Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Senate race and will become the first Muslim senator in US history. A prediction he made back in May has now gone viral.
Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers on Tuesday, November 3, in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the midterms. When he takes office in January, he will become the first Muslim senator in US history.
His win came after a bitter campaign. El-Sayed faced attacks on his Muslim faith and criticism for opposing US military involvement in West Asia and the administration’s support for Israel.
A prediction made in May
Back on May 4, El-Sayed posted a bold message on X about Rogers, who had been endorsed by President Donald Trump. “Gimme three months and his golf buddies in Florida wouldn’t even vote for him. I’ll smoke him by 7. Bet on it,” he wrote.
He wasn’t the only one betting on himself either. On the prediction market Kalshi, users wagered around $33 million on the race, with El-Sayed the clear favorite at around 80% in the final week.
At one point during the actual vote count on election night, El-Sayed had 52.5% of the vote to Rogers’ 45.5%, a lead of exactly seven points. His old post quickly resurfaced, and social media users were impressed.
“Dude really called his shot,” one person wrote. Another added: “bro, this is earth shaking.”
A message for Trump and Vance
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly went after El-Sayed, mocking his name and calling him a “jihadist.” Vice President JD Vance called him a “psychopath.”
El-Sayed had a pointed response ready when he spoke to supporters at the Michigan Democrats’ headquarters in Detroit. As vice president, Vance is expected to swear in new senators in January.
“JD, habibi, it is an irony – you are constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” he said, using an Arabic term of endearment. Then he went after Trump: “Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so when JD swears me in, you can call me ‘senator.’ May we never have to see the likes of you in Michigan again.”
A thank-you to Michigan voters
El-Sayed also thanked the voters who backed him. He credited a grassroots campaign that ran for a year and a half across the state’s biggest cities and smallest towns. “You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates,” he told the crowd. “You welcomed me in your homes, your churches, your synagogues.”
He said his opponents had chosen to attack him personally, instead of talking about everyday worries like the price of groceries and gas.
“They want an America that is too small for some of us,” he said. “We know that America is big enough for all of us.”
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