plank

24/7 democrat coverage

Races
Abdul El-Sayed
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Conlan Houston (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Democratic · Michigan

Abdul El-Sayed

U.S. Senator-elect from Michigan

Won

Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic U.S. Senator-elect from Michigan and the first Muslim American elected to the Senate. He beat Republican Mike Rogers 52.5% to 45.5% on Nov. 3, 2026 (AP data via NBC News, 97.5% in), holding the seat for Democrats.

2026 race

U.S. Senate, Michigan

  • El-Sayed52.5%
  • Rogers45.5%

Result Won Won (hold): El-Sayed 52.5%, Rogers 45.5%

Source: nbcnews.com

Biography

An epidemiologist and physician from southeast Michigan, El-Sayed was a Rhodes Scholar, ran the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017 and led Wayne County's Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services from 2023 to 2025. He defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary; Stevens endorsed Rogers days before the election. In his victory speech he said: "You chose hate, and Michigan chose hope."

Positions

  • Democrat; outspoken critic of the Israeli government (CBS News)

Record

  • Executive director, Detroit Health Department (2015–2017)
  • Director, Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services (2023–2025)
  • Won 2026 Democratic Senate primary over Rep. Haley Stevens

Life & background

Things you might not know, from public records.

  • He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, where he earned a doctorate in public health, and later earned his medical degree from Columbia. [Source]
  • He ran the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017. [Source]

Coverage

Updated