A historic result emerged in the Congressional midterm elections held in the USA on November 3. Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health administrator who represents the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in the state of Michigan, was elected to the Senate, leaving behind Republican candidate Mike Rogers, supported by Trump.
The victory of 42-year-old El-Sayed, the first Muslim elected to the Senate in US history, was among the notable results of the elections in which Democrats regained the majority in the upper house of Congress.
El-Sayed declared his election victory in his speech at the Michigan Democratic Party headquarters in Detroit in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4.
Referring to his election campaign, which he continued from Michigan's big cities to small towns for about a year and a half, El-Sayed emphasized the importance of the support given to him by the voters.
Addressing voters from different faith groups in his victory speech, El-Sayed said, "You accepted me into your homes, churches, synagogues."
Stating that he received strength from the voters in the most difficult moments of the campaign, El-Sayed gave a message of unity against political and social polarization in the USA.
HE RESPONDED TO TRUMP'S 'JIHADI' ACCUSES
Throughout the race in Michigan, El-Sayed's religious identity became a point of contention in the Republican campaign.
While Trump described the Democratic candidate as "communist" and "jihadist", he also suggested that El-Sayed was affiliated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement. No evidence was provided regarding the connection claim in question.
Trump also argued that El-Sayed should be passed through a metal detector to enter the Senate. These statements were criticized by Democrats as anti-Islamic rhetoric.
El-Sayed, on the other hand, said his opponents were targeting his identity and faith rather than discussing economic issues such as gasoline and basic food prices.
Responding to the accusations against him in his victory speech, El-Sayed said, "They want an America in which there is no room for some of us. We know that America is big enough for all of us."
HE ADDRESSED THE CUTTING OF MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL
Among the issues El-Sayed highlighted in his election campaign was the military aid provided by the United States to Israel.
El-Sayed, who advocates ending American military support to Israel, stated that the resources of the Washington administration should be directed to public services within the country.
Referring to how tax revenues should be used in his victory speech, El-Sayed said, "We want our taxes to be spent here, on our schools, health services and infrastructure. We do not want our money to be sent for apartheid, genocide or war."
During the election campaign, El-Sayed also supported the Medicare for All program, which provides health coverage for all.
MILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN FROM PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY
The Senate race in Michigan has become one of the highest-spending election battles in the United States.
United Democracy Project, a Super PAC linked to the political activities of pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC, spent nearly $30 million to block El-Sayed's candidacy in the Democratic Party primaries.
This amount was recorded as one of the highest expenditures made for a single election race.
According to data from AdImpact, which tracks election advertisements, total advertising expenditures for the general election campaigns of the two parties exceeded 220 million dollars by mid-October.
El-Sayed won the right to be a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries, beating Haley Stevens, a candidate close to the party leadership.
ROGERS, SUPPORTED BY TRUMP, LOST AGAIN
Republican candidate Mike Rogers was previously a member of the US House of Representatives and lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin by about 0.3 points in the 2024 Senate elections.
Rogers, who ran for the Senate again with Trump's strong support, lost the election this time to Abdul El-Sayed.
Early in his campaign, Rogers supported Trump's tariffs and military policy towards Iran. However, in the final weeks of the election, he diverged from Trump on these issues by calling for an end to the trade war with Canada and a rapid end to the conflict in Iran.
Republicans, on the other hand, argued that El-Sayed's policies were too radical for a state like Michigan, where there is close competition between the two parties.
In the survey conducted by Fox News in August, 54 percent of Michigan voters said they found El-Sayed's political views too extreme, while 51 percent said Rogers was too close to Trump.
DEMOCRATS' SENATE MAJORITY HAS BEEN STRENGTHENED
The race in Michigan gained importance due to Democrat Gary Peters' decision not to run for reelection, having served in the Senate since 2015.
With El-Sayed's victory, Democrats strengthened their new majority in Congress while retaining their Senate seat in Michigan.
According to the Associated Press report dated November 4, Democrats won the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.
This result changed the political balance in Congress in terms of legislative activities, high-level appointments and oversight of the administration in the remaining two years of Trump's presidency.
