Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan doctor who wants to lead the left to the US Senate

The left-wing Democratic upstart set to contest a critical US Senate seat in November's mid-term elections is a charismatic 41-year-old who once said he would have been a cab driver in Egypt but for an "accident of history."

Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday sealed the Democratic Party's nomination to run for a seat representing the state of Michigan in the US Senate, beating out centrist candidate Haley Stevens who was backed by the party's top brass.

The charismatic, former local government health official also has his eye on a bigger prize: to lead the fight for the left in Washington against President Donald Trump.

It marks a dramatic political rise for El-Sayed, who was born in Detroit to an Egyptian father and an American mother.

"But for an accident of history that allows my dad to immigrate to Detroit to go to Wayne State University, I was supposed to be a cab driver in Egypt, like my cousins," he said after his narrow primary election victory.

"I got to go to amazing public schools, an incredible public university. I got my medical education paid for," he added. "That's what America gave me."

El-Sayed, who is a trained epidemiologist, had a prestigious academic career. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University in New York who also studied at Oxford on the highly regarded Rhodes Scholarship.

He subsequently became the director of public health services for Wayne County, which includes Detroit.

Muscle-bound and an eloquent speaker, El-Sayed proved a deft operator in a primary campaign that was a window into the war within the Democratic party between the moderate establishment and those further left, like veteran Senator Bernie Sanders.

The 84-year-old Independent helped campaign for El-Sayed and 31-year-old New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In November, El-Sayed faces a tough battle to beat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, a former congressman who has Trump's endorsement. 

While both Michigan senators are currently Democrats, it is seen as a swing state. Trump won the traditionally blue-collar, auto-manufacturing state in the 2024 presidential election.

To win, El-Sayed is counting on mobilizing a progressive base, outraged by Trump's second term, and targeting bread-and-butter issues of importance across the political divide.

El-Sayed, who supports universal health care, declared his intention "to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all."

Faced with this left-wing platform, Republicans have labeled him a dangerous extremist, while emphasizing his Arab and Muslim identity.

El-Sayed has been a strong critic of Israel. AIPAC, an organization that works to elect pro-Israel Democratic and Republican candidates, donated $30 million to his primary election rival Stevens.

After the primary results were announced Wednesday, Trump mocked the victory of the man he called "a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel" as "great news for the Republican Party."

Other Republicans followed suit. Its Senate caucus claimed "an alliance of communists and Islamists is taking control of the Democrat Party."

"He's actually a jihadist sympathizer," said Republican Senator Katie Britt. "They're infiltrating us from within."

It is a line of attack likely to predominate in the mid-terms, where Republicans hope to hold onto their current control of both houses of Congress.

El-Sayed seems set to give as good as he gets. On Wednesday he denounced the "bitter" campaign launched by "Mike Rogers, Donald Trump, and their MAGA allies."

He made fun of the fact that his opponents were using his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, as a scare tactic.

"Mike, listen, man," he said, referring to Rogers, his Republican rival in November's election.

"If you can't say the name...keep the name out your damn mouth. I'll be happy to give you lessons."