El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate seat
The 42-year-old former public health official becomes the first Muslim American to serve in the U.S. Senate after defeating Republican Mike Rogers.
By David Marshall ·
The Associated Press called the Michigan Senate race on Tuesday, confirming that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has secured the seat. This result ends a long period of Republican control in the state's Senate delegation, as Democrats have held the position since 1979.
El-Sayed, 42, is set to become the first Muslim American to serve in the U.S. Senate. His victory follows a campaign that focused on the cost of living and corporate influence in politics. He defeated former Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who also lost a Senate bid in 2024.
The primary contest in August was a narrow loss for El-Sayed, who trailed by about one percentage point against Representative Haley Stevens. Despite this, El-Sayed moved forward in the general election while Stevens eventually endorsed Rogers in the final days of the campaign. This shift highlighted the difficulty Democrats faced in unifying their coalition in Michigan.
Rogers received an early endorsement from President Donald Trump, who has targeted El-Sayed with Islamophobic rhetoric. Rogers embraced some of the president's claims regarding election fraud, a stance he had previously criticized after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. As November approached, Rogers attempted to distance himself from certain Trump policies, including the war in Iran.
El-Sayed’s path to the Senate began with a failed 2018 gubernatorial bid. He previously ran the health departments in Wayne County and the city of Detroit. His campaign was backed by prominent figures on the political left, though he is not a democratic socialist. His positions on Israel and a 2024 appearance with streamer Hasan Piker drew criticism from some Jewish voters, prompting an apology after a truck-ramming attack at a metro Detroit synagogue preschool.
The race tested how an antiestablishment candidate would perform in a Midwest battleground. El-Sayed galvanized young and infrequent voters by prioritizing single-payer healthcare. With Michigan playing a key role in the 2028 presidential nominating process, El-Sayed has signaled he will be a prominent voice in the Democratic Party as it debates its direction.
