Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate seat, becoming first Muslim American in the chamber
The 42-year-old former public health official defeated Mike Rogers in a closely watched race that tested the left's appeal in a key Midwest state.
By Alina Carter ·
Abdul El-Sayed secured the U.S. Senate seat for Michigan on Tuesday, according to an Associated Press race call. The victory makes him the first Muslim American to serve in the upper chamber of Congress.
El-Sayed, 42, defeated former Republican representative Mike Rogers in a contest that drew national attention. Rogers had lost his initial attempt to win this seat in 2024. The win is a key component in the Democratic Party's effort to reclaim the Senate majority.
The campaign centered on cost of living and corporate influence in politics. El-Sayed advocated for single-payer healthcare and sought to mobilize younger and less frequent voters. Although he is not a democratic socialist, his platform attracted support from prominent figures on the political left.
His path to the general election was contentious. In the primary, El-Sayed beat Representative Haley Stevens by approximately one percentage point. Stevens campaigned against him with the support of Governor Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Senator Gary Peters.
Tensions persisted into the fall. Stevens initially pledged support for the Democratic ticket but later endorsed Rogers, a move that illustrated the difficulty of unifying the party in Michigan. El-Sayed also navigated criticism from some Jewish voters following comments made after a truck-ramming attack at a synagogue preschool in metro Detroit. He later apologized for those remarks.
El-Sayed, a Michigan native, previously served as the health official for Wayne County and the city of Detroit. He first entered the political spotlight with a 2018 bid for governor. During the general election, he criticized Rogers and President Donald Trump for using Islamophobic rhetoric. Trump endorsed Rogers, who has aligned with several of the president's claims regarding election fraud, though Rogers recently sought to distance himself from other executive policies, including the war in Iran.
