Bhatkal watches Michigan Senate race as El-Sayed's wife traces roots to Indian town

Michigan's Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers has drawn attention in Bhatkal, a coastal Indian town of about 46,000, because El-Sayed's wife, Sarah Jukaku, traces her roots there. El-Sayed aims to become the first Muslim US senator. Jukaku's grandfather, Jukaku Shamshuddin, served as Mysore's deputy finance minister and helped bring electricity and infrastructure to Bhatkal, where a busy intersection is named Shamsuddin Circle. Her father, Dr. Jukaku S Tayeb, grew up there before establishing a medical practice in Detroit, Michigan. El-Sayed and Jukaku met as students at the University of Michigan and married in 2006, with two daughters. Jukaku, a psychiatrist, has campaigned alongside him, and El-Sayed has joked about being "more Indian than Arab" due to his South Indian family connections.