El-Sayed Launches Habibi PAC After Historic Senate Victory
Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has launched Habibi PAC, a leadership political action committee, days after winning a historic Senate race. The committee can raise and spend money to support other candidates, while El-Sayed’s campaign had made getting money out of politics a central pledge.
Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed launched Habibi PAC days after winning a historic Senate race, creating a political committee separate from his campaign. El-Sayed became the first Muslim member of the United States Senate.
A Federal Election Commission filing dated Thursday registered Habibi PAC as a leadership PAC sponsored by El-Sayed. Such committees raise and spend money to support or oppose candidates for office.
The committee’s name comes from “habibi,” an Arabic term of endearment meaning “my dear” or “my beloved.” El-Sayed used the word during his campaign, including in his Detroit victory speech.
“JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” he said, addressing Vice President JD Vance.
El-Sayed is among several newly elected Democrats who registered leadership PACs after the midterm vote. They include Arizona Congressman-elect Amish Shah, whose committee is called PACStreet Boy; Iowa Senator-elect Josh Turek, with WheelPAC; and North Carolina Senator-elect Roy Cooper, with One NC PAC.
Leadership PACs can help lawmakers build influence with colleagues and support bids for party leadership positions or committee chairmanships, according to OpenSecrets. They can distribute money to other members, political parties and committees.
The committees gave $79.3 million to federal candidates during the 2024 election cycle. Most of that money went to Republicans, though the largest single donor was a Democratic leadership PAC.
El-Sayed’s campaign made getting money out of politics one of its central pledges. In his victory speech, he said the result showed that “the many can win”.
His election came during what was described as the most expensive midterm election on record. Total spending is expected to reach $11.9 billion, compared with $8.9 billion in 2022, based on an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by OpenSecrets.
Spending by outside groups, driven by super PACs, is projected to reach $3.9 billion, an 85 percent increase from 2022. Dark money from donors whose identities are undisclosed has reached at least $1.47 billion, exceeding the 2024 record of $1.35 billion.
Conservative groups spent about $360 million more than liberal groups on outside spending, while Democratic candidates were expected to spend roughly $800 million more than Republican candidates.
El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers after Donald Trump, Vance and Senator Ted Cruz questioned his loyalty and called him a “jihadist,” without providing evidence, during the campaign.
