Anti-Israel Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate race, becomes first Muslim US senator

Abdul El-Sayed, the vocally anti-Israel Democratic candidate, has won a closely contested Senate race in Michigan against Republican Mike Rogers. He will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.

The win came amid a “blue wave” of Democratic wins in the midterm elections, including a broad slate of candidates affiliated with the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has taken a hostile stance toward Israel.

El-Sayed’s victory came despite a surprise endorsement of his rival by Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost to her opponent in the primaries. Stevens cited El-Sayed’s anti-Israel stance and his insufficient condemnation of an antisemitic advertisement among the reasons for her shocking move.

This is the most catastrophic moment of the American midterm elections for Evangelical Christians and others who support a string U.S.-Israeli alliance.

— Joel C. Rosenberg (@JoelCRosenberg) November 4, 2026

The son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed is set to become the America's first Muslim senator. Ahead of the official results, he continued attacking the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Israel in a victory speech, including a declaration that Palestinian children shouldn’t be “murdered by our tax dollars.”

“We don't want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war,” he added.

‼️ JUST NOW: In his Michigan Senate victory speech, @AbdulElSayed says, in an Arabic accent “My name is Abdulrahman Mohammad El-Sayed,” now feeling free to be himself. He goes on to use more Arabic, saying “alhamdulillah” & translates that to “praise be to God.” Making it clear that he will embrace Islam very openly in office.

— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) November 4, 2026

“Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say 'inshallah,' or 'God willing,' whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned,” El-Sayed said. “But today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah!”

Mocking his detractors, he added, “for the right-wing ops, that just means 'praise be to God.'”

El-Sayed also took a swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump for intentionally calling him “Mohammed.”

Abdul El-Sayed calls JD Vance “habibi” and delivers the news that the vice president has to swear him in this January. https://t.co/9gYB8mvFkF

— Olivia Reingold (@Olivia_Reingold) November 4, 2026

“Donald, I know you struggled with my name. So after [Vice President Vance] JD swears me in in January, you can just go on and call me 'Senator.'”

Other anti-Israel Democratic candidates who won their races include Troy Jackson, who won the Senate race in Maine; three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who won House seats in New York; Adam Hamawy, who will represent New Jersey in the House; and James Talarico, who will become a U.S. senator for Texas.

Despite El-Sayed’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel, suspected ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and allegations of antisemitism, he reportedly received a majority of the Jewish, traditionally Democratic vote in Michigan.

According to a survey of 482 Jewish voters who cast ballots before Election Day, El-Sayed received 60% of the early Jewish vote, while Rogers won just 36%.

However, El-Sayed trailed behind the 79% who voted for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson. His roughly 60% share suggests that about one in four Jewish voters who backed Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin in 2024 crossed party lines to vote for Rogers.