Abdul El-Sayed has become the first Muslim senator in US history. He defeated Republican candidate and former congressman Mike Rogers in the key Senate election in the state of Michigan. With this win, the 42-year-old El-Sayed has been elected the first Muslim member of the US Senate, according to an NBC News projection.
An epidemiologist and former public health official by profession, El-Sayed belongs to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. During the campaign he faced Islamophobic remarks and political opposition, and Republican leaders including President Donald Trump attacked his religious identity and political positions. He won despite all of it.
“I love America,” El-Sayed told supporters after his victory. Addressing his rival Rogers, he said: “You chose hate, and Michigan chose hope.”
The Israel-Palestine issue also played an important role in the election. A pro-Israel group spent more than $30 million in the Democratic primary to stop El-Sayed, a strong critic of the Israeli government. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the primary, withdrew her support for El-Sayed at the last minute and backed Rogers.
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