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El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate seat, first Muslim elected to US Senate

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Ongoing: US mid-terms Hot

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers in the US midterm elections on Tuesday, according to media projections. The win keeps Michigan's seat, left open by retiring Senator Gary Peters, in Democratic hands.

El-Sayed is 42 and a former public health official. Rogers is 63 and a former congressman and FBI agent. US President Donald Trump backed Rogers.

Republicans held a 53-47 majority in the Senate going into the midterm elections. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber.

Rogers tried to portray El-Sayed as a radical sympathetic to Islamic extremism, through alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Those claims remain unsupported by evidence, and El-Sayed denies them. Democrats said the attacks relied on Islamophobic tropes.

Rogers also said that ending the war in Iran and the US trade dispute with Canada was necessary to help bring down costs for businesses and consumers.

Key facts

Who
Abdul El-Sayed (Democrat, winner of Michigan US Senate seat; former public health official); Mike Rogers (Republican opponent; former congressman and FBI agent); Gary Peters (retiring Democratic senator from Michigan); Donald Trump (US president who backed Rogers)
What
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's open US Senate seat in the midterm elections, according to media projections, defeating Republican Mike Rogers and preserving a Democratic seat vacated by retiring Senator Gary Peters.
When
3 November 2026
Where
Michigan, US
Status
Reported

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