Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan doctor of Egyptian origin, has won the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in the key battleground state of Michigan.
The 41-year-old progressive defeated centrist Representative Haley Stevens, who was backed by much of the Democratic Party establishment.
Born in Detroit to an Egyptian father and an American mother, El-Sayed has frequently spoken about his family’s immigrant journey and Egyptian heritage.
Celebrating his primary victory, he said he might have been “a cab driver in Egypt” if his father had not immigrated to the United States.
A trained epidemiologist, El-Sayed previously led public health services in Wayne County, home to Detroit. He studied at the University of Michigan and Columbia University before earning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford.
Supported by progressive figures such as Bernie Sanders, El-Sayed has campaigned for universal health care and reforms aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics.
He will now face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in November, in what is expected to be one of the most competitive US Senate races of the midterm elections.
Republicans have repeatedly criticised his progressive agenda and highlighted his Arab and Muslim background during the campaign.
El-Sayed has pushed back against those attacks, defending his record and rejecting attempts to make his identity and full name a political issue.
His nomination marks a notable milestone for an American politician of Egyptian origin seeking election to the US Senate.