DEMOCRAT ABDUL EL-SAYED has been elected in the high-profile battle for Michigan’s Senate, becoming the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.

El-Sayed’s defeat of Mike Rogers in the critical swing state comes following a candidature that bucked his party’s establishment and led to the defection of his own primary opponent before election day. 

“Michigan, we did it!” El-Sayed said in a speech at his election headquarters in Detroit.

“I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan.”

A medical doctor educated at Columbia, the 42-year-old former health official campaigned on a platform of affordability, sensible foreign policy and lower healthcare costs.

He is an outspoken critic of the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

Opponents, who include US President Donald Trump, regularly engaged in Islamophobia during the campaign, with Trump repeatedly labelling El-Sayed a “jihadist”.

The Senate race in Michigan was among the most watched both nationally and internationally.

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It exploded further when Democrat congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost out on the Democratic nomination for Senate, withdrew her backing of El-Sayed two days before election day and said she would be supporting Republican candidate Rogers.

The decision drew fury from many Democrats.

Stevens had cited El-Sayed’s position on Israel and personal conflicts with her party’s candidate as her reasoning to remove herself from his campaign. In the aftermath, a number of her staffers – including her chief of staff – said they would be stepping away from their roles.

Additional reporting by AFP