Washington, Nov 5: Egyptian American Democrat and former public health official, Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday scripted history by becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate following his triumph against Republican Mike Rogers in the race for a Senate seat in Michigan. El-Sayed also became the first Democratic doctor in the Senate since 1969.
In a speech at his election headquarters in Detroit, El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, said, "Michigan, we did it! I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your Senator-elect from the great state of Michigan".
El-Sayed, a former public health official who has never held elected office, secured a seat in the US Senate after facing a double-digit defeat in Michigan's Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2018.
The Michigan doctor secured a win in the Michigan contest despite a last-minute hiccup in his campaign when Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed, came out in support of Rogers at the 11th hour.
El Sayed's campaign was built around universal health care, removing outside money from polls and criticising Israel, several reports cited.
"You deserve to be able to see a doctor without getting a huge bill", El-Sayed said while addressing people of Michigan on the eve of the vote. He pledged to upend the US' divisive multi-billion-dollar for-profit medical system and get "money out of politics" besides vowing to address the economic problems faced by the people.
El-Sayed was born and raised in southeast Michigan and attended public schools. He was raised by his father, Mohamed, an Egyptian immigrant, and his stepmom, Jackie, whose family has lived in Gratiot County, Michigan, since the 1800s. He graduated from the University of Michigan and played on the Wolverines men’s lacrosse team.
El-Sayed earned his medical degree from Columbia University on an NIH-funded fellowship and a second doctorate at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He lives in Michigan's Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters, Emmalee and Serene.
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