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 characterisation 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.