El Sayed wants to give Piker’s audience a ‘pathway’ into his campaign
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed expressed his intention to engage Hasan Piker’s large Twitch following-around 3 million viewers-by offering them a pathway into his campaign, despite ongoing criticism of Piker’s past comments. El Sayed seeks to include aspects he agrees with while distancing himself from Piker’s controversial statements. Piker, a socialist streamer known for his influential online presence, has a history of making inflammatory comments, including suggesting that the U.S. “deserved” the September 11 attacks and expressing support for Hamas over Israel, which has led to calls within the Democratic Party for him to be disavowed. while some Democratic senators have condemned Piker, el Sayed has declined to do so, emphasizing his refusal to disown individuals over disagreements. The campaign is also working to appeal to Jewish voters amid concerns over Piker’s past remarks, with el Sayed hiring a Jewish community liaison and issuing apologies for previous comments perceived as sympathetic to terrorists. the controversy occurs as el Sayed’s race becomes increasingly competitive and in the context of broader political efforts to reach younger and online audiences.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed said he wants to offer Twitch streamer Hasan Piker’s millions of followers a “pathway” into his campaign, despite Piker’s comments drawing criticism from Republicans and Democrats.
“I want to offer them a pathway into an electoral movement,” el Sayed told Stephen A. Smith on SiriusXM’s “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.” The Michigan candidate added he wants Piker’s audience to hear where he agrees with the streamer while also providing “a pathway that disavows the things that I disagree with.”
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Piker, a socialist Twitch streamer with roughly 3 million followers, has emerged as an influential figure in the 2026 midterm elections after campaigning alongside el Sayed during the Michigan Democratic primary.
But Piker’s history of controversial and antisemitic comments has prompted calls from some Democrats for the party to distance itself from him.
Piker has suggested that American Jews’ support for Israel could prompt people to “take action” against Jews in the United States. He has also said he “would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time” and called Hamas “a thousand times better” than the Jewish state.
The controversy surrounding el Sayed’s relationship with Piker comes as Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers attempts to appeal to the Jewish voter base, in what is shaping up to be one of the closest races of the 2026 election cycle.
Piker also drew widespread scrutiny in 2019 after saying the U.S. “deserved” the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. But he later walked back the remark, saying it had been taken out of context.
Several Democratic senators, including Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA), called on the Democratic Party to distance itself from Piker, with some explicitly disavowing him.
El Sayed, however, has declined to do so.
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Pressed by Smith on whether there was anything Piker could say that would cause him to disavow the streamer publicly, el Sayed responded, “I mean, sure,” but argued against “categorically” disavowing individuals over comments with which he disagrees. He also pointed to Piker’s subsequent backpedaling of his 9/11 comment.
El Sayed’s campaign is currently trying to appeal to Jewish voters in Michigan, as he is in the process of hiring a Jewish community liaison. He also recently apologized to Jewish Democrats during remarks at the state party’s nominating convention and at a separate religious event for past comments that critics said appeared to sympathize with the perpetrator of a March terrorist attack on a synagogue. El Sayed had previously said that “violence is a cycle” and that “hurt people hurt people.”
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