All eyes were on Michigan on Tuesday, as the state’s 2026 midterm election led to a national debate over the Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. As polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (four of Michigan’s northwestern counties observe Central Time, while the rest are on Eastern), El-Sayed was projected to win—a triumph that, if confirmed, would move the Democratic Party toward its predicted goal of flipping the Senate. Early Wednesday morning, the Associated Press confirmed El-Sayed’s victory, making him the nation’s first Muslim senator.
“You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates,” El-Sayed told supporters at a rally on Detroit on Wednesday. “Thank you. This is all yours.”
The battleground state’s 13 seats in the House of Representatives are also up for grabs in 2026. Key races include the Fourth Congressional District, where Democrat Sean McCann is neck and neck with Republican incumbent Bill Huizenga. In the Seventh District, Democratic challenger William Lawrence declared victory against Republican incumbent Tom Barrett on his Facebook account; and in the 10th District, it’s between Republican candidate Michael Bouchard Jr. and Democratic candidate Christina Hines.
Also at stake was the governor’s house, with the current governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, at the end of her second of two legally allowed terms. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, defeated Republican US Representative John James, according to the Associated Press.
