Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican Mike Rogers and becoming the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate while peppering his victory speech with Arabic terms of affection and faith.
JD, habibi,
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said.
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed delivered a combative victory speech in Detroit early Wednesday, November 4, 2026, targeting political opponents and celebrating a historic milestone for Arab Americans and American Muslims. The former Wayne County and Detroit health director secured the statewide race with 52 percent of the vote against Republican opponent Mike Rogers, outperforming past Democratic tallies and flipping Eaton, Muskegon, and Grand Traverse counties.
El-Sayed Denounces Ugly Campaign Attacks and Jabs at Vance
In his election night remarks, El-Sayed asserted that his opponents went all-in on one of the ugliest campaigns we’ve seen in our lifetimes.
Throughout the contest, El-Sayed faced intense scrutiny, including unsubstantiated allegations tying him to groups he did not belong to and attacks labeling him a “jihadist.”
ABC News' Juju Chang reports from Detroit, Michigan, where voters are responding to Rep. Haley Stevens' last-minute endorsement of Republican candidate Mike Rogers. pic.twitter.com/52JNHg0yXF
Addressing Vice President JD Vance directly, El-Sayed offered a sharp jab regarding his upcoming swearing-in ceremony in Washington after Vance had warned that the candidate would lead rioters in burning down Detroit. There is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in January. So you know what that means. Wolverine one. Buckeye zero.
El-Sayed also addressed President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly mocked the candidate’s middle name, Mohamed, and suggested a metal detector would be needed if he won the Senate. Donald, look, I know you’ve struggled with my name,
El-Sayed said. So after JD swears me in January, you can just go on and call me ‘senator.’
Turning to foreign policy, El-Sayed stated that Americans want their financial resources directed domestically rather than toward overseas conflicts. We don’t want our money spent on apartheid or genocidal war,
he said. His campaign also weathered heavy financial opposition; the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC’s) affiliated super PAC spent roughly $30m in Michigan’s Democratic primary in an effort to defeat him.
Cultural Resonance and Voter Turnout in Metro Detroit
Unofficial election results show that El-Sayed won Dearborn by 65 percentage points. According to Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, Michigan is home to an estimated 400,000 Arab American voters, with heavy concentrations in Metro Detroit.
El-Sayed’s use of Arabic-language terms during his victory speech resonated widely across Michigan and internationally. He told supporters that his campaign had successfully turned Inshallah
— meaning God willing — into Alhamdulillah,
which translates to praise be to God. He began his remarks by declaring, My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud noted that the city recorded its highest voter turnout in history, with 45,464 residents casting ballots. Michigan State University Assistant Professor Nura Sediqe, who works in the Department of Political Science and Muslim Studies Program, noted that El-Sayed’s integration of cultural terms reflects the deep roots of generations of American Muslims in the state.
I think the way he actually delivered his speech is a reflection of the full body of who Michigan is as a state,
Sediqe said.
Coalition Building Across Wayne County
El-Sayed secured 70.6 percent of the vote in Wayne County, which includes Detroit. While political analysts noted that Black voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats, El-Sayed’s specific level of support among Black voters drew comparison to other state Democrats, such as Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News, who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon in 1976 with $185 and was later inducted into Wayne State University’s Journalism Hall of Fame in 2013, reflected on the divisive nature of the campaign cycle.
When the President of the United States starts making fun of your name and fun of the way you look and fun of the way you pray, that is not America,
Siblani said.