Senator Abdul El-Sayed Launches 'Habibi PAC' Following Historic Senate Victory

Following his historic win as the first Muslim member of the United States Senate, Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has established a political action committee named “Habibi PAC”. Political action committees, commonly known as PACs, are entities dedicated to raising and spending funds to either support or oppose candidates running for public office. A filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Thursday confirmed that Habibi PAC is registered as a leadership PAC, sponsored by El-Sayed himself. These committees operate independently of a politician's personal campaign efforts.

The term “Habibi,” an Arabic word signifying endearment, translating to “my dear” or “my beloved,” was frequently used by El-Sayed during his campaign. He notably employed the term in his victory speech in Detroit, addressing Vice President JD Vance directly with the remark, “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.”

El-Sayed is among several newly elected Democrats who have registered leadership PACs in the wake of Tuesday's elections, as indicated by FEC filings. Other notable examples include Arizona Congressman-elect Amish Shah's “PACStreet Boy,” Iowa Senator-elect Josh Turek's “WheelPAC,” and North Carolina Senator-elect Roy Cooper’s “One NC PAC.” According to OpenSecrets, lawmakers often utilize leadership PACs to enhance their influence among colleagues and bolster their prospects for leadership positions or committee chairmanships by contributing to other members, their respective parties, and other political committees. In the 2024 election cycle, leadership PACs collectively contributed $79.3 million to federal candidates. While the majority of these funds were directed towards Republicans, a Democratic leadership PAC emerged as the single largest donor.

El-Sayed, whose parents are Egyptian immigrants, secured victory over Republican Mike Rogers. His campaign was marked by scrutiny from figures such as Trump, Vance, and Senator Ted Cruz, who questioned his loyalty, labeled him a “jihadist,” and attempted to associate him with the Muslim Brotherhood movement without presenting any evidence.

In a pre-election interview with Al Jazeera at a rally in Wyandotte, Michigan, El-Sayed articulated his stance that taxpayer funds should prioritize domestic needs, such as saving lives, over supporting foreign governments engaged in what he described as genocide or apartheid. He further asserted that defeating Trump was insufficient, and the systemic issues that enabled his rise needed to be dismantled. A core promise of El-Sayed's platform was the removal of money from politics. His victory speech highlighted that the election outcome demonstrated the power of “the many” over “money.” His win occurred amidst the most financially intensive midterm election on record, with total spending projected by OpenSecrets to reach $11.9 billion, an increase from $8.9 billion in 2022. Outside spending, largely fueled by super PACs, is anticipated to reach $3.9 billion, marking an 85 percent surge from 2022. “Dark money” from undisclosed donors has already surpassed the 2024 record, reaching at least $1.47 billion compared to $1.35 billion in 2024, which included the presidential race. OpenSecrets data also revealed that conservative groups outspent liberal ones on outside expenditures by approximately $360 million, while Democratic candidates were projected to outspend Republican candidates by about $800 million.