Decision Desk HQ, which tracks election results, declared Democratic candidate Abdelrahman El-Sayed the winner over Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race, making him the first Muslim elected to the Senate in United States history. Data from NBC News showed El-Sayed leading with 51.7% of the vote to Rogers’ 46.3% after about 80% of the expected vote had been counted. El-Sayed will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
El-Sayed, born in 1984 to immigrant parents from Egypt, is also the first Egyptian American to enter the Senate. In his victory speech to supporters, he thanked his wife, saying: “Thank you for everything. I could not have done this without you, and I would not have wanted to do it with anyone else.”
El-Sayed also addressed parents who had been unable to explain to their children Trump’s mockery of people’s names or beliefs, saying: “Tell your children tomorrow that the bad guys lost.”
El-Sayed said he had used the phrase “Inshallah” whenever he spoke about the election’s outcome, adding: “But tonight, we can turn Inshallah into Alhamdulillah.”
Gaza features in victory speech
Gaza also featured in his speech. “They try to call you hateful if you believe that Palestinian children should grow up in the land of their ancestors without being killed by our tax dollars,” he said, adding: “If you believe in equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination, that is not hate, but love.”
During his campaign, El-Sayed called for an end to U.S. support for Israel amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. After his victory was announced, Israel’s Channel 14 described him as “anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.”
“You can just call me senator”
El-Sayed also addressed President Donald Trump, who repeatedly mocked his name during the campaign and called him “Mohammed El-Sayed.” He said: “Donald, I know you had a hard time with my name. So, after JD swears me in in January, you can simply call me senator,” referring to Vice President JD Vance, who administers the oath of office to new senators by virtue of his position.
El-Sayed studied biology and political science at the University of Michigan, earned a doctorate in public health from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and then received his medical degree from Columbia University. He headed Detroit’s health department in 2015, ran in Michigan’s 2018 Democratic primary for governor, and led the Wayne County Health Department between 2023 and 2025.
The race saw spending exceed $270 million. Representative Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s rival in the primary, announced her support for Rogers two days before the vote. Rogers, a former representative, narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. During the campaign, El-Sayed said: “My name and my religion are not the reason you cannot afford your groceries.”
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