legal battles and the numerous calls for him to step down due to scandal.