The former Wayne County health director will soon become Michigan’s next U.S. Senator.
U.S. Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed will be the country’s first Muslim U.S. Senator. The primary and general election races were some of the most expensive in the history of the state.
The seat opened after U.S. Sen. Gary Peters announced he would retire.
Democrats in Michigan and across the country won races that will give them control of the state Legislature and the U.S. House and Senate. The party flipped Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
El-Sayed’s campaign built a movement that rejected corporate donations and pledged to fight for universal healthcare in Congress.
Elections officials in Detroit told Michigan Chronicle the city would see a higher than usual turnout, and it appears they were correct.
Election chief Daniel Baxter said the Department of Elections’ 40% to 45% turnout rate estimate is based on empirical data from 2014, 2018, and 2022. He said those figures align more closely with the 2018 non-incumbent election (42% turnout) than the 2022 election (34% turnout).
Muslim voters backed El-Sayed by an overwhelming 92% to 8%, the NBC News Exit Poll found. El-Sayed won Black voters (86%) and voters under age 30 (69%).
There was worry among Democrats that Black residents weren’t as excited to vote for U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as the party’s progressive base across the state.
Those voters outnumbered moderate Democrats who supported El-Sayed’s primary opponent U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the primary race. Detroit voters — 66% — sided with Stevens on Aug 4.
The dynamic prompted national pundits to put a microscope on whether El-Sayed’s campaign did enough to win over Black Democratic voters. But Black voters who spoke to Michigan Chronicle at a rally featuring President Barack Obama said they believed most would support El-Sayed.
Some of the uncertainty surrounding Black voter’s attitudes toward El-Sayed’s campaign stems from civil and criminal conflicts at liquor stores and small businesses operated by Arab Americans. El-Sayed, who is Egyptian, has also criticized the treatment of Black customers at Arab American and Chaldean-owned corner stores.
Faith leaders condemned Islamophobia in digital and TV ads that pit Black residents against their Arab American neighbors.
In a last minute stunner, El-Sayed’s primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed his Republican challenger. The move shocked Democrats, some who said her betrayal only bolstered party unity.
El-Sayed took the stage Tuesday night around 11:30pm to declare victory over his President Donald Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
“We don’t need to be great again,” El-Sayed said in his victory speech. “We need to embrace that thing about us that has always made us great: the will to be more perfect.”
“Enjoy your retirement,” said of Rogers. “I know you got a house in Florida and 2 yachts. See, you chose hate and Michigan chose hope. May we never have to see the likes of you in this state again.”