Breaking: Americans Elect First Muslim Senator in History Poll
- Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated former Republican Representative Mike Rogers in Michigan's closely watched midterm race
- El-Sayed, a 42-year-old Egyptian-American, clinched the seat vacated by retiring Senator Gary Peters after a competitive primary battle
- His campaign drew backing from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, while his stance on Gaza sparked divisions within the Democratic Party
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Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has made history as the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate, defeating former Republican Representative Mike Rogers to win Michigan's open Senate seat in a closely watched midterm contest.
US media projected his victory on Tuesday, confirming that El-Sayed will take the seat left vacant by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters when the new Congress convenes in January.
Source: Getty Images
CNN reported that the 42-year-old Egyptian-American physician and public health official reached the general election after defeating Representative Haley Stevens in a competitive Democratic primary in August. His campaign drew prominent progressive support, including backing from Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib.
El-Sayed's campaign priorities
El-Sayed built his platform around expanding healthcare access through Medicare for All, reducing housing costs, curbing the influence of wealthy donors in politics and improving economic conditions for working families. His criticism of US military support for Israel also attracted significant attention during the campaign, with El-Sayed describing Israel's military operations in Gaza as genocide and calling for an end to unconditional American military aid.
The issue created friction within the Democratic Party. Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the primary, endorsed his Republican opponent Rogers just two days before the general election, citing concerns about El-Sayed's campaign rhetoric and political associations. El-Sayed pushed back against allegations linking him to extremism, saying the attacks were designed to shift focus away from the economic struggles facing ordinary Americans.
El-Sayed's background
El-Sayed was born in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to Egyptian immigrant parents. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2007, earned a doctorate in public health from the University of Oxford in 2011 as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed his medical degree at Columbia University in 2014.
He went on to serve as Detroit's health director from 2015 to 2017, leading efforts to restore the city's public health infrastructure after its financial crisis. He ran for Michigan governor in 2018 but lost the Democratic primary to Gretchen Whitmer. Most recently, he served as director of the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services between 2023 and 2025.
His Senate victory represents a landmark in Muslim American political history. While Muslim Americans have previously served in the House of Representatives, no Muslim candidate had won a Senate seat before El-Sayed's election. Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to Congress in 2006, and Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar made history in 2018 as the first Muslim women elected to the House.
See the senator-elect's reaction on X here:
US admits misleading Nigeria, other African countries
Legit.ng earlier reported that the US State Department admitted a map shown at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro misidentified every African country it highlighted.
The map, which carried an AI watermark linked to OpenAI tools, placed Nigeria, Mozambique and Cote d'Ivoire in entirely wrong locations on the continent.
A former State Department official linked the error to mass staff cuts under President Donald Trump's administration.
Source: Legit.ng
