Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won the US Senate race in Michigan, beating Republican Mike Rogers, according to the Associated Press. El-Sayed will be the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate.
The AP called the race early Wednesday morning, after Tuesday’s midterm election. At that point, with about 85 percent of votes counted, El-Sayed had 51.9 percent and Rogers had 46.1 percent, WLNS reported. Final counts may change.
El-Sayed will take the seat of Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who chose not to run again. Democrats have held this seat since 1979, NPR reported. The race was one of the most watched in the country.
El-Sayed is 42 years old and grew up in the Detroit area. He is the son of Egyptian immigrants. He is a doctor who studied public health. He once led Detroit’s health department and later led Wayne County’s health department.
He has never held elected office. He ran for governor in 2018 and finished second to Gretchen Whitmer in the Democratic primary. This year, he narrowly won a hard primary against Representative Haley Stevens in August.
El-Sayed ran as a progressive. He backs Medicare for All, which would replace today’s mix of private and public health insurance with one government-run plan. He also wants to keep big money out of elections. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed his campaign.
Rogers is a former congressman and former FBI agent who once led the House Intelligence Committee. He lost a Senate race to Elissa Slotkin in 2024. This year, President Donald Trump endorsed him.
Prices were a big issue. Rogers backed the Iran war early on, then said in September that it must end quickly because of high gas and diesel costs. He also asked for an end to Trump’s tariff fight with Canada. El-Sayed said the war and tariffs are driving up prices.
The campaign turned bitter. Rogers raised claims about El-Sayed’s family and the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denied any ties. Time called the claims baseless, and some Democrats and local religious leaders called them anti-Muslim.
El-Sayed also faced criticism. Some people in Michigan’s Jewish community criticized his words, including a remark he made after an attack on a synagogue. He later said he was sorry to anyone who felt hurt. Stevens, his primary rival, endorsed Rogers on November 1.
Outside groups spent heavily in the primary. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, spent nearly 30 million dollars against El-Sayed, its biggest spending in one race, news reports say.
A New York Times and Siena poll days before the vote showed El-Sayed ahead by 11 points, The Hill reported. After the primary, polls had shown a tight race. Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with El-Sayed in Detroit to help turn out voters.
El-Sayed told cheering supporters he was proud and honored to stand there as Michigan’s senator-elect. Axios said his win shows that an unapologetically progressive candidate can win in a battleground state Trump carried just two years ago. News reports say the win gives progressives a boost before the 2028 presidential race.
Axios noted that turning campaign promises into laws will be a different challenge once El-Sayed arrives in Washington. He will join the 100-member Senate as its first Muslim member.
