MICHIGAN — Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left Islamist Democrat from Detroit, clinched victory in one of the biggest races of the 2026 midterms to become the first Muslim senator in U.S. history. 
El-Sayed was leading his Republican opponent Mike Rogers by over three points with 75% of ballots counted, and that lead is likely to grow into the night. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday morning. Rogers had trailed El-Sayed in nearly all polls leading up to the election. 
El-Sayed’s victory proves the Democratic Party’s new far-left faction can win not only in places like New York and California, but can secure victory in the swing states that decide national elections. 
While El-Sayed does not consider himself a socialist, he won the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America and ran a campaign that mirrored New York Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s. 
During the campaign, evidence of a deep web of connections between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood emerged.
El-Sayed’s parents immigrated to the United States from Egypt. The Daily Wire previously reported his father was a part-time imam. His father-in-law <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayeds-father-in-law-a-top-donor-to-an-el-sayed-super-pac-is-among-top-leaders-of-muslim-brotherhood-organization-linked-to-terror-funding/">is a founding committee member</a> of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the federal government.
Rogers repeatedly voiced that El-Sayed’s potential ties to the Muslim Brotherhood are a national security risk. “So being bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood, having donors to his campaign from Hamas that support Hezbollah, is not a problem?” said Rogers during the second Michigan senatorial debate. “If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” 
Rogers also raised El-Sayed’s refusal to comment on a 2012 open letter he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/21/us/politics/abdul-el-sayed-muslim-brotherhood-mother-half-sister.html?eafs_enabled=false">signed</a> urging an Egyptian politician who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing “to purge the media and police.”
El-Sayed never addressed the claims head on, instead saying the suggestion that he had loyalty outside the United States was “shameful.”
Even before the bruising general election, El-Sayed faced scandal from Republicans and moderate Democrats alike for campaigning with Communist streamer Hasan Piker. His primary opponent, Haley Stevens — who came up short against El-Sayed by 1% — initially endorsed El-Sayed and then withdrew her endorsement and threw her lot in with Rogers after El-Sayed refused to condemn an ad she deemed antisemitic. The spot was run by a Super PAC affiliated with Piker’s uncle Cenk Uygur.
Rogers, a foreign policy hawk, ran on a moderate and bipartisan platform, hoping to pick off members of the usual Democratic coalition, including liberal Jews and black voters concerned about El-Sayed’s anti-Israel streak and far-left economic policies. Rogers’ strategy included opening a campaign office in Detroit, which El-Sayed brushed off as a “cute little office.” Rogers also cut a pro-choice campaign ad in the waning days of the campaign, trying to appeal to moderates but upsetting some pro-life activists. 
On the trail, Rogers took pride in his ground game and voter outreach, but it proved insufficient in a blue tsunami environment. 
During the campaign, El-Sayed tried to portray himself as a hard-nosed football player and least-favorite son. While criticizing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for playing on the Princeton basketball team, El-Sayed boasted that he was a kid whose &#8220;parents never came” to his games and took pride in how it made him feel not special.
The Daily Wire has been on the ground in Michigan in the days leading up to the election, speaking to voters about their choice in candidates. El-Sayed supporters pushed back against the Michigan senator-elect’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. 
Voters told The Daily Wire they are hoping that El-Sayed brings affordability to Michigan.

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2026 midterm election

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Drew Berkemeyer and Brecca Stoll

The Muslim Brotherhood Gets Their Man In Michigan