Gretchen Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign is embarking on a full-court press in Detroit, releasing two new ads Wednesday that will play in the Detroit markets and feature Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Combined with frequent campaign stops and rallies in the city by both Whitmer and her running mate, Garlin Gilchrist, tens of thousands of phone calls made to Detroiters and a blanket of mailers headed to mailboxes in the city, the ads are further proof that boosting turnout in Detroit is key for Democrats’ hopes on Nov. 6.

The efforts may be paying off. Detroiters have already returned more than 9,000 absentee ballots, which is more than triple the number returned in the last gubernatorial election in 2014. And traditionally, Detroiters have voted for Democrats with more than 90-percent margins.

“She has been out and about in Detroit, so I’m not surprised that she’s enlisting two of our region’s most popular figures,” said Detroit political consultant Greg Bowens. “Both Mayor Duggan and Prosecutor Worthy have strong positives statewide, so that kind of ad can play in any of the markets in Michigan.”

Duggan may feel more comfortable with a highly visible role in this year’s election, Bowen said, because in 2014, he had to deal with Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and a Republican Legislature that was deciding the fate of the cash-strapped city.

“You didn’t see the same type of heavy lift from the mayor that we’re seeing right now,” he said.

For Duggan, Whitmer’s willingness to work with Snyder and other Republicans toward common goals during her time in the Senate is helping make his participation easier.

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“I think the fact that Gretchen Whitmer was able to work with the governor and get 680,000 people covered was risky,” Duggan said, referring to Whitmer’s role in helping get Democratic votes for an expansion of Medicaid when she was in the state Senate in 2013. “Most people in this state are tired of the terrible partisan fighting that’s going on and here we’ve got a candidate who has been able to work with Republicans and Democrats to accomplish things.”

The 15-second ad featuring Duggan focuses on the Medicaid expansion. “Her leadership changed lives and saved lives. Imagine what she can do as governor,” he says in the ad.

Worthy talks about Whitmer’s short stint as the Ingham County prosecutor in 2016, when she was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Stuart Dunnings, who was convicted of soliciting prostitutes.

“As a prosecutor, she cracked down on domestic abusers and stood up for rape victims whose cases had been ignored. … She’s the governor we need,” Worthy says.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.