DETROIT — Abdul El-Sayed clinched victory early Wednesday in Michigan’s Democratic Senate race, fending off a hard-charging challenge from Republican Mike Rogers and overcoming concerns about his views on Israel and his support among Black voters.
Mr. El-Sayed held a healthy five-point lead when he went out to speak to supporters in Detroit around 1:30 a.m. and claim victory.
“Michigan, we did it,” Mr. El-Sayed said going on to give his whole name with correct Arabic pronunciation. “I am so proud to stand here as your senator-elect.”
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With 78% of votes counted, Mr. El-Sayed led Mr. Rogers by 51.8% to 46.2%, a margin of almost 220,000 votes.
Mr. El-Sayed, a former public health official who becomes the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, ran an aggressive, nonstop campaign that withstood Republican efforts to tie him to Islamist terror groups and the surprise last-minute endorsement of Mr. Rogers by his Democratic primary opponent.
Despite concerns about Democratic voters abandoning him specifically and the late Rogers endorsement by Rep. Haley Stevens, Mr. El-Sayed only ran about two percentage points behind Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, his party’s victorious gubernatorial nominee.
Running on a promise of “money out of politics, money in your pocket and Medicare for All,” which he turned into a call-and-response chant at rallies, Mr. El-Sayed tested whether the left-wing populist agenda embraced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani could resonate beyond deep-blue strongholds.
The victory by the son of Egyptian immigrants, his victory suggests that, under the right conditions, that brand of politics can also find a winning audience in battleground states like Michigan.
Republicans had hoped Mr. El-Sayed’s controversial candidacy would give them an opening to win a Michigan Senate race for the first time since 1994 and deal a major setback to Democratic efforts to reclaim the Senate.
Mr. Rogers entered the race with reason for optimism after losing his 2024 Senate bid by fewer than 20,000 votes.
And it turned out though, the night’s blue wave was so strong that Democrats had clinched control of the upper chamber hours before Michigan’s race was called.
Mr. El-Sayed was also aided by President Trump’s declining approval ratings. Throughout the campaign, Mr. El-Sayed argued that Republican policies, including tariffs and the Iran war, were driving up the cost of everyday necessities and making it harder for families to get ahead.
That frustration was evident as voters streamed out of polling places Tuesday, including at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Troy.
Bob Heery, a General Motors employee, said he voted a straight Democratic ticket for the first time in his life to send a message to Mr. Trump.
“He is a bully. You can’t trust him. He is a bad representative of our country. It has been a nightmare,” Mr. Heery said. “Trump is only in office to make himself more money.”
Others voiced a more complicated mix of disappointment and hope.
Ahad Ahmed, a 57-year-old electrical engineer who immigrated from Bangladesh, said he voted for Mr. El-Sayed after backing Mr. Trump in 2024 because he believed the president would keep the U.S. out of foreign conflicts.
“I regret, definitely I regret” that vote, Mr. Ahmed said.
Since then, he has lost the job he held for 25 years, along with his health insurance. His two children, both recent college graduates, have struggled to find work, and he now relies on contract jobs.
“Everything I hoped for has gone to trash,” he said.
Mr. Ahmed said the country needs a check on the Trump administration and that Mr. El-Sayed’s focus on reducing the influence of money in politics and tackling rising costs, from groceries to health care, gives him reason for optimism.
“I’m looking at the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
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