Pathbreakers of Arab America—Abdul El Sayed

posted on: Jul 8, 2026

By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer

This is the 128th article in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features figures from entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Our 128th pathbreaker is Egyptian American Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, politician, academic, and former public health director for Detroit and then for Wayne County, Michigan. A progressive Democrat, he was a candidate for governor of Michigan in the 2018 election and now, as one of the most prominent advocates of single-payer ‘Medicare for All,’ he is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan.

Recognized nationwide as an expert on improving the American healthcare system, Abdul El Sayed aims to guarantee quality, affordable healthcare for every citizen

Abdul El Sayed, whose full birth name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, was born on October 31, 1984, in Detroit, Michigan. His father, Mohammed, grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, and immigrated to the U.S. to study engineering at Wayne State University, while his mother, Fatten Elkomy, is a nurse practitioner in Missouri. He grew up in the Detroit area with his father and stepmother, Jacqueline, a native of Gratiot County, Michigan. They are both engineers. El-Sayed lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah Jukaku, and their two daughters. He is Muslim.

El-Sayed graduated from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School in 2003. He was a team captain for wrestling, football, and lacrosse. He then enrolled in the University of Michigan, where he majored in biology and political science. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction in 2007 and delivered that year’s commencement speech.

Abdul then went on to the University of Michigan Medical School on a full-tuition scholarship. While there, as a humanitarian act, he led a student medical mission to Peru and founded a student organization that raised money and coordinated community service for a local free clinic. After two years of medical school, El Sayed received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oriel College, Oxford, where he completed a PhD. in public health in 2011. In 2014, he completed a Doctor of Medicine degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Upon receiving his medical degree, El-Sayed became an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University from 2014 to 2015. In that capacity, he served as director of the university’s Systems Science Program and Global Research Analytics for Population Health. Later, returning to Michigan in 2015, he was appointed executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the City of Detroit from 2015 to 2017. At age 30, Abdul was the youngest health officer in a major U.S. city. In that role, he was charged with rebuilding the Detroit Health Department following Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy in 2012. In his first year as director, he led a successful effort to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from a major oil company and to reduce lead levels in Detroit schools. In December 2022, El-Sayed was named director of Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services. Wayne comprises the city of Detroit.

Setting the stage for a political career, El Sayed penned a book, ‘Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic’

In 2020, El Sayed wrote a book described by publishers as “An urgent, data-driven framework for understanding―and repairing―America’s fractured social fabric.” It has served as a prelude to Abdul’s political career. In ‘Healing Politics,’ he “diagnoses the underlying driver of modern political polarization. It isn’t just partisan division- it’s an epidemic of economic, social, and physical insecurity shaping both our health outcomes and our national politics.”

El Sayed’s book draws on his firsthand experience rebuilding Detroit’s health department in the wake of municipal bankruptcy. He applies the science of public health to the American political system, “offering a rigorous, empathetic framework for understanding its failures―and the conditions needed for long-term stability.” ‘Healing Politics’ presents a grounded analysis of the American healthcare system and public health policy, alongside a forward-looking vision for healthcare reform, economic stability, and a more equitable society.

There are several questions El Sayed addresses in ‘Healing Politics,’ of which a few of the key ones are:

• Why are American communities experiencing levels of isolation and anxiety?
• How can the American healthcare system be improved?
• What drives political division in the United States today?
• What does effective change look like in practice?

In answering these questions, El Sayed provides “a clear, evidence-based framework for understanding the forces shaping modern life―and what it would take to build a healthier, more stable, and more inclusive society.”

And thus began Abdul’s foray into national-level politics.

Having studied to become a doctor — then realizing our ‘broken politics was making people sick’ — as a candidate for U.S. Senator, Abdul promises to ‘fight to build a government that works for you’

Abdul first ran for public office at the state level. In early 2017, he resigned from his position as health director to run for governor of Michigan in the 2018 Democratic Party primary. He was inspired to run for governor after the Flint water crisis, during which the state government began cutting costs, resulting in the poisoning of thousands of children. These were the very children Abdul was serving at the helm of the health department. He lost in the primary to Gretchen Whitmer.

On April 17, 2025, El-Sayed announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan after incumbent Gary Peters announced he would not run for reelection. In his announcement, Abdul has proclaimed that “life in Michigan shouldn’t be this hard — or this expensive.” After a successful career of making government work for Michiganders, he says he “wants to take his vision to Washington and make the United States Senate work for the people.”

El-Sayed is a progressive Democrat who has several points of view regarding present Federal policies and actions, some of which are as follows:

• He has vowed not to accept PAC donations
• Is critical of Israel over its conduct in the Gaza war
• Has concluded that the Russo-Ukrainian war is “a war between democracy and autocracy, between self-government and fascism”
• Has said union expansion is necessary to protect ‘worker dignity,’ in response to the growth of AI
• While he supports securing the Mexico–United States border, he has called ICE “corrupted at its soul.”

As a progressive Democrat himself, El Sayed has earned endorsements from several key fellow progressives. For one, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York, one of the nation’s most prominent progressives, has endorsed El Sayed for the Senate. Michigan is a state that Democrats believe they must hold this fall to win a Senate majority. However, her endorsement puts her in direct conflict with New York Senator Chuck Schumer, “who has backed a more moderate candidate, Representative Haley Stevens, who, he argues, is more electable.” The Michigan primary, scheduled for August 4, is widely seen as the most consequential Democratic nominating contest left on the calendar this year.

In addition to AOC’s endorsement, Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders and Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen have both endorsed him. Along with AOC, Sanders and Van Hollen, Abdul supports, among many other shared interests, the initiative to bring attention to Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

El Sayed, if elected, would be the nation’s first Muslim U.S. senator.

Sources:
“Abdul El-Sayed,” Wikipedia Series on Arab Americans, 2026
‘Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic,’ by Abdul El-Sayed (Author), Ady Barkan (Foreword) Format: Hardcover, 2020
“Meet Abdul,” Campaign notice for Abdul El Sayed, 2026
“Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Crucial Michigan Senate Race,” New York Times, 7/2/2026
“Van Hollen joins Sanders in endorsing El-Sayed in Michigan Senate primary,” The Hill, 6/25/2026

John Mason, Ph.D., focuses on Arab culture, society, and history and is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017, and of his new novel, WHISPERS FROM THE DESERT: Zaki, a Little Genie’s Tales of Good and Evil (2025), under his pen name, Yahia Al-Banna. He has taught at the University of Libya in Benghazi, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo. John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.

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