For the left side, This is the most important contest of the midterm election cycle. Either a Republican former U.S. representative known for promoting domestic spying capabilities or an outspoken progressive who has forced Democrats to rethink U.S.-Israel policy will be the next senator from Michigan starting on Election Day.
Abdul-Sayed would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected Tuesday night in a race seen as a referendum on the demands of the Democratic left in swing states. If he defeats Mike Rogers, a loyal Trump ally whose campaign has often promoted Islamophobic tropes against Democratic candidates, the result will almost certainly embolden progressives ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
A defeat for El-Sayed could trigger a centrist backlash and cost Democrats a key Senate seat as they work to retake the upper chamber.
Voting in Michigan ends at 9pm ET on Tuesday, with voters across the state anxiously awaiting results.
In Dearborn, a city with a large Arab and Muslim population, voters across party lines said they were outraged by Islamophobic attack ads targeting El-Sayed that dominated airwaves and social media in the final days of the campaign.
“I’m a Muslim. I’ve seen a lot of ads, and it’s disgusting because we’re all good people,” said Gus Tarraf, a Republican running for a state House seat. “I love this country.”
Although Donald Trump won many districts in Dearborn two years ago as voters grew frustrated with the Biden administration’s support for Israel, Talaf said his community is turning Republican this year.
“Not many Arab Americans are happy with the Trump administration,” he said. “So it doesn’t matter if they know you as long as they know you’re the Republican candidate.”
El-Sayed’s willingness to criticize U.S. policy toward Israel was met with soap-opera-level drama in the final days of the campaign, when his former primary opponent, centrist Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, announced she would instead support Rogers.
After asking El-Sayed to apologize for the outside PAC’s ad, Stevens said on social media that she made the decision after feeling “shut-out” from El-Sayed’s campaign, adding that she heard from “Black voters, Jewish voters and others how deeply these messages hurt.” She said Rogers gave her “hope that he would continue in the legacy of John McCain: a senator who was willing to put country before party and stand up for his position when his conscience demanded it.”
Stevens’ recent endorsement of Rogers drew eye-rolls and anger from voters in three districts, Detroit and Dearborn. None of the voters interviewed by The Intercept said this prompted them to vote for Rogers.
“People are already voting early. People are already voting absentee,” Noora Iskander said. “I don’t think many people are going to change their minds. So I think it’s just hypocritical.”
Stevens’ decision to endorse in a black church in Detroit may also have caused a backlash among the black voters Rogers hoped to win over, according to some people who spoke to The Intercept. One person said the church community had been buzzing about the weekend’s events, but not in a positive way.
“Unfortunately, she went to a black church as a backdrop,” Dearborn voter Dorothea Sharon said. “It’s really a slap in the face to the black community that this happened.”
While El-Sayed has faced intense scrutiny over accusations that he conflated opposition to U.S. aid to Israel with anti-Semitism, little consideration has been given to the blatant Islamophobia and xenophobia of the Rogers campaign, the Republican Party, and Trump. But in Dearborn, the comments clearly hurt several voters who spoke to The Intercept.
State Senate candidate Abbas Alawieh, whose father is a Democrat and was instrumental in the No Commitment 2024 movement, was visibly upset when asked about ads targeting Muslims.
“These are weak people who have nothing to do – they have no plans for our economy, our health, our future,” Zuhair Alavih said. “That’s why they attack us as Muslims and as human beings. It’s never been like this. It’s a shame. America is a place where blacks and whites and yellows, Muslims and Christians and Jews can live freely. Don’t try to tear our society apart.”
Outside Dearborn, El-Sayed tried to defuse anti-Muslim slurs against him by joking that he only supports “shawarma law.” However, Islamophobic attacks convinced at least one voter to cast their ballot for Rogers.
“I don’t want to live under Sharia law,” said law firm employee Joanne, who declined to give her last name after voting in Detroit.
She said fear of Islamic rule was a major issue for Joan, although she was also worried about El-Sayed’s campaign promise of universal health care.
“I’ve worked my whole life and put everything into Medicare, but I have to let other people get it for free? It doesn’t seem fair to me when I’ve worked my whole life for it, and we’re not even sure if it’s going to be there when we’re actually ready to retire,” she said.
Yet it’s the message of El-Sayed’s campaign that has many other Michigan residents excited. Many voters interviewed by The Intercept said they were more concerned about the wallet issue.
“The problem is gas prices, food prices. I mean, money is draining out of your pockets fast,” Leigh James said after voting at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.
James said she walked to the polls to avoid using gas. “I’m trying to save it,” she said. “Thank God I live nearby.”
Other voters said they were inspired by El-Sayed’s personality, with one woman describing him as a “fighter.”
Noora Iskander, who voted for El-Sayed in Dearborn, said she agrees with his support for Medicare for All, his affordability platform and his solidarity with Palestine.
“I think he’s going to make a lot of changes. He’s going to scare a lot of people — which I think is a good thing, because if you don’t scare some people, you can’t really make a change for the better,” she said.
This is a development story. Matt Sledge reported from Dearborn, Miss., and Detroit.