History made: Abdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim US senator

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a 42-year-old politician of Egyptian descent, has made history by becoming the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate after winning Michigan’s Senate race.

El-Sayed defeated Republican former US Representative Mike Rogers, with Decision Desk HQ calling the race early Wednesday, November 4.

Decision Desk HQ reported that El-Sayed secured 1,897,833 votes, accounting for 50.88 per cent, while Rogers received 1,758,007 votes, or 47.14 per cent. The results showed 77 per cent of the expected vote counted.

The election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as part of the US midterm elections.

El-Sayed has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and a vocal opponent of US military aid to Israel.

During his campaign, he said that if Democrats secured majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they must hold President Donald Trump accountable and work to end the war.

Addressing the historic significance of his candidacy, he said before the election: “I’m not running to be the first Muslim senator in American history, but to be Michigan’s next senator.”

Who is Abdul El-Sayed?

Born on October 31, 1984, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to Egyptian immigrant parents, El-Sayed grew up in the Detroit area.

He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2007 with degrees in biology and political science. A Rhodes Scholar, he pursued a doctorate in public health at the University of Oxford before earning his medical degree from Columbia University in 2014.

He taught epidemiology at Columbia before entering public service. In 2015, aged 30, he became Detroit’s health director. From 2023 to 2025, he headed the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services.

His first major electoral contest came in 2018, when he ran for the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor but lost to Gretchen Whitmer, who subsequently won the governorship.

El-Sayed launched his Senate campaign in April 2025, advocating progressive policies, including Medicare for All, a proposal to extend government-funded healthcare coverage to all Americans.

He also pledged to reject contributions from political action committees (PACs), seeking to limit corporate and special-interest influence in politics.

In August 2026, he won the Democratic Senate primary with 48.5 per cent of the vote, defeating US Representative Haley Stevens.

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