Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is projected to win Michigan’s US Senate race against Republican Mike Rogers, leading pollsters reported Wednesday, November 4. The result would put El-Sayed in the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, keeping it in Democratic hands.
In his victory speech, El-Sayed marked the projected outcome by referring to an expression he said he had repeatedly used when discussing his prospects. Until that point, he told supporters, he had qualified references to winning with “inshallah,” which he translated as “God willing.” He said the occasion allowed him to replace that expression with “alhamdulillah.”
El-Sayed followed the remark with a joke directed at right-wing operatives, explaining that the latter phrase meant “praise be to God.” His comments paired a declaration of victory with a pointed aside to political opponents after the closely watched contest against Rogers.
He also addressed President Donald Trump’s past use of the name “Mohammed” to refer to him. Speaking directly to Trump in his remarks, El-Sayed said the president had struggled with his name and suggested that, after being sworn in in January, he could simply be called “Senator.”
The speech also returned to El-Sayed’s criticism of Israel, an issue that had generated controversy during his campaign. Discussing how US money is used abroad, he said, “we don't want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war.” The remarks echoed accusations he had made before the election.
El-Sayed has accused Israel of committing genocide during its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel rejects that allegation, and Rogers disputes it. The accusation was among the positions on Israel that drew controversy around the Democratic candidate throughout the Senate campaign.
El-Sayed repeated the genocide allegation in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Monday. In that appearance, he also challenged the relationship between the United States’ stated support for a two-state solution and the consequences of its assistance, arguing that American actions help prevent a Palestinian state from being established.
He specifically pointed to military assistance for parties working against the formation of a Palestinian state. That criticism, aired shortly before Wednesday’s reported projection, was followed by his renewed objection in the victory speech to US money supporting the actions he condemned.
