Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an Oct. 24 rally in Detroit. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
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DETROIT — Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won the U.S. Senate election in Michigan, according to a race call by the Associated Press, a crucial victory in his party's quest to win back the Senate majority.
One of the most closely watched elections in the U.S., the race in Michigan tested how an antiestablishment candidate on the left would fare in a perennial Midwest battleground.
El-Sayed will be the first Muslim American to serve in the Senate.
The 42-year-old former public health official defeated former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. Rogers lost his first bid for the Senate in 2024.
Harnessing anger over the cost of living and corruption, El-Sayed galvanized young and infrequent voters by focusing on passing single-payer healthcare and curbing the influence of corporate money in politics.
He is not a democratic socialist, unlike several candidates whose insurgent campaigns gained traction in primaries this cycle, though his campaign was backed by some of the biggest stars on the political left.
His positions on Israel alienated some Jewish voters, including comments after a truck-ramming attack at a synagogue preschool in metro Detroit — for which he later offered an apology — and campaigning during the primary with controversial left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.
Those were among the dynamics during a heated primary contest that turned into a stand-in for many of the broader debates fueling the direction of the Democratic Party after two years in the political wilderness.
In the primary, El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by about 1 percentage point, despite Michigan heavyweights like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Sen. Gary Peters backing his opponent.
Mike Rogers speaks to supporters during a campaign event at Hoffman Farms Winery on Oct. 9 in Highland Township, Mich. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
In the general election's closing days, Stevens reversed course and announced she was endorsing Rogers , after initially saying she would support the Democratic ticket, underscoring the rocky path to uniting the Democratic coalition in Michigan. After the primary, polls showed a tight race with Rogers, despite Democrats having held the Senate seat since 1979.
During the campaign, El-Sayed criticized his opponent and other Republicans, including President Trump, for targeting him with Islamophobic rhetoric.
Trump early on endorsed Rogers, who has embraced some of the president's false claims about widespread election fraud, despite previously condemning them, including after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. As November neared, Rogers tried to distance himself from some of the president's policies, including the war in Iran.
El-Sayed, a Michigan native who ran the health departments in Wayne County and the city of Detroit, first arrived on the political stage in 2018 with an unsuccessful bid for governor.
Now as Democrats wrestle with their party's identity, El-Sayed has signaled that he intends to be a prominent voice, especially given Michigan's prime position in the presidential nominating process in 2028 .
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