Detroit, Michigan: Egyptian-American physician and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on Wednesday, August 5, defeating four-term Congresswoman Haley Stevens in a high-stakes contest marked by record-breaking outside spending.
The 41-year-old nominee will face Republican candidate Mike Rogers in November’s midterm election. If victorious in the general election, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate.
The contest became the most expensive Democratic Senate primary in U.S. history, with total outside expenditures approaching $70 million. Political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent over $30 million in support of Stevens' campaign. Despite being outspent by significant margins, El-Sayed relies on a volunteer-driven grassroots campaign, delivering a major victory for the party's progressive movement over establishment-backed candidates.
Backed by prominent progressive figures—including U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the United Auto Workers union—El-Sayed centered his campaign on universal healthcare under Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, and comprehensive immigration reform. He also advocated ending unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel and voiced strong criticism of the military campaign in Gaza, which mobilized substantial support among progressive and Arab American communities across the state.
Born in Detroit to an Egyptian father and an American mother, El-Sayed earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, a medical degree from Columbia University, and a doctorate from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Before entering state politics, he served as Detroit's public health director and held senior health administration roles in Wayne County, where his work focused on addressing lead exposure, expanding healthcare access, and reducing medical debt.
He previously ran for public office in 2018 during Michigan's Democratic gubernatorial primary. Following his gubernatorial bid, he remained active in public policy and served on President Joe Biden’s healthcare Unity Task Force before launching his U.S. Senate campaign in 2025.
Following the primary result, President Donald Trump commented on Truth Social, describing El-Sayed’s victory as "great news" for the Republican Party and arguing it would improve GOP prospects in the upcoming general election while criticizing current Democratic policies.
Meanwhile, Haley Stevens conceded the race, congratulating El-Sayed and pledging her full support for his general election campaign against Rogers as Democrats shift focus toward unifying their base for November.