Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate Race

Abdul El-Sayed has been elected to the Senate from the state of Michigan, defeating Republican challenger Mike Rogers.

It’s been quite a ride for the progressive Democrat, whose campaign first attracted widespread national attention after he palled around with far-left influencer Hasan Piker, an apologist for terrorist groups and communist governments. El-Sayed eventually distanced himself from Piker while protesting that the media was trying to force him to participate in cancel culture. “I thought we were over it,” he told Politico.

El-Sayed eventually alienated his vanquished primary opponent, moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, to such a degree that she issued a last-minute endorsement of Rogers two days before the general election. While a dramatic move on her part, it does not seem to have affected the outcome.

As a member of the Senate, El-Sayed will likely be one of the furthest-left legislators in national politics. Though he has claimed that he is a capitalist rather than a socialist and has refused to join the Democratic Socialists of America, his agenda is very much in line with theirs. He supports a socialized national healthcare system like Medicare for All, massive taxes and new regulations on wealthy Americans, and far-reaching restrictions on tech and AI. He thinks that President Barack Obama was “fairly centrist, middle-of-the-road,” which is not an encouraging sign for libertarians.

As is usually the case with progressives, there are some aspects of his agenda that align with libertarianism. He is vehemently opposed to the Trump administration’s war with Iran, and foreign interventionism in general. He also opposes the widespread use of Flock by police to surveil Americans and violate their privacy rights. (His defeated opponent, Rogers, was a key supporter of the USA PATRIOT Act and its subsequent extensions while serving in Congress.) The Senate gaining another reliable vote for civil liberties would be a welcome development.

But when it comes to economic liberty and the size of government, El-Sayed is likely to vote with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), and their ideological peers.

His victory came amidst a massive blue wave that saw the biggest Democratic electoral victory since 2008: El-Sayed’s party will enjoy massive majorities in the Senate and the House when the next Congress is seated in January.

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