El-Sayed says he faced 'one of the ugliest campaigns we've seen in our lifetimes'
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed addressed supporters and claimed victory over Republican Mike Rogers, in his bid to become the first-ever Muslim senator.
"They went all in on one of the ugliest campaigns we've seen in our lifetimes," he said of Republicans. "They might have been pointing to my name and my faith, but we all know that my name and my faith aren't the reason you can't afford your gas, not the reason you can't afford your groceries, not the reason you can't see a doctor."
"Now, as I was campaigning, some of you would come up and ask, 'How come you don't hit back? How come you don't call them racist or hateful?' Because here's the thing: I didn't run for myself, and in truth, they weren't targeting me," he said. "They weren't just attacking me. They were targeting and attacking you. They were targeting and attacking the very idea of America."
"They hate the idea of an America big enough for anyone who looks a little different, or prays a little different, or whose family comes from a different part of the world. That includes me, but it also includes anyone and everyone who doesn't look like them, pray like them, love like them, or isn't rich like them," he continued.
El-Sayed directly addressed some of his prominent critics. To his opponent Rogers, he said, "So, Mike, enjoy your retirement. I know you got a house in Florida and two yachts. See, you chose hate, and Michigan chose hope. May we never have to see the likes of you in the state again."
He also addressed Vice President VD Vance, using a term of endearment and saying, "JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you're constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January. So you know what that means, Wolverine one, Buckeye zero."
To President Donald Trump, El-Sayed said, "Donald, look, I know you struggled with my name, so after JD swears me in in January, you could just go on and call me senator."
El-Sayed also addressed allegations that his critical stance on Israel is antisemitic.
"They try to call you hateful if you believe that Palestinian kids should get to grow up in the land of their forefathers without being murdered by our tax dollars. If you believe in equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination that's not hate, it's love,” he said.
-ABC News’ Diana Paulsen
