David Jaye continues his quest to rejoin the Michigan Senate today in the Republican primary for the special election called to fill his former seat just one of a host of primaries across the state today that will narrow the field in various local races for November"s general elections.

Jaye, who was expelled from the Legislature in May after accusations of misusing Senate computers and striking his fiance, could become the first state lawmaker to regain a seat after being removed from it if he wins today and in November.

In addition to the 12th District Senate primary, primary elections are being held in the city of Detroit and Macomb County.

Detroit residents will choose who will battle each other for outgoing Mayor Dennis Archer"s seat. Archer has headed the city since 1994. Additionally, all nine City Council seats will be up for election.

More than 25 candidates are running for mayor, with the main contenders being state House Minority Leader Kwame Kilpatrick, City Council President Gil Hill and City Councilman Nicholas Hood III.

Archer declined to endorse any of the candidates, saying,"If I were to endorse someone who opposes some of the things I support, I would be abdicating my position on this city."

The top two vote-getters in tomorrow"s mayoral primary will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. The top 18 vote-getters in the council race will also move on to the general election ballot.

Until recently, Hill had been polling several points ahead of Kilpatrick, with Hood trailing. Now, however, Kilpatrick, the son of U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit), is the one leading former homicide department chief and "Beverly Hills Cop" star Hill.

University communications studies Prof. Mike Traugott, an elections expert, said Kilpatrick has done a good job of raising money and hiring a good campaign staff. In addition, he pointed out that Kilpatrick has received the endorsements of both the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.

The fact that Kilpatrick is the son of both a congresswoman and Bernard Kilpatrick, the chief of staff to Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, may also have helped him, Traugott said.

"Especially in urban politics, this type of social networking is very important," he said.

In Macomb County, both the Republican and Democratic primaries for Jaye"s former Senate seat are contested.

Since the 12th District is considered reliably Republican, it is believed that the GOP nominee will prevail in the Nov. 6 general election. The front-runners in the Republican primary are state Rep. Alan Sanborn of Richmond, County Commissioner Sue Rocca of Sterling Heights and Jaye himself.

Traugott said that special elections, such as the one intended to replace Jaye, usually draw low voter turnout, which in addition to a multi-candidate primary, he said, usually helps candidates like Jaye who have a core group of staunch supporters.

"He might do better than people think," Traugott said.

Elsewhere, voters in New York City will also head to the polls today to select the Republican and Democratic nominees to replace term-limited Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

The top contenders on the Democratic side are city Public Advocate Mark Green, Bronx borough President Fernando Ferrer, city Comptroller Alan Hevesi, and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone.

Green had long been considered the front-runner until Ferrer surged in the polls earlier this month.

Traugott said Ferrer"s late surge is "probably due to campaign activity and resource expenditures late in the campaign."

On the Republican side, billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg faces former U.S. Rep. and Deputy Mayor Herman Badillo.

Both are former Democrats, and Badillo, long a fixture of New York politics, is far behind in polls. Traugott said Badillo may be at a disadvantage because his political views are too liberal to run successfully for the Republican nomination.

"Primary candidates tend to take relatively more extreme positions because people that vote in primaries are more intensely committed," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.