Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says the city experienced the highest voter turnout in its history during the recent midterm elections.
"When we got notice that we were running out of registration forms at certain precincts, that in fact, some precincts ran out of ballots, I was like, 'what is happening?'" Hammoud recalled.
Speaking with NPR’s Morning Edition host Leila Fadel, Hammoud attributed the historic surge at the polls to the election of Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan Democrat who recently made history as the first Muslim U.S. Senator.
However, the mayor emphasized that it was not just El-Sayed’s identity that mobilized Dearborn's majority-Arab and significant Muslim community, but his policies.
"I think what got them to the polls are candidates who centered the issues of working class families, like many of the American and Muslim American families right here in the city of Dearborn," he said.
El-Sayed campaigned heavily on fighting political corruption and prioritizing domestic community investments over foreign military spending.
The election cycle contained significant anti-Arab and anti-Muslim vitriol from high-profile political figures, which Hammoud noted caused real fear among some of the city's youth and vulnerable residents. Despite this, he says El-Sayed’s victory proves that voters rejected bigoted rhetoric.
"I think it means that Michiganders believe in America that's big enough for all of us," Hammoud said. "What doesn't matter is the direction… you pray. What matters more is the direction in which you wish to lead".
He also highlighted El-Sayed's own messaging on the campaign trail.
"I think Dr. Abdul said it best," Hammoud said. "He said, 'My faith and my ethnicity is not why gas prices are all time high. My faith and my ethnicity is not why the grocery bill keeps climbing, not why utility costs are skyrocketing.' I think we have an America that is big enough to see through the smoke screen of the bigotry and be welcoming of all people."
Hammoud views the midterm election results as a rejection of the divisive politics of the past decade.
"And I wholeheartedly believe that the election results this week are a response to the Trump presidency of 2016. It took us ten years to build this moment, but I think it's finally arrived, and we have an opportunity to do something beautiful across America".
