After months of campaigning, a bruising primary, and a last-minute endorsement flip, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has made history as the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ and Fox News.
El-Sayed became the Democrats' nominee after defeating Rep. Haley Stevens in a bruising primary. Stevens later endorsed El-Sayed’s opponent,
Republican Mike Rogers, just hours before Election Day.Polling heading into Election Day showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by wide margins, with a New York Times/Siena University poll showing an 11-percentage-point lead, and an AtlasIntel poll showing a seven-point lead.
Here is what you need to know about the Michigan Democrat's family.
A fellow doctor and two kids
El-Sayed is married to Dr. Sarah Jukaku,
a psychiatrist, according to his campaign website.
The couple met during their time at the University of Michigan and were featured in a 2006 article in the school’s student publication, The Michigan Daily. According to the same piece, the couple became engaged while she was a freshman.
"I was going to meet one girl and I was going to marry her," El-Sayed said in the piece. "In some senses, I feel like that’s the purest form of a relationship with someone. It cuts out all the B.S."
According to Newsweek, Jukaku was featured in some of El-Sayed’s campaign materials, including in an advertisement where she talked about the support her union provided her after she had medical complications after childbirth.
"You don’t realize you need the union until you need it," she said. "In my case, having that advocate was really important when I wasn’t sure where to turn."
According to El-Sayed’s campaign website, the couple lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with their two daughters, Emmalee and Serene.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about Abdul El-Sayed's wife and family
