Abdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim elected to US Senate

Democrat ⁠Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open US Senate seat on Tuesday, ​according to media projections, becoming ​the first Muslim elected to the chamber while preserving a crucial Democratic seat in the party’s fight for Senate control.
El-Sayed’s victory in the closely contested election marked a breakthrough for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing and denied Republicans ⁠a chance to flip the seat of retiring Democratic Senator ⁠Gary Peters.
El-Sayed, 42, a former public health official, focused on lowering costs for working families and reducing corporate influence in politics. His platform included ‌Medicare for All, a government-funded universal healthcare ​program championed by progressives ⁠in his party.
Republicans held a 53-47 Senate ​majority going into Tuesday’s midterm elections, ‌with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.
His opponent Mike ​Rogers, 63, a former congressman and FBI agent, entered the race with strong backing from Trump and national Republicans and had sought to cast El-Sayed as a radical candidate sympathetic to Islamic extremism through alleged ties ‌to the Muslim Brotherhood, claims that El-Sayed denies and that ​remain unsupported by evidence. Democrats said the attacks on El-Sayed relied ​on ‌Islamophobic ⁠tropes.
Rogers also devoted significant effort to courting Jewish voters who may have been uneasy with El-Sayed's opposition to US military aid ​for Israel and his characterization of Israel's actions ⁠in Gaza as ​genocide.
But Rogers struggled to overcome voter concerns about the economy and Trump's low ratings. In the closing weeks of the race, he broke with the president on the war in ​Iran and the US trade dispute with Canada, arguing ​that ending both was necessary to help bring down costs for businesses and consumers.