Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive favourite, has defeated Republican Mike Rogers in a bitter contest for Michigan’s open Senate seat, becoming the first Muslim to enter the US Senate. His victory marks a major win for the Democratic Party’s left wing in one of the country’s key swing states.
Addressing hundreds of cheering supporters at his election headquarters in Detroit, the senator-elect declared: “Michigan, we did it! Supporters celebrated his victory, screaming and hugging each other as he delivered his speech.
El-Sayed’s feud with Vance intensified after he sarcastically questioned whether the vice president’s late, white Appalachian-born grandfather would have approved of his Indian American wife, NBC News reported. El-Sayed also took aim at US Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump, both of whom had repeatedly criticised him during the campaign. Trump, in particular, had subjected him to Islamophobic attacks and mocked his Arabic name. Trump’s attacks on El-Sayed were more pointed, targeting his faith and frequently referring to the senator-elect by his middle name, Mohamed.
“JD, habibi, it is an irony—you are constitutionally obligated to swear me in, in January,” he said, AFP reported. “Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so when JD swears me in, you can call me senator,” El-Sayed added. He also thanked voters for opening their churches, synagogues and homes to him during the campaign, saying he was “so proud and honoured” to become senator-elect.
