Abdul El-Sayed will become the next senator from Michigan, winning in spite of a campaign that divided the Democratic Party and leaned heavily into left-wing positions. El-Sayed will become one of the most outspokenly anti-Israel members of the Senate in recent memory, bringing to Washington rhetoric and affiliations that have deeply alarmed members of the Jewish community in Michigan and nationwide.

On the campaign trail, El-Sayed made comments that Jewish community members saw as excusing or justifying a Hezbollah-inspired terrorist attack on a synagogue and preschool and repeatedly refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

His campaign, particularly in the primary, leaned into frequent attacks on Israel and AIPAC that critics said played into antisemitic tropes, and he brushed off pressure to distance himself from antisemitic allies, particularly influencer Hasan Piker, as well as a slew of prominent donors and supporters who had expressed support for terrorist groups.

On a night when Democrats romped across the country, El-Sayed led by around six points in purple Michigan with around 85% of the vote counted, underperforming Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson by two points. 

Polling of the Jewish community in the early vote found that El-Sayed lagged significantly behind with Jewish voters in the state, and underperformed Benson with Jewish early voters by more than 20 points, according to a pre-election poll commissioned by the Jewish Majority.

El-Sayed and his allies have also treated his race in a critical swing state as a test of the electoral power of far-left politics ahead of the 2028 primary, and cast El-Sayed as a potential power broker in the next presidential race, if not a candidate himself. In his victory speech, El-Sayed said that his campaign had built a “movement.”

"We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid or genocide or war." During his victory speech last night, Abdul El-Sayed invoked his anti-Israel views, telling supporters that Palestinians are being "murdered by our tax dollars." Read more: https://t.co/LmbqtMvfTr https://t.co/E5DD1OHwNI

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) November 4, 2026

In the speech, El-Sayed accused opponents of running a campaign of Islamophobia, bigotry and guilt by association, and specifically took a shot at AIPAC. 

“They try to call you hateful if you believe that Palestinian kids should get to grow up in the land of their forefathers without being murdered by our tax dollars. If you believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, that’s not hate; it’s love,” he said. “We want our taxes spent here, for schools here and healthcare here and infrastructure here. We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid or genocide or war.”

Meanwhile, in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, far-left Democratic Socialists of America-linked activist William Lawrence also looks likely to pull out a victory against Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), with 94% of the votes counted.