A radical Islamist candidate has won the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, narrowly defeating incumbent Representative Haley Stevens.
Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left former public health official, secured the nomination by fewer than 15,000 votes, with final counts showing him at approximately 48.5 percent to Stevens’ 47.5 percent.
Early projections from multiple networks indicated his victory Wednesday morning, marking a significant upset for the Democratic establishment, which had united against him.
The Michigan Senate seat shifted from lean Democrat to a toss-up after incumbent Senator Gary Peters announced in January 2025 that he would not seek re-election. Political analysts now say El-Sayed’s win has provided Republican Mike Rogers additional momentum to flip the seat.
An Epic MRA poll last week showed Rogers leading El-Sayed by 46 percent to 43 percent.
President Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday, declaring El-Sayed’s victory “Great news for the Republican Party.” He described El-Sayed as “a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel” and stated that “the Polls were way off on this one. She was not expected to do nearly as well as she did. Now, the Democrats’ crazy policies will only get worse!”
In recent weeks, El-Sayed’s radical positions and comments have been highlighted on social media.
During a Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) banquet in Edmond, Oklahoma, where he denounced efforts to curtail sharia law in the United States, El-Sayed made remarks shared by anti-Islam activist Amy Mek on X.
“You cannot understand a ban on Sharia without understanding the Trail of Tears,” he declared during his speech at the March 2020 conference.
“You cannot understand efforts against Muslim Americans without understanding the Tulsa Massacre,” El-Sayed added. “You cannot understand the challenges Muslims face today without understanding ‘white supremacy.’”
Mek stated: “He looked at Oklahoma voters who rejected Islamic law in American courts and equated them with the people who drove Native Americans off their land, burned Black Wall Street, and bombed a federal building. He called resistance to Sharia the same historical force of racism and hatred.”
Rogers, a former FBI agent who served as the U.S. representative for Michigan’s 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2015, released a statement after El-Sayed’s win.
“I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11,” Rogers stated.
“Abdul doesn’t represent a vision for the future. He’s leading a movement grounded in ideological fanaticism. His agenda would make our communities less safe and our state less affordable.”
Rogers further noted that El-Sayed wants to empty prisons and put murderers and sex offenders back on the streets, pledged support to the Muslim Brotherhood, and campaigns with groups that refuse to condemn terrorism. Additionally, he advocated for the largest tax hike in American history — costing families already struggling to make ends meet over $3,000 more annually.
While El-Sayed has sought to distance himself from Democratic socialism, his platform aligns closely with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a hard-hitting ad Wednesday, calling El-Sayed “the most radical Senate candidate in America.”
Rogers concluded: “This election isn’t just about choosing a senator. It’s about deciding whether Michigan has a future built on common sense — or whether we hand the keys to the most fringe extremists in the nation.”
