DETROIT — In a post-election rally held at the at the MGM Grand Hotel on Tuesday, the Michigan Democratic Party celebrated Democratic Rep. Gary Peters’ win over Republican former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.

Peters defeated Land by 13 percentage points and will take office in January. The senator-elect said raising minimum wage, ensuring equal pay for equal work, guarding health care reforms and protecting the environment will be his top priorities. 

“If you are working a full-time job, you should be able to earn enough to pay your basic bills,” Peters said. “That should be a minimum requirement for us in this country.”

However, Peters and fellow Democrats will have a hard time pushing their agenda after Republicans seized control of the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Peters, who was introduced to the stage to the Pharrell Williams’ song “(Because I’m) Happy”, thanked his staff, supporters and family members, especially his wife, Colleen, whom he described as his “chief advisor.” He said his greatest gratitude goes to Levin, his mentor.

“This has been a tough race,” Peters told a cheering crowd of supporters. “We had an awful lot of money spent against us— $20 million in ads. They were all negative ads… But we were able to counter that because we had an army of volunteers— all of you— who said we will not let those ads that are paid for by some out-of-state billionaires determine the next senator from the state of Michigan.”

Levin said Tuesday was a “great night for Michigan” because of Peters’ election.

The retiring senator presented a $10-bill that he said he came across recently.

The bill is stamped in red with “not to be used to for buying elections.”

Levin said he will give the $10 to Peters as a token of his victory, despite the money spent against him.

Peters has served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He is a former state senator. After leaving the State Senate due to term limits in 2002, he ran for attorney general and lost by less than 0.17 percent. He served as the Commissioner of the Michigan Lottery under Governor Jennifer Granholm from 2003 to 2008. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008.

Peters fared well in Dearborn, especially the mostly Arab American east side, where he received more than 90 percent of the votes in some precincts.

The Michigan Republican Party rued the loss of the race.

“Tonight’s loss in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race is a disappointing reality for everyone who wanted see this open seat turn red,” the Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak said in a statement. “Michigan families are tired of Harry Reid’s liberal, do-nothing Senate, and Terri Lynn Land would have made a great Senator to fix the mess in Washington.”

Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence, who were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 12th and 14th districts respectively, also thanked the crowd at the MGM and pledged to stand for affordable healthcare and education.

Dingell paid special tribute to both Levin and her retiring husband, Rep. John Dingell, the longest serving member of the House, calling them inspirations.

Lawrence promised to put partisan politics aside serve all the people of her district.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer also addressed the crowd after conceding the race to Gov. Rick Snyder. 

“I am disappointed too,” Schauer said. “I know how disappointed each of you are, because I know how hard all of you worked. This was not about a campaign… this was a movement about the future of our state.”