Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former public health official aligned with the Democratic Party’s left flank, has won Michigan’s highly hostile Senate race, defeating his Republican rival, former Rep.Mike Rogers, NBC News projects.El-Sayed, 42, overcame a raft of Islamophobia fomented by President Donald Trump and others to become the first Muslim elected to the chamber.
He also overcame a last-minute defection from Rep.Haley Stevens, a vanquished primary rival who reneged on her pledge to support him and endorsed Rogers after she attended church with him Sunday.Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaigns at The Meanwhile Bar on October 08, 2026 in Grand Rapids, Mich.Chip Somodevilla / GettyEl-Sayed’s victory extends a long-running GOP drought in the state.
A Republican has not won a Senate seat in Michigan since 1994.El-Sayed will succeed retiring Democratic Sen.
Gary Peters.Follow live updates on the midterm electionsThe clash between El-Sayed and Rogers, 63, was rated among the country’s most closely watched and aggressively fought, given El-Sayed’s alliance with progressive firebrands such as Sen.Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.El-Sayed’s criticism of the Israeli government, which he has accused of genocide, was also a consistent flash point.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, right, and Rep.Haley Stevens, D-Mich., attend a church service Sunday in Detroit.Jose Juarez / APA group affiliated with the pro-Israel group AIPAC spent more than $30 million in an unsuccessful effort to lift Stevens over El-Sayed in the Democratic primary and re-engaged in Michigan in the closing weeks of the general election.
Stevens, meanwhile, linked her defection from El-Sayed to his position on Israel and his campaign’s suggestion that she was not welcome at his campaign events after she began voicing her criticism more in the race’s closing days.El-Sayed thanks supporters in Michigan as vot...