NBC News projects Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan's Senate race

NBC News has projected Democrat Abdul El-Sayed the winner of Michigan's U.S. Senate race, according to its report. It is the third major news organization to call the contest for him, after the Associated Press and Fox News.

All three major outlets have now called the race for El-Sayed. Decision Desk HQ had also called it for him earlier. NBC's publication time was not available, so it is unclear whether the call came after the last update or was simply confirmed afterward.

El-Sayed led Republican Mike Rogers throughout election night. Deadline Detroit reported at 8:50 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday that he had 267,747 votes to Rogers' 198,613, while stressing it was far too early to call. His margin narrowed as more ballots were counted. Decision Desk HQ's count at 2:21 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday showed him ahead 2,109,239 to 1,889,000.

Expectations of a Democratic victory had been strong but not overwhelming through most of late October. They jumped on Thursday, Oct. 29, and dipped on Sunday after Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers. They recovered on Monday, then surged on Tuesday evening as returns came in. By early Wednesday a Democratic win was treated as certain.

The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. Stevens had earlier supported him but reversed course and backed Rogers on Nov. 1. Rogers, a former Republican congressman, lost Michigan's 2024 Senate race by a narrow margin. An Oct. 27 WDIV/Detroit News poll had El-Sayed ahead 51.4% to 45.1%.

What comes next is the rest of the count. Votes remain to be counted, and officials must still complete the election certification.