Abdul El-Sayed projected to become first Muslim elected to US Senate
- Media projections show Democrat Abdul El-Sayed winning Michigan’s open Senate seat against Republican Mike Rogers.
- El-Sayed campaigned on lowering costs for working families, expanding healthcare coverage and reducing corporate influence in politics.
- Democrat Adam Hamilton was projected to unseat Republican Senator Roger Marshall in Kansas, ending a 94-year losing streak for Democrats in the state’s Senate races.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was projected to win Michigan’s US Senate race on Tuesday, putting him on course to become the first Muslim elected to the chamber. The result would keep the seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters in the party’s hands and mark a major win for its progressive wing.
Abdul El-Sayed proudly introduces himself as Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, America’s first Muslim senator, and then starts speaking in Arabic. Americans better brace themselves. The communist and Islamic takeover has officially begun. They’re going to get exactly what they just asked for.
— Justin (@JustinUSA) November 4, 2026
El-Sayed, 42, is a former public health official who made affordability a central issue in his campaign. He backed Medicare for All, a proposal for government-funded universal healthcare, and called for curbing corporate influence in politics.
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His opponent, Mike Rogers, 63, is a former congressman and FBI agent who had the backing of President Donald Trump and national Republicans. Rogers sought to portray El-Sayed as sympathetic to extremism by alleging links to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denied the allegations, which were unsupported by evidence, and Democrats said the attacks drew on anti-Muslim stereotypes.
Rogers also sought support from Jewish voters who might have been concerned by El-Sayed’s opposition to US military aid for Israel and his description of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
Facing voter concerns about the economy and Trump’s low approval ratings, Rogers broke with the president in the final weeks of the campaign over the war in Iran and the US trade dispute with Canada. He argued that ending both would help lower costs for businesses and consumers.
Republicans entered the midterms with a 53–47 Senate majority, leaving Democrats in need of a net gain of four seats to take control. In Kansas, media projections showed Democrat Adam Hamilton defeating Trump-backed Republican Senator Roger Marshall, a pickup that helped Democrats secure control of the chamber.
Hamilton was projected to become the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from Kansas in 94 years. The race had initially been seen as a safe Republican contest in a state Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024.
Hamilton, pastor of the country’s largest United Methodist congregation, campaigned on affordability and cooperation across party lines. He described himself as an independent-minded Democrat and rejected Republican efforts to portray him as far left.
Wearing a pin that read “love one another,” Hamilton used his victory speech to call for cooperation between Democrats and Republicans. He blamed Trump’s tariffs and cuts to food assistance for adding to household costs and said voters across party lines had used the election to express dissatisfaction with Washington.
The Kansas race tightened in its final weeks, prompting Trump and Vice President JD Vance to campaign for Marshall. At an October 19 rally near Wichita, Trump said the US Department of Agriculture would launch an $8 billion programme to help farmers cover diesel costs during the harvest season.
