Michigan’s historic election of the nation’s first Muslim U.S. senator is drawing reaction from the state’s Jewish community.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers following a contentious campaign marked by religious and political tensions. The election carries particular significance in southeast Michigan, where Dearborn is the nation’s first Arab-majority city, and sizable Jewish communities are located nearby.
Levi Teitel, communications director for the advocacy group Millions of Michiganians, said the outcome impacts him personally.
“I’m honestly getting a little bit emotional talking about this but to have a Jewish senator and a Muslim senator from the state of Michigan now serving at the same time is, it’s really such an incredible feeling,” Teitel explained.
Teitel noted issues such as reproductive freedom, concerns about democracy and the rising cost of living helped keep Jewish voters in the Democratic column, despite disagreements over Israel.
An analysis by Millions of Michiganians found Democratic support remained relatively steady in 72 Michigan precincts with large Jewish populations. The group said El-Sayed received 60% of the vote in those precincts. Teitel also pointed out El-Sayed’s vote share was just 1.3 percentage points below Democratic Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin’s in 2024.
“The results of our analysis shows that despite the millions of dollars that were spent by AIPAC and Republican groups to try to move Jewish voters towards Rogers, it didn’t really work out,” Teitel emphasized.
Teitel added the group’s analysis generally aligns with available exit polling. Still, more data is expected in the coming weeks to clarify how Jewish voters cast their ballots.
