Republicans spent months coming at Abdul El-Sayed sideways, and the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Senate just told them to come correct!
Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan’s open Senate seat, sitting at 52.5% to Rogers’ 45.6% with about 96% of ballots counted, and the AP made the call at 2:27 a.m. making the 42-year-old physician the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate, taking over the seat of the retiring Gary Peters.
Months of Trump mocking his name and attacking his faith set up the moment, and El-Sayed cashed in at his Detroit victory rally. “Donald, I know you struggle with my name,” he said, “so after JD swears me in, in January, you can go on and call me Senator.”
Before that, he turned to Vance with a “habibi” and pointed out the “delicious irony” that the Vice President is constitutionally obligated to administer his oath. He even slid in a Michigan-versus-Ohio State jab for good measure: “Wolverines 1, Buckeyes 0.”
The shade didn’t come from nowhere. Vance had called El-Sayed “very, very evil,” while Trump labeled him a “jihadist.” Trump also stretched his name into “Mohammed Abdul el Sayed” on the trail, and Republicans pushed Muslim Brotherhood claims that El-Sayed has denied. Reaching for something bigger, he told voters his name and faith are not the reason folks can’t afford gas, groceries, or a doctor. And to the other side, he said they chose hate while Michigan chose hope.
For our community, the part worth sitting with is how hard Trump leaned on Black voters in the final stretch. At a South Carolina rally, he claimed anyone Black or Jewish who votes for El-Sayed is “crazy,” then doubled down by adding that they’re crazy anyway. Not a good look from a man who needs those votes more than he lets on. Kanan, in a response carried by theGrio, said Black voters don’t need Trump’s permission to back who they want, adding that “there’s nothing crazy about wanting leaders who will fight for you.”
Now let’s keep it a hundred, because El-Sayed’s road through Black Detroit wasn’t smooth. Rep. Haley Stevens took more than two-thirds of Black voters in the Democratic primary, and some Black voters and community leaders complained about his outreach, with one leader saying a promised roundtable never happened. To his credit, El-Sayed said the mistrust among Black voters is valid while arguing that Trump is the bigger threat.
Come January, the title does the talking. Per the man himself, Senator will do just fine.