Abdul El-Sayed: The progressive’s progress

In a country where, for more than a quarter of a century, the word “Muslim” has been used as an accusation in politics, Abdul El-Sayed’s election as the first Muslim member of the U.S. Senate breaks perhaps the thickest of glass ceilings in American public life. Dr. El-Sayed, a physician and epidemiologist, defeated the Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers with 52.5% of the vote, seven percentage points ahead of his rival.

It would be easy to dismiss this victory as merely a byproduct of the “blue wave” in the U.S. midterms, which carried Democratic candidates to wins even in Republican strongholds such as South Carolina, Texas, and Kansas. But that would be a reductive reading. The odds Dr. El-Sayed faced make the win remarkable in its own right.