Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (June 25, 1945 – October 7, 2025) was an American politician who was a U.S. representative from 1997 to 2011, first for and then for . She was a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election to Hansen Clarke, who replaced her in January 2011 after winning the 2010 general election. Kilpatrick was also the mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Early life, education and career Born Carolyn Jean Cheeks in Detroit on June 25, 1945, she graduated from Detroit High School of Commerce. She then attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids from 1968 to 1970 and earned a B.S. from Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) in 1972. She earned a M.S. from the University of Michigan in 1977.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Caucus and other membership Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus

She was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted not to count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. Republican President George Bush won the state by 118,457 votes.

The Congressional Black Caucus unanimously chose Kilpatrick as its chairwoman for the 110th Congress (2007-09). 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. Michigan Live reported that her election defeat could in part be attributed to the Kwame Kilpatrick scandals.

Personal life and death Kilpatrick was a member of the Detroit Substance Abuse Advisory Council, and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Kilpatrick was married to Bernard Nathaniel Kilpatrick from 1968 until divorcing in 1981. The couple had two children, daughter Ayanna and son Kwame 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.

Kilpatrick lived in Metro Atlanta in her later years, and died from Alzheimer's disease at her daughter's home in Fayetteville, Georgia, on October 7, 2025, at the age of 80.

Electoral history