Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate race and will be first Muslim-American US senator

Summary

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won the Michigan Senate race and will become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate in history when he takes his seat in January. Arabs from Michigan to the Middle East are celebrating the win and enjoying his introduction of Arabic terms such as "habibi" and "inshallah" into American political language. He ran through a vitriolic campaign in which Republicans cast him as the central villain of the president and his party, lobbing Islamophobic insinuations at him. El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, parried those attacks. He told the Associated Press in October that he was "not shying away" from the rightwing fixations, and he has mocked his critics on the right, including with his "J.D., habibi" remark. He has also championed the Palestinian cause and leaned into his faith and Egyptian heritage. He said he did not expect to be "a main character of this midterms."

Timeline

1. South China Morning Post

   5 Nov 2026, 18:18 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that Arabs are celebrating Abdul El-Sayed's Senate win in Michigan and delighting in his use of Arabic terms like "habibi" and "inshallah" in American politics, as he mocks critics on the right with the term "J.D., habibi."

2. The Guardian

   6 Nov 2026, 12:46 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, parried Republican insinuations during a vitriolic campaign and will take his Senate seat in January as the first Muslim elected to the US Senate in history.