Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate, Becomes First Muslim Senator as Democrats Take Congress Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's Senate race, becoming the first Muslim senator. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. Abdul El-Sayed has defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's open Senate race, becoming the first Muslim senator in U.S. history. His victory comes as Democrats across the country secured sweeping wins to claim control of both chambers of Congress. The progressive Democrat, son of Egyptian immigrants, declared victory early Wednesday before a Detroit crowd. You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates, he told supporters. Thank you. This is all yours.El-Sayed's win gives the Democratic Party's left wing a breakthrough in one of the nation's most important swing states. It may bolster the progressive movement ahead of the 2028 presidential election. Democrats won in both battleground and deep-red states, taking Congress from Republicans. In Maine, a Democratic senator also won after a race that featured a Canada-U.S. trade war.El Sayed Defeats Rogers in Michigan Senate RaceThe race became a focal point in the national battle for Senate control after two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters decided not to seek reelection. El-Sayed emerged from a bruising August primary against establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens that drew nearly $60 million in outside spending.The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent nearly $30 million opposing El-Sayed, its largest investment in a single race. El-Sayed has been a staunch critic of Israel. The primary exposed divisions within the Democratic coalition. El-Sayed faced criticism from some in Michigan's Jewish community over his rhetoric, including his statement that hurt people hurt people following an attack on a Michigan synagogue earlier this year.He later apologized, saying he was sorry to anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful. His campaign appearances with Hasan Piker, a popular political streamer who has made inflammatory comments about Israel, Jews and the Sept. 11 attacks, also became a target of criticism. The discord culminated two days before the election when Stevens endorsed Rogers after appearing at church with him, saying that El-Sayed had not done enough to address the concerns of some communities.Some Democrats worried about Black voter turnout in Detroit after Stevens carried Wayne County in the primary. Former president Barack Obama and former vice-president Kamala Harris were among the high-profile Democrats who campaigned with El-Sayed in the city to help mobilize voters. Sanders helped build momentum for El-Sayed early in the campaign, while Ocasio-Cortez joined him for a final campaign swing through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Detroit area.Democratic Coalition and Campaign Finance DivisionsEl-Sayed campaigned on an unapologetically progressive platform that made some moderate Democrats uneasy. Central to his campaign was Medicare for All, which would replace the current mix of private and public health insurance with a government-run, single-payer system. He also focused on removing outside money from elections and sharp criticism of Israel. His grassroots campaign overcame massive outside spending in both the primary and general election.Republicans had cleared the field for Rogers, a former congressman who narrowly lost a Senate race to then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin two years ago. But Rogers struggled to balance his loyalty to U.S. President Donald Trump with concerns over rising prices tied to the war in Iran and economic turmoil from the president's tariffs. The campaign also featured bitter attacks over El-Sayed's criticism of Israel.Trump and other Republicans repeatedly sought to link him to terrorist organizations, despite no evidence of such ties, and questioned his loyalty to the United States. In his victory speech, El-Sayed said Republicans went all in on one of the ugliest campaigns that we've seen in our lifetimes. They might have been pointing to my name and my faith, but we all know my name and my faith are not why you can't afford your gas, he said.Voters Reject Negative Campaigns in MichiganRogers, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee and built much of his career around national security, had to navigate high fuel prices and an unpopular war with Iran while remaining aligned with Trump. The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly, Rogers wrote on social media in September. El-Sayed relished in his victory, telling the Republican to enjoy his retirement. You chose hate and Michigan chose hope, El-Sayed said.May we never have to see the likes of you in this state again. The victory will give progressives a powerful argument heading into the 2028 presidential election that their agenda can win, even in the nation's most competitive battleground states. Republicans opted to run it back with Rogers after his razor-thin 2024 loss, when Slotkin prevailed even as Trump won Michigan by more than a percentage point.