Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s closely contested Democratic Senate primary, according to NBC News projections, securing the nomination after defeating AIPAC-backed Rep. Haley Stevens in a highly competitive race.
El-Sayed prevailed despite facing nearly $65 million in outside spending, mainly from Israeli lobby AIPAC, and a Democratic establishment that largely backed Stevens. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Stevens late in the campaign in an effort to bolster her candidacy. Stevens, who is strongly supportive of Israel, has consistently advocated maintaining U.S. aid to Israel without conditions.
In the general election, El-Sayed will face former Rep. Mike Rogers, who secured the Republican nomination unopposed.
Abdul El-Sayed
Born on October 31, 1984 to Egyptian immigrant parents, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is an American politician, physician, and epidemiologist. A progressive Democrat, he previously served as director of Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services from 2023 to 2025. He first gained statewide recognition during his 2018 campaign for governor of Michigan and is now the Democratic nominee for the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Michigan.
El-Sayed earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan on a full-tuition scholarship before attending Oriel College at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He later received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Columbia University.
Before entering electoral politics, El-Sayed built a career in public health. He served as an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University from 2014 to 2015 and led the Detroit Health Department as executive director and health officer from 2015 to 2017.
