Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, who this week became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, has launched a political action committee called “Habibi PAC”.
The FEC filing, dated Thursday, registers the committee as a leadership PAC sponsored by El-Sayed. Leadership PACs are separate from a politician’s own campaign and, according to OpenSecrets, ambitious lawmakers use them to build clout with colleagues and strengthen bids for leadership posts or committee chairmanships by giving to other members, their party and other political committees.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, defeated Republican Mike Rogers after a campaign in which Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz questioned his loyalty, called him a “jihadist” and attempted to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood movement without providing evidence. In his victory speech in Detroit, El-Sayed addressed Vance directly: “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.”
“Habibi” is an Arabic term of endearment meaning “my dear” or “my beloved”, and El-Sayed used it often on the campaign trail. Getting money out of politics was one of El-Sayed’s central pledges during the race. In his victory speech, he said the result showed that in a battle between money and the many, “the many can win”.
El-Sayed is one of several newly elected Democrats to register leadership PACs since Tuesday’s vote. They 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”.
El-Sayed’s win came amid the most expensive midterm election on record. According to an analysis of FEC data by OpenSecrets, total spending is expected to reach $11.9bn, up from $8.9bn in 2022. Outside spending, driven by super PACs, is projected to hit $3.9bn, an 85 percent increase on 2022. So-called dark money from undisclosed donors has already reached at least $1.47bn, surpassing the 2024 record, which included the presidential race.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- El-Sayed’s leadership PAC signals his ambition within the Democratic Party, potentially positioning him for higher office or a committee chairmanship.
- The committee creates a tension between El-Sayed’s campaign pledge to get money out of politics and the practical realities of building influence through campaign finance.
- El-Sayed’s historic election and new PAC could galvanise Muslim-American political engagement and fundraising networks.
Background
Leadership PACs are a standard tool for lawmakers seeking to rise in party ranks. In the 2024 election cycle, leadership PACs gave $79.3m to federal candidates, most of it to Republicans, although a Democratic PAC was the biggest single donor. El-Sayed won his Senate seat on a platform that included criticising campaign finance and calling for replacing the system that produced Trump. His victory speech emphasised that “the many can win” over money, making his immediate creation of a fundraising committee notable.
Key Perspectives
What to Watch
- How much Habibi PAC raises and which candidates it supports will signal the kind of influence El-Sayed intends to build.
- Whether El-Sayed pursues a leadership post or committee assignment that his PAC donations may help secure.
- The broader trajectory of campaign spending: dark money has already set a record this cycle, and the role of new leadership PACs in that trend bears watching.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
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- SupportedEl-Sayed launched a political action committee called “Habibi PAC” after winning the Senate seat.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has launched a political action committee called “Habibi PAC””
- SupportedEl-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate this week.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “days after becoming the first Muslim member of the United States Senate”
- SupportedThe FEC filing dated Thursday registers Habibi PAC as a leadership PAC sponsored by El-Sayed.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “A Federal Election Commission filing dated on Thursday shows that Habibi PAC is registered as a leadership PAC sponsored by El-Sayed.”
- SupportedLeadership PACs are separate from a politician’s own campaign.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Such committees are separate from a politician’s own campaign.”
- SupportedOpenSecrets says ambitious lawmakers use leadership PACs to build clout and strengthen bids for leadership posts or committee chairmanships by giving to other members, their party and other political committees.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “According to OpenSecrets, ambitious lawmakers use leadership PACs to gain clout with colleagues and strengthen bids for leadership posts or committee chairmanships by giving to other members, their party and other political committees.”
- SupportedTrump, Vance and Ted Cruz questioned El-Sayed’s loyalty, called him a “jihadist” and tried to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood without evidence.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Trump, Vance and Senator Ted Cruz questioned his loyalty, called him a “jihadist” and attempted to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, without providing any evidence.”
- SupportedIn his Detroit victory speech, El-Sayed told Vance: “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.”Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “in his victory speech in Detroit, when he addressed Vice President JD Vance directly: “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.””
- SupportedEl-Sayed said the result showed that in a battle between money and the many, “the many can win”.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “In his victory speech, he said the result showed that in a battle between money and the many, “the many can win”.”
- SupportedTotal midterm election spending is expected to reach $11.9bn, up from $8.9bn in 2022.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “total spending is expected to reach $11.9bn, up from $8.9bn in 2022.”
- SupportedOutside spending, driven by super PACs, is projected to reach $3.9bn, an 85 percent increase on 2022.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Outside spending, driven by super PACs, is projected to hit $3.9bn, an 85 percent increase on 2022.”
- SupportedDark money from undisclosed donors has reached at least $1.47bn, surpassing the 2024 record, which included the presidential race.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “So-called dark money from undisclosed donors has already reached at least $1.47bn, surpassing the 2024 record of $1.35bn, which included the presidential race.”