বাংলাMichigan’s newly elected senator Abdul El-Sayed has formed a political fundraising committee called ‘Habibi PAC’ just days after becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed on Thursday, November 5, that a leadership political action committee sponsored by El-Sayed had been registered. Al Jazeera reported the development.
Abdul El-Sayed established Habibi PAC as a leadership political action committee, or PAC. Unlike a candidate’s campaign fund, a leadership PAC allows elected officials to provide financial support to other candidates, their political party and other political organizations.
‘Habibi’ is an Arabic term of endearment meaning ‘my dear’ or ‘my beloved’. El-Sayed frequently used the word during his election campaign. In his victory speech in Detroit, he also addressed US Vice President JD Vance using the term.
Several other newly elected Democratic leaders registered leadership PACs following Tuesday’s election. They include Arizona congressman-elect Amish Shah’s PAC Street Boy, Iowa senator-elect Josh Turek’s WheelPAC and North Carolina senator-elect Roy Cooper’s One NC PAC.
According to OpenSecrets, ambitious lawmakers use leadership PACs to build influence and relationships with colleagues and strengthen their chances of securing party leadership roles or influential committee positions. During the 2024 election cycle, leadership PACs donated a total of $793 million to federal candidates.
Abdul El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, won the Michigan Senate race by defeating Republican candidate Mike Rogers. During the campaign, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz questioned his loyalty. They also called him a ‘jihadist’ without evidence and attempted to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the report.
In an interview with Al Jazeera shortly before the election, El-Sayed said taxpayers’ money should be used to protect lives at home rather than fund governments involved in genocide or racist rule abroad. He also argued that defeating Trump alone was not enough and that the system that produced leaders like Trump needed to change.
Reducing the influence of money in politics was one of his key campaign promises. In his victory speech, he said the result showed that ordinary people could win in a fight against money.
OpenSecrets estimates that total spending on the 2026 midterm elections could reach $11.9 billion, compared with $8.9 billion in 2022. Spending outside candidate campaigns through super PACs could reach $3.9 billion, an increase of 85 percent from 2022.
The report also says that so-called dark money, in which donors’ identities are not disclosed, has already reached at least $1.47 billion. Conservative groups have spent about $360 million more than liberal groups on outside election spending, according to OpenSecrets.
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