Democrat Abdul El-Sayed claims Michigan Senate win, set to become first Muslim US senator

Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, take the stage after he declares victory during a midterm election night party at The Department at Hudson's in Detroit, Michigan, early on November 4, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Wednesday, 04 Nov 2026 3:28 PM MYT

DETROIT, Nov 4 — Democrat Abdul El-Sayed said today that he had won a US Senate seat in Michigan over former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers, which would make him the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.

“Michigan, we did it!” El-Sayed said in a speech at his election headquarters in Detroit.

“I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan.”

El-Sayed won despite a last-minute hiccup in his campaign when congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed, came out in support of Rogers at the 11th hour.

The Michigan doctor rallied voters on leftist campaign promises, including universal health care, to hold a key US Senate seat for Democrats, taking over from the retiring Gary Peters.

Republicans ran a scorched-earth campaign to paint Democrats as communists and branded El-Sayed a terrorist who would endanger Americans.

But the straight-talking 42-year-old El-Sayed pledged to help cash-strapped voters navigate America’s thorny health care system.

“You deserve to be able to see a doctor without getting a huge bill,” he told Michiganders on the eve of the vote, vowing to upend America’s divisive multi-billion-dollar for-profit medical system.

During the race, El-Sayed drew huge campaign crowds across the state, even in deeply conservative Republican areas.

El-Sayed also vowed to get “money out of politics” and address the harsh economic woes that have voters yearning for a political newcomer to shake up the status quo.

The election makes El-Sayed the first Democratic doctor in the Senate since 1969. — AFP