The US midterm elections have delivered a major victory for Democrats, with the party making significant gains across the country and flipping control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Among the notable victories was that of Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, whose remarks about implementing "shawarma law" instead of "Sharia law" have gone viral on social media. El-Sayed, 42, an epidemiologist and former public health official aligned with the Democratic Party's progressive wing, defeated Republican candidate and former representative Mike Rogers in one of the country's closely watched Senate races, NBC News projected. His victory makes him the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. In his victory speech, El-Sayed introduced himself by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, before using Arabic expressions to take a swipe at Republicans and Vice-President JD Vance. "My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed," he said, before explaining his repeated use of the Arabic expression "inshallah", meaning "God willing", during the campaign. "Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say "inshallah", or "God willing", whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned. But today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah. For the rightwing ops, that just means "praise be to God," OK?" He continued his remarks with a reference to Vance, saying, "JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you're constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January." El-Sayed also used his speech to criticise US support for Israel and speak about the situation in Gaza, condemning the abuse faced by those who have raised concerns about the conflict. "See, 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," he said. "Michiganders, 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." El-Sayed's victory came despite a campaign marked by Islamophobic attacks from President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Trump had called him a "communist" and described him as a "jihadist" and a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. He also faced a setback in the final days of the campaign when Democratic Representative Haley Stevens, whom he had defeated in the party's primary, withdrew her support and endorsed Rogers after attending church with the Republican candidate. El-Sayed had defeated Stevens to secure the Democratic nomination earlier this year, challenging the party establishment with a campaign centred on progressive policies. He advocated for universal healthcare through the Medicare for All proposal and called for an end to US military aid to Israel. Republicans had portrayed the general election as a referendum on the Democratic Party's progressive wing, making the contest between El-Sayed and Rogers one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. His win also extends the Republican Party's long-running electoral drought in Michigan. Republicans have not won a Senate seat in the state since 1994. El-Sayed will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. His victory was among several electoral breakthroughs for women, candidates of colour and other underrepresented groups in Tuesday's elections. Democrats made significant gains in key statewide races and flipped control of both chambers of Congress, riding a wave of dissatisfaction with the Trump administration. The results also pointed to gains for Democrats in traditionally conservative states, with analysts, civil rights leaders and grassroots voter organisations suggesting that the party had attracted Republican voters while rebuilding support among its traditional constituencies. Black and Latino voters, in particular, had emerged as increasingly contested groups in recent election cycles, as the latest results reshaped the political landscape and expanded representation in the highest levels of American government.
