Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate Race, Historic First for Muslim Lawmaker

Abdul El-Sayed has defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the race for Michigan’s open Senate seat. The victory capped a remarkable campaign by the progressive insurgent, who ran on lowering prices, expanding healthcare access, and regulating artificial intelligence, and marked a significant setback for Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Mr. El-Sayed is set to become the first Muslim senator in American history.

The Senate race to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Gary Peters became one of the most contentious of the cycle. Mr. El-Sayed, a Michigan native and epidemiological physician, faced a sustained campaign of attacks on his Muslim faith and Arab heritage.

President Donald Trump and Republican allies accused Mr. El-Sayed of having ties to terrorist groups, including claims that he and his mother were associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Republicans and some Democrats also sought to portray Mr. El-Sayed’s campaign activity alongside leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker as an indicator of extremist ideology. At campaign events, Trump repeatedly mocked Mr. El-Sayed’s heritage and name at rallies. Just a week before Election Day, Trump referred to Mr. El-Sayed as a “Jihadist Member of the Muslim Brotherhood,” who wanted to institute “Sharia Law” in the United States. Mr. Rogers adopted similar attacks after winning his own primary, even as he attempted to distance himself from Trump by calling for an end to his trade war with Canada.

Democrats, meanwhile, brought prominent allies into the race. Former President Barack Obama campaigned alongside Mr. El-Sayed during a tour of contested states that included Michigan, Ohio and Georgia. Mr. Obama mocked Trump’s fixation on butts, jaw lines and male physique, and his attention to remodeling and redecorating the White House.

“Abdul is as Michigan as it gets,” Mr. Obama said of the Senate candidate, drawing comparisons to the Republican efforts to question Mr. Obama’s own heritage and faith during his presidency.

One Democrat who did not support Mr. El-Sayed was Rep. Haley Stevens, his primary opponent. Throughout the primary, Ms. Stevens accused Mr. El-Sayed of wanting to “blame all of his problems on Jewish Americans” in response to a policy difference over the war in Gaza. The divisions from the primary lingered into the general election, and although she for months insisted she supported the Democratic ticket, she formally endorsed Mr. Rogers two days before the election.

Mr. El-Sayed ran on an affordability platform that highlighted his background in healthcare. He endorsed Medicare for All and broader reform of the for-profit insurance system, and centered his message on the high prices that he said resulted from Trump’s policies.

“You shouldn’t have to pay $5 for gas,” he recently told Rolling Stone. “You shouldn’t have to decide whether you can even buy meat at the grocery store because it’s so expensive. You shouldn’t have to worry about seeing a doctor in the richest, most powerful country in the world.”

“They don’t want to talk about any of that,” he added. “They keep just pointing to my name and my faith.”

The result suggested that Michigan voters were more focused on economic concerns than on the candidate’s identity.

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