in brief
- El-Sayed's nomination represents a remarkable political ascent.
- In November, El-Sayed faces a tough battle to beat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, a former congressman who has Trump's endorsement.
The left-wing Democratic candidate poised to contest a pivotal United States Senate seat in November's midterm elections is a charismatic 41-year-old who once remarked that, if not for an "accident of history", he would likely have been a cab driver in Egypt.
On Wednesday, Abdul El-Sayed secured the Democratic Party's nomination for Michigan's US Senate seat, defeating centrist rival Haley Stevens, who had the backing of the party's leadership.
The former local public health official, known for his charismatic style, is also aiming for a broader role: becoming a leading progressive voice in Washington, opposing President Donald Trump.
El-Sayed's nomination represents a remarkable political ascent.
Born in Detroit to an Egyptian father and an American mother, he has rapidly emerged as one of the Democratic Party's most prominent progressive figures.
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"But for an accident of history that allows my dad to immigrate to Detroit to go to Wayne State University, I was supposed to be a cab driver in Egypt, like my cousins," he said after his narrow primary election victory.
"I got to go to amazing public schools, an incredible public university. I got my medical education paid for," he added. "That's what America gave me."
A Rhodes scholar
El-Sayed, who is a trained epidemiologist, had a prestigious academic career.
He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University in New York, and he also studied at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom on the highly regarded Rhodes Scholarship.
He subsequently became the director of public health services for Wayne County, which includes Detroit.
Muscle-bound and an eloquent speaker, El-Sayed proved a deft operator in a primary campaign that was a window into the war within the Democratic Party between the moderate establishment and those further left, like veteran Senator Bernie Sanders.
The 84-year-old Independent helped campaign for El-Sayed and 31-year-old New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Looking for support from progressives
In November, El-Sayed faces a tough battle to beat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, a former congressman who has Trump's endorsement.
While both Michigan senators are currently Democrats, it is seen as a swing state. Trump won the traditionally blue-collar, auto-manufacturing state in the 2024 presidential election.
To win, El-Sayed is counting on mobilising a progressive base, outraged by Trump's second term, and on targeting bread-and-butter issues that cut across the political divide.
El-Sayed, who supports universal health care, declared his intention "to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all".
Faced with this left-wing platform, Republicans have labelled him a dangerous extremist, while emphasising his Arab and Muslim identity.
El-Sayed has also been a strong critic of Israel.
AIPAC, an organisation that works to elect pro-Israel Democratic and Republican candidates, donated US $30 million ($42.6M) to his primary election rival Stevens.
After the primary results were announced on Thursday, Trump mocked the victory of the man he called "a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel" as "great news for the Republican Party".
Other Republicans followed suit. Its Senate caucus claimed, "an alliance of communists and Islamists is taking control of the Democrat Party".
"He's actually a jihadist sympathiser," said Republican Senator Katie Britt. "They're infiltrating us from within."
It is a line of attack likely to predominate in the mid-terms, where Republicans hope to hold onto their current control of both houses of Congress.
El-Sayed seems set to give as good as he gets. On Wednesday, he denounced the "bitter" campaign launched by "Mike Rogers, Donald Trump, and their MAGA allies".
He made fun of his opponents for using his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, as a scare tactic.
"Mike, listen, man," he said, referring to Rogers, his Republican rival in November's election.
"If you can't say the name...keep the name out your damn mouth. I'll be happy to give you lessons."
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