Physician and former local health director Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s seat in the United States Senate election in 2026. Media projections led by The Associated Press confirmed that the 42 year old Democrat defeated Republican former congressman Mike Rogers.
The win keeps a vital Senate seat in Democratic hands following the retirement of Senator Gary Peters. It also marks a major milestone in American history. El-Sayed is the first Muslim ever elected to the US Senate.
Read more about the Michigan election 2026 results hereon and how Abdul El-Sayed becomes the first ever muslim senator in the US.
What are Michigan Voting Results 2026?
The race stayed close throughout election night (November 3rd 2026) before major population hubs sealed the final result.
High voter turnout in Wayne, Washtenaw, and Oakland counties gave El-Sayed the edge he needed in the US Midterm election of Senate.
Related Stories
-
Winner: Abdul El-Sayed (Democrat)
Opponent: Mike Rogers (Republican)
Seat: US Senate, Michigan (Class II seat succeeding Gary Peters)
Key Issues: Living costs, healthcare access, jobs, and clean drinking water.
What was Abdul El-Sayed's Campaign in Michigan Senate Election?
Rogers focused mainly his campaign on border security and tax relief for small businesses. El-Sayed countered by speaking directly to working class families about daily expenses, medical debt, and lowering prescription drug prices.
What is Abdul El-Sayed Early Life and Education?
Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed was born on October 31 1984 in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He grew up in the Metro Detroit area. His father Mohamed El-Sayed came to the United States as an immigrant from Egypt. And his stepmother Jackie traces her roots to central Michigan.
In high school, El-Sayed was an active athlete. He captained the football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams.
He went on to attend the University of Michigan where he played collegiate lacrosse and graduated in 2007 with degrees in biology and political science.
El-Sayed then traveled to England as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a doctorate in public health from Oxford University. He returned to the US and earned his medical degree from Columbia University in 2014.
He presently lives in Ann Arbor with his wife Dr Sarah Jukaku who is a psychiatrist, and their two daughters.
Abdul El- Sayed Public Health Career and Path to Politics
Before entering politics El-Sayed worked on the front lines of community health. In 2015 at age 30, he became the executive director of the Detroit Health Department.
The city had just come out of bankruptcy. And he had to rebuild its public health services from scratch.
During his time in Detroit he set up programs providing free eyeglasses to public school children, removed lead from school water systems, and made Narcan widely available to prevent opioid overdose deaths.
Later from 2023 to 2025 he led the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services. There he oversaw an effort that erased tens of millions of dollars in medical debt for local residents.
El-Sayed first ran for public office in 2018 during Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial primary which he lost to Gretchen Whitmer.
He returned to the campaign trail in 2026, won the Democratic Senate primary against Representative Haley Stevens, and took his case directly to towns across Michigan.