Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has defeated his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, to win the United States Senate seat in Michigan, overcoming a campaign of anti-Muslim attacks spearheaded by President Donald Trump.
asserted
Sayed → defeat → Trump
With the victory on Tuesday, El-Sayed is set to become the first Muslim senator in US history.
asserted
Sayed → set → history
He will be sworn in on January 3 .
asserted
He → swear → January
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Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), said Republicans had turned anti-Arab and anti-Muslim tropes into a pointed strategy against El-Sayed — one that eventually did not work.
asserted
that → vote → Sayed
“The electorate rejecting that bigotry is tremendous, I would argue, for every little boy named Abdul, every little girl named Zainab, every little kid named Bobby, because the reality is, at the end of the day, we’re talking about whether this country supports an inclusive democracy or not,” Berry told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Berry → reject → Jazeera
After winning a hard-fought primary in August that saw the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spend more than $30m against him, El-Sayed, a critic of Israel’s policies, was subjected to an avalanche of unfounded accusations — including that he is a “jihadist” — by Trump and other Republicans.
asserted
he → win → Trump
El-Sayed, a former public health official, campaigned on expanding government-funded healthcare to all Americans, getting money out of politics, and addressing the affordability crisis.
asserted
Sayed → campaign → crisis
The Democrat has also accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and called for investing money currently spent on foreign wars to instead fix local issues.
asserted
Democrat → accuse → issues
The final days of the campaign were rocked by El-Sayed’s former primary opponent, Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens — a staunch Israel supporter — endorsing Rogers.
asserted
opponent → rock → Rogers
El-Sayed’s win helps Democrats regain control of the Senate, but for many of his supporters, it means far more than a single seat in the upper chamber of Congress.
asserted
it → help → Congress
Throughout Election Day on Tuesday, voters in Michigan told Al Jazeera the election could determine the direction of the state and the country for years to come.
uncertain
election → tell → years
For Democrats, the vote was about rejecting Trump’s agenda and defeating the racist rhetoric from the president and his allies.
asserted
vote → reject → president
Republicans not only used Islamophobia against El-Sayed, but also invoked Arab-Black tensions to try to peel off African American voters from the Democratic coalition.
asserted
Republicans → use → coalition
Trump seized on that narrative, saying that any Black or Jewish person who backs El-Sayed is “crazy”.
asserted
who → seize → Sayed
But early election results show that El-Sayed performed well with Black voters in Detroit.
asserted
Sayed → show → Detroit
Gary Colbert, who was casting his ballot on the west side of Detroit, denounced Trump’s comment about Black voters.
“Everybody kind of knows he’s the true nut.
asserted
he → cast → voters
He says any and everything,” Colbert told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Colbert → say → Jazeera
Colbert — who lamented the rise in gas prices due to the Iran war — added that Trump and “his cronies” are negatively affecting people’s lives, “and they don’t care”.
asserted
they → lament → lives
Trump, who is struggling with low approval ratings, told supporters in Michigan last month to vote as if he was on the ballot.
asserted
he → struggle → ballot
On Tuesday, Frank Espinosa, a teacher who was volunteering at a voting station in Southwest Detroit — home to a large Latino community — said protecting immigrants from Trump’s crackdown is a priority for voters in the city in this election.
asserted
protecting → volunteer → election
The Trump administration has targeted immigrant communities across the country by deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on the streets, tasked with arresting allegedly undocumented migrants.
uncertain
administration → target → migrants
Dozens of people have been shot, and several of them killed — including American citizens protesting against what they see as reckless methods of enforcement.
asserted
they → shoot → enforcement
“I think the number one thing we want is ICE out of our streets,” Espinosa told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Espinosa → think → Jazeera
“We also want the end to foreign wars.
asserted
We → want → wars
I know my students want their gas bills to be better.
asserted
bills → know → ?
We want affordability all across our city, not just at the gas pump, but at the grocery store as well.”
asserted
We → want → store
He added that the campaign targeting El-Sayed’s Muslim faith and Arab identity is “incredibly disheartening”.
asserted
campaign → add → faith
“I also know that Detroit is better than all of that, and I think that there’s a lot of noise outside of our state, outside of our city.
asserted
I → know → city
But here, I know Detroiters will ultimately do the right thing and ultimately vote Abdul for Senate,” Espinosa said.
asserted
Espinosa → know → Senate
In neighbouring Dearborn, a Detroit suburb known as the Capital of Arab America, the vote — for many — was about the right to belong to the US.
asserted
vote → neighbour → US
Ali Baleed Almaklani, a leader in the Yemeni American community, said the anti-Muslim campaign motivated the Arab and Muslim community to increase its political participation.
asserted
campaign → say → participation
“We are sick and tired and the American people are generally sick and tired of all this hate,” Almaklani told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Almaklani → tell → Jazeera
“He’s talking about healthcare, about the economy, about the issues that are hurting people, and on the other side all they talk about is ‘terrorism’ and baseless accusations about the Muslim Brotherhood.”
asserted
they → talk → Brotherhood
Dearborn saw a high voter turnout on Tuesday, with lines stretching across polling stations.
asserted
lines → see → stations
Several voters told Al Jazeera they are responding to bigotry through the ballot box.
asserted
they → tell → box
In an animated, expletive-laden interview, Dearborn voter Mike Mohammed criticised the Republican-led campaigns to paint Arabs and Muslims, including El-Sayed, as foreigners.
asserted
Mohammed → lade → foreigners
“We’re more American than them.
asserted
We → ’re → them
I’m more American than any of them m************.
asserted
I → ’m → them
I grew up here.
asserted
I → grow → ?
I went to this school,” he said, pointing to the elementary school where the voting was taking place.
asserted
voting → go → place
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
