According to OpenSecrets, ambitious legislators use leadership PACs to gain influence with their colleagues and strengthen their bids for leadership positions or committee chairs.
Published on November 7, 2026
Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed launched a political action committee called “Habibi PAC” days after becoming the first Muslim member of the U.S. Senate.
Political action committees, or PACs, are organizations that raise and spend money to support or oppose candidates for office.
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A Federal Election Commission filing dated Thursday shows the Habibi PAC is registered as a leadership PAC sponsored by El-Sayed. These committees are separate from a politician’s own campaign.
Habibi, an affectionate Arabic term meaning “my dear” or “my beloved,” is a word that El-Sayed used often during his election campaign, including in his victory speech in Detroit, when he addressed Vice President JD Vance directly: “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you are constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January. »
He is one of several newly elected Democrats who have registered leadership PACs since Tuesday’s vote, according to FEC filings. They include Arizona Rep.-elect Amish Shah’s “PACStreet Boy,” Iowa Sen.-elect Josh Turek’s “WheelPAC” and North Carolina Sen.-elect Roy Cooper’s “One NC PAC.”
According to OpenSecrets, ambitious legislators use leadership PACs to gain influence with colleagues and bolster candidacies for leadership positions or committee chairs by donating to other members, their party and other political committees.
In the 2024 election cycle, leadership PACs gave $79.3 million to federal candidates. Most went to Republicans, although the Democratic-led PAC was the largest donor.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, defeated Republican Mike Rogers after a campaign in which Trump, Vance and Sen. Ted Cruz questioned his loyalties, called him a “jihadist” and tried to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, without providing any evidence.
Speaking to Al Jazeera at a rally in the Michigan town of Wyandotte days before the vote, El-Sayed said taxpayer money should be spent saving lives at home rather than going to foreign governments committing genocide or apartheid.
He added that defeating Trump was not enough and that the system that produced him must be replaced.
Getting money out of politics was one of his main promises. In his victory speech, he said the result showed that in a battle between money and the many, “the many can win.”
His victory came amid the costliest midterm elections on record. According to an analysis of FEC data by OpenSecrets, total spending is expected to reach $11.9 billion, up from $8.9 billion in 2022.
Outside spending, driven by super PACs, is expected to reach $3.9 billion, an 85% increase from 2022. So-called dark money from undisclosed donors has already reached at least $1.47 billion, surpassing the 2024 record of $1.35 billion, which included the presidential race.
OpenSecrets found that conservative groups spent about $360 million more than liberals on outside spending, while Democratic candidates were expected to outspend Republican candidates by about $800 million.
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