OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
11:55 PM – Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed has won the race to become the next senator of the Wolverine State.
With 73.06% of the total vote counted, the Associated Press has called the race for El-Sayed (D-Mich.), who received 51.83% of the vote, while Republican nominee Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) received 46.18%.
Rogers is a politician, national security expert and former law enforcement officer who represented Michigan's Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015.
Born in 1963 in Livonia, Michigan, Rogers graduated from Adrian College in 1985 before serving as an officer in the U.S. Army. Following his military service, he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent from 1989 to 1994, focusing on organized crime and public corruption out of the bureau's Chicago office.
He launched his political career in the Michigan State Senate, serving from 1995 to 2000, where he authored legislation creating Michigan's tax-free 529 college savings plan.
Rogers rose to national prominence during his 14-year tenure in the U.S. House, most notably serving as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2011 to 2015. In that role, he became a leading GOP voice on counterterrorism, foreign affairs, intelligence authorization and cybersecurity policy.
After opting not to run for reelection in 2014, Rogers transitioned into the private sector as a national security commentator, public speaker, and advisor for technology and cybersecurity initiatives.
Returning to electoral politics, Rogers won the 2024 Republican primary for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, though he narrowly lost the general election to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. He then launched another Senate bid for Michigan's second seat, securing the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Rogers lives in Howell, Michigan, with his wife, Kristi Rogers.
He was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who told his followers to "VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS, and make Michigan TOO BIG TO RIG."
Abdulrahman (Abdul) Mohamed El-Sayed is a Muslim physician, epidemiologist and far-left political figure who serves as the Democrat nominee in Michigan's 2026 United States Senate election.
Born and raised in suburban Michigan, El-Sayed graduated from the University of Michigan before attending the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he earned a doctorate in public health.
However, El-Sayed has never practiced clinical medicine or held patient care responsibilities outside of his medical school rotations.
After earning his MD from Columbia University in 2014, he elected not to pursue residency training, and as a result, he never obtained a state medical license or board certification to practice medicine.
Nonetheless, El-Sayed gained public prominence in 2015 when he was appointed Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department at age 30, becoming the youngest health director of any major American city.
He resigned in 2017 to launch a campaign in the 2018 Michigan Democrat gubernatorial primary, ultimately placing second behind eventual Governor Whitmer. Following that race, El-Sayed continued his "public health advocacy" as a commentator and host of the political podcast "America Dissected," and co-chair of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force on Healthcare in 2020.
From 2022 to 2025, he served as the Director of Health, Human, and Veterans Services for Wayne County.
This year, El-Sayed re-entered electoral politics to campaign for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, securing the Democrat nomination in a competitive primary election. Running on a platform centered on economic populism, "Medicare for All," environmental regulation and restrictions on corporate campaign finance, he advanced to face Rogers in the general election.
El-Sayed lives in Michigan with his wife, Sarah Jidda, and their children.
The two men held two debates leading up to the midterm election, facing off in a televised Senate debate on October 8th and another debate on October 21st. Following the first event, President Trump declared that Rogers "obliterated" El-Sayed. Rogers pointed to El-Sayed's light professional resume and questioned how a candidate with limited real-world work experience acquired luxury property abroad.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Source link
