Abdul El-Sayed, whom even millions of dollars could not stop, may become the first Muslim senator in the US
One of the most important races of the November 3 elections in the US is taking place in Michigan. President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a "jihadist," while former President Barack Obama supported him and called on voters to elect him.
Even millions of dollars could not stop him: Abdul El-Sayed could become the US's first Muslim senator
The US midterm elections take place halfway through a presidential term and determine the composition of Congress. This year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for vote, with governors also being elected in several states. Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate. For a majority, Democrats need to hold their seats and flip four more.
Michigan occupies a special place in these elections. The seat in the state is becoming vacant after Democratic Senator Gary Peters announced he would not seek re-election in January 2025. Here, Democrat and former healthcare official Abdul El-Sayed and Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers are competing for the open Senate seat.
Recent polls show El-Sayed in the lead. In the final poll published on November 1 by the New York Times and Siena University, El-Sayed received 53 percent of the vote, while Rogers received 42 percent.
El-Sayed entered politics from the fields of medicine and public health. He was born in Michigan in 1984 to a family of immigrants from Egypt. He graduated from the University of Michigan, earned a doctorate in public health from Oxford, and a medical degree from Columbia University.
In 2015, the mayor of Detroit appointed him head of the city's health department. In 2018, he ran for governor, losing in the party's primary election to current Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He then expanded his audience through a podcast, a book, and television.
After Peters announced his departure from the Senate, El-Sayed announced his candidacy for the Senate in April 2025.
"Living in the richest and most powerful country in the world is excessively difficult. Making ends meet shouldn't be this hard," he told the AP at the time. Senator Bernie Sanders has supported him from day one, along with House member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez since July 2026.
In the August 4 primary, El-Sayed narrowly defeated his fellow Democrat, House member Haley Stevens, by less than one percentage point.