Midterms coverage: Live results | What to know | Stories around the countryStay connected: NPR Politics Podcast | NPR Politics newsletter | NPR appDETROIT — 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.
Loading...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.In the general election's closing days, Stevens reversed course and announced she was endorsing Rogers, after initially saying she would support the De...