El-Sayed wins historic Senate race as blue wave flips power in Congress, keeps Dems in Lansing

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following stories have been republished with permission from Michigan Advance.

By Ben Solis
Michigan Advance

DETROIT — The progressive wave sweeping the nation reached its crest in Michigan in the early hours of Wednesday, Nov. 4, as Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, declared victory over Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.

“We just showed them that a movement of the people, by the people, and for the people will ultimately win,” El-Sayed told supporters gathered in Detroit. “They tried to confuse you. So let me just set the record straight. I love America. I know exactly what America gave to me. Michiganders believe in Michigan, and I believe in Michiganders, and I am so honored that Michiganders believed in me.”

Unofficial results reported by the Associated Press show that with 85% of the vote counted, El-Sayed was leading Rogers 51.9% to 46.1% as of 2:27 a.m. when the AP officially called the race.

El-Sayed’s election is historic: He will become the first Muslim U.S. senator when he takes office in January.

El-Sayed will succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township). It would also be the second loss in as many years for Rogers, who also lost in 2024 to now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

As a progressive closely associated with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), El-Sayed will bring to Washington a focus on expanding the Affordable Care Act into a Medicare for All system, ending the war in Iran and renegotiating the U.S. relationship with Israel.

Throughout his political career, including the 2026 U.S. Senate campaign, El-Sayed has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war with Hamas in Gaza. While that determination remains controversial, multiple international organizations, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and a United Nations commission, support it.

His victory comes despite the GOP narrative that Democratic Jewish voters were divided over El-Sayed, as seen in polling conducted on behalf of The Jewish Majority, in which he “significantly underperformed Jocelyn Benson among Jewish early voters, receiving just 57% of the vote compared with 78% for Benson, a gap of more than 21 percentage points.”

Additionally, the polling, conducted October 25–31 among 482 Michigan Jewish early voters, found that 99% of self-identified Jewish Democrats who did not vote for El-Sayed said they would likely have supported a different Democratic nominee.

El-Sayed’s appeal was also broader than just his opinions about Israel, as many voters were also weighing issues such as the rising cost of living, the economy and opposition to President Donald Trump’s agenda as they decided who should represent Michigan in the Senate.

“I voted for Abdul El-Sayed because he’s focused on the issues and not a bunch of bigotry and racism,” Katie Page, 49, of Rochester said on Tuesday. “I think he’s going to fight for us because we’ve already seen him fight for the people of Detroit.”

Page said she is mainly concerned with opposing Trump’s agenda, flipping the U.S. Senate and getting money out of politics

“I am hoping we can … take the country back from essentially the oligarchs and nonstop corruption,” she said.

Although El-Sayed has fashioned himself as a capitalist concerned with ending corporate greed and allocation of wealth to the top 1% of earners, several of his campaign policies have been espoused or championed by democratic socialists. El-Sayed is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but two of his closest allies, Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), are associated with the organization and have praised his platform.

Working with Sanders in the Senate and Ocasio-Cortez in the House, El-Sayed aims to bring structural change to current U.S. policy if he can convince his fellow Democrats in the political center aisle to go further left.

The extent of that influence remains to be seen, but El-Sayed’s six-year Senate term could push Democrats toward policies many of their voters have advocated, particularly in Michigan. 

Touching on the difficulties that he faced in the race, especially the racist attacks, El-Sayed said he never focused on those hurdles because he “didn’t run for myself, and in truth, they weren’t targeting me.”

“They were targeting and attacking you,” El-Sayed said. “They were targeting and attacking the very idea of America. See, they hate the idea of an America big enough for anyone who looks a little different, or prays a little different, or whose family comes from a different part of the world. That includes me, but it also includes anyone and everyone who doesn’t look like them, pray like them, love like them, or isn’t rich like them.”

Multiple times throughout the campaign, and particularly during its final throes, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance attacked El-Sayed head-on in support of Rogers.

El-Sayed joked on Wednesday morning that although they struggled to say his name, now Vance has to swear him in as a senator in January, should his victory hold after his race is officially called.

“You can just go ahead and call me senator,” El-Sayed said to cheers.

— Janelle D. James contributed to this story. Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jon King for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

Benson wins key victory over James as state’s next governor, continuing Democratic control

Democratic nominee and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has declared victory in Michigan’s gubernatorial election, addressing supporters early Wednesday in Detroit.

“This election, from the western reaches of the Upper Peninsula to downtown Detroit, voters sent a clear message: They want leaders who will fight for them, fight to lower costs, fight to grow our economy, fight the corruption that too often protects the powerful and hurts the people. And in this election, we showed the nation that in our democracy, the power of the people will always rule the day,” Benson said.

The Associated Press officially called the race for Benson at 1:45 a.m., with unofficial results showing her out ahead of James 53.7% to 44.6%. Benson has already launched a website with information about the transition and opportunities to join the incoming administration.

— Ben Solis, Michigan Advance

Garlin Gilchrist wins secretary of state election

Democratic nominee and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II has won the race for Michigan Secretary of State, defeating Republican nominee and Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini by a margin of nearly eight percentage points as of 2:00 a.m., the time at which the Associated Press called the race. 

“The biggest difference between us and them, the biggest difference between Michigan and the rest of the country, the biggest difference between Democrats and those who vote against Democrats, is we have a place for everyone,” Gilchrist said in a victory speech. “Our vision is big enough to include everyone. Their vision is so small, so narrow, so weak that everybody can’t live. But Michigan, my arms are wide enough. I’m tall enough to bring everybody in the big picture.”

Unofficial election results show Gilchrist received 52.1% of the vote, while Forlini pulled in 44.4%. Third-party candidates Scott Aughney of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, Eric Borregard of the Green Party and Christine Sloan of the Libertarian Party received 0.6%, 0.4% and 1.7% of the vote, respectively.

— Katherine Dailey, Michigan Advance

Savit new AG, keeping top law enforcement role with Dems

Democratic nominee and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit has won the race for Michigan Attorney General, defeating Republican nominee Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd by a margin of 51.8% to 45.5% as of 2:28 a.m. Wednesday, the time at which the Associated Press called the race. 

“This campaign started 18 months ago, fueled by conversations on college campuses and with young people who were concerned about their future and who wanted an attorney general who would represent the people and not the powerful, and that is what we are going to get to work on doing from day one. to stand,” Savit said in a speech while declaring victory.

According to unofficial results, third-party candidates Jason Dye of the Libertarian Party, John Ludtke of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, Jeff Polonowski of the Green Party and Doug Dern of the Natural Law Party received 1.3%, 0.7%, 0.5% and 0.3% of the vote respectively.

Savit declared victory around 2 a.m. on Wednesday at the election watch party hosted by the state Democratic Party. He will succeed current Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is term-limited.

— Katherine Dailey, Michigan Advance

6-1 Democratic majority to stay on Michigan Supreme Court

Democratic-nominated incumbents Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood have won reelection. The race was called just after 1 a.m. Wednesday by the Associated Press, at which point Cavanagh and Hood won 33.8% and 29.1% of the vote, respectively.

While the race is nonpartisan on the ballot, political parties nominate candidates. Experts said going into the election that, without parties listed on the ballot, incumbents hold a strong advantage. Cavanagh and Hood defeated Republicans Casandra Morse-Bills and Michael Warren, and U.S. Taxpayers Party nominees Thomas Howe and Jody White.

— Katherine Dailey, Michigan Advance