Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's US Senate seat, turning it into a win for grassroots organizing over big campaign money — good news for progressives, bad news for the wealthy donors who tried to beat him.

• He won despite outside groups and his opponents spending over $350 million against him, a record in Michigan politics.
• Opponents attacked his name and Muslim faith instead of debating issues like gas prices and health care, and voters rejected that approach — he says Black and Jewish voters both backed him in large numbers.
• His campaign ran on "money out of politics" and "Medicare for all," pulling that debate back into the national conversation.
• He also beat a pro-Israel lobbying group's spending against him twice, after criticizing US funding for the war in Gaza.
• He says he'll keep pushing these same fights in the Senate rather than going along with business as usual in Washington.

Outlook: Expect El-Sayed to be an outspoken progressive voice in the Senate pushing campaign finance reform and Medicare for all, likely clashing often with GOP leadership and establishment Democrats alike.