Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has won the Michigan Senate race becoming the US’ first Muslim senator.
The Democratic win in Michigan adds to Republican losses in the Senate in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
El-Sayed’s victory is a firm rejection in the state of the US president, who repeatedly attacked him during the campaign, calling him a “jihad” and using Islamophobic language against him.
In a speech thanking his supporters, El-Sayed referenced this rhetoric, saying he had faced “one of the ugliest campaigns seen in my lifetime”.
The progressive Democrat was beset by issues on his push to become America’s first Muslim senator. This included moderate Democrat Haley Stevens, who he beat in the primaries to become the candidate, endorsing his Trump-backed rival Mike Rogers on the eve of the vote.But with his projected win, the Democrats now sit on 54 seats in the Senate. The party needed 51 for a majority.
