“I tell my friends he’s like our generation’s JFK(美国前总统肯尼迪的缩写),” says Imran Aijazuddin, referring to his friend, Abdul El-Sayed. The mood at Dr El-Sayed’s election-night party is similarly exuberant(热情洋溢的). The pugnacious(好斗的，爱挑衅的) populist(民粹主义者) won the hard-fought Senate race in Michigan by seven points, exactly as he had predicted in May. He will be the first Muslim to serve in the upper chamber. And his victory gives the left wing of the Democratic Party a powerful new voice in Washington. Moderates, though, have a different take on(对……有不同看法) the result.
“我告诉朋友们，他就像我们这一代的肯尼迪，”伊姆兰·艾贾祖丁这样评价他的朋友阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德。埃尔-赛义德博士选举之夜派对上的气氛同样热烈。这位好斗的民粹主义者以七个百分点的优势赢得了密歇根州这场激烈的参议院竞选，与他在五月份的预测完全一致。他将成为首位在参议院任职的穆斯林。他的胜利为民主党左翼在华盛顿提供了一个强有力的新声音。不过，温和派对此结果有不同的看法。
Nearly everyone agrees that it was an exceptionally ugly and chaotic race. Donald Trump referred to Dr El-Sayed as a “jihadist(圣战分子)”. Mike Rogers, his Republican opponent, falsely accused Dr El-Sayed of believing that America deserved the September 11th attacks(9·11恐怖袭击事件). Then, in the final days of the race, Haley Stevens, his defeated rival in the Democratic primary, endorse(公开支持， endorsement)d Mr Rogers. She had become increasingly angry about Dr El-Sayed’s confrontational(对抗性的，挑衅的) style and fierce criticism of Israel.
几乎所有人都认为这是一场异常丑陋且混乱的竞选。唐纳德·特朗普称埃尔-赛义德博士为“圣战分子”。他的共和党对手迈克·罗杰斯错误地指责埃尔-赛义德博士认为美国活该遭受9·11袭击。随后，在竞选最后几天，他在民主党初选中击败的对手海莉·史蒂文斯 endorsement 了罗杰斯先生。她对埃尔-赛义德博士对抗性的风格和对以色列的激烈批评越来越愤怒。
Had Dr El-Sayed lost, moderate Democrats might have taken comfort in a setback for the insurgent(叛乱的，造反的) left. The unwaveringly self-assured Dr El-Sayed has made little secret of his disdain(蔑视，鄙视) for the party’s establishment. He has talked of backing primary challenges to Democrats with whom he disagrees, such as John Fetterman, a senator from Pennsylvania. “Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike(杀一儆百，把怪物钉在长矛上示众) and then everyone else gets the message,” he told donors.
如果埃尔-赛义德博士输了，温和派民主党人或许会从叛乱左翼的挫折中得到安慰。一贯自信的埃尔-赛义德博士毫不掩饰他对该党当权派的蔑视。他曾谈到要支持对与他意见相左的民主党人发起初选挑战，比如宾夕法尼亚州参议员约翰·费特曼。“理想情况下，你把一个怪物钉在长矛上，然后其他人就都明白了，”他告诉捐赠者。