Abdul El-Sayed has been projected to win Michigan’s Senate race, making him the first Muslim senator in the country after defeating Republican Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed had secured 52.3% of the vote, compared with 45.7% for Rogers, with 94.4% of ballots counted, NBC News reported.
The latest figures put El-Sayed on 2,431,112 votes, while Rogers had received 2,123,522. The third candidate, Lydia Christensen, had taken 1% of the vote.
The closely fought contest was overshadowed in its final days by the decision of Democratic representative Haley Stevens to withdraw her endorsement of El-Sayed and support Rogers instead.
Stevens endorsed the Republican on Sunday, only hours after saying publicly that she remained behind El-Sayed. She later attempted to explain the reversal during an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN.
Democratic strategists James Carville and Lis Smith criticised Stevens for backing Rogers. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro did not condemn her, but did not offer his support either.
Stevens subsequently wrote a letter on Election Day outlining her reasons for changing position and criticising attacks against her by fellow Democrats.
