Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, keeping it in Democratic hands as his party gained control of Congress and positioning him to become the chamber’s first Muslim member.
The Associated Press called the race Wednesday for El-Sayed over former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. AP also reported that Democrats won both the House and Senate. El-Sayed will succeed Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who did not seek reelection.
El-Sayed previously led Detroit’s health department and had not held elected office. He campaigned for single-payer health insurance and limits on outside election spending. Before the vote, he and Rogers had set out competing economic and regulatory priorities.
The campaign also tested Democratic unity. Rep. Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the August primary, endorsed Rogers on Nov. 1. According to AP, Stevens and some Jewish leaders said El-Sayed had not adequately addressed their concerns, including those about his response to an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue.
In his Wednesday victory speech, El-Sayed addressed criticism tied to his faith. “They might have been pointing to my name and my faith, but we all know my name and my faith are not why you can’t afford your gas,” he said, according to AP.
