Abdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim U.S. senator after Michigan win

vg.no (Swedish) —

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed (42) won Michigan's Senate race on Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim senator in U.S. history after a campaign marked by aggressive attacks on his faith and loyalty. President Donald Trump repeatedly called El-Sayed a "jihadist" and questioned his allegiance to the U.S., while other Republicans made similar claims. El-Sayed denied ties to extremist groups and called the attacks shameful, saying he ran for Senate "and happens to be Muslim." El-Sayed, a progressive physician and former Detroit health chief, defeated Republican Mike Rogers despite heavy outside spending against him. He succeeds retiring Democrat Gary Peters and received late support from former President Barack Obama.


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