El-Sayed distances from Piker amid high-stakes Senate race

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is taking steps to distance his Senate campaign from far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who’s facing blowback for suggesting that American Jews’ support for Israel could make antisemitism worse.

El-Sayed, who faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers (Mich.) this fall in a must-win Senate race, had raised the hackles of some fellow Democrats for his campaign trail appearances with Piker, who’s pushed further into the national spotlight as progressive candidates court his massive, young audience.

But Piker’s latest comments, which add to a string of controversial remarks, are putting El-Sayed on defense in the critical battleground, prompting the Democrat to stress that “nobody” outside his team speaks for the Senate campaign.

Some Democrats, however, were annoyed by the distraction in such a critical time in the race, when El-Sayed needs to be appealing to a wide swath of voters.

“It’s just off message,” Democratic strategist Steve Schale said. “Besides being reprehensible in their own right, El-Sayed has to spend valuable campaign time reacting to Piker’s incendiary comments instead of talking about how to make things cost less and other issues Michigan voters care about.

“There’s no world where Hasan Piker’s comments are anything but a net negative for any candidate trying to get 50 plus 1 in a battleground race.”

Other strategists agree, making the case that the comments could hurt him with the electorate.

“El-Sayed would rather not respond to Piker’s comments while also running against his Republican opponent,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist. “Defending his left and his right flank is dizzying for him and a potential turnoff to voters.”

In the midterm home stretch, the stakes are high for El-Sayed, who defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D) by less than a percentage point in a closely watched Democratic primary earlier this month.

The progressive’s win in purple Michigan added to a string of left-wing wins in primaries this cycle, offering a new data point for Democrats searching for the best path forward after losses in 2024.

Such proxy-war primaries, though, have spotlighted Democratic fears that more progressive candidates could be a liability in the general election — as Republicans seek to paint the party at large as too far to the left.

El-Sayed’s association with Piker had already become a hurdle in the primary , a costly contest that was dominated by issues around electability, outside spending and support for Israel. Stevens told Jewish Insider in April that Piker is “the exact opposite of someone I’d be campaigning with.” And state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who later dropped out of the race, compared Piker to far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, an avowed antisemite.

With millions of followers on YouTube, Instagram and social platform X, Piker boasts a large online following that could give progressive candidates like El-Sayed a leg up — but experts say it could also help fuel Republicans’ rhetoric about the race.

The latest controversy comes after Piker suggested in a recent Twitch stream that if “Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action. … Not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”

Rogers jumped in to condemn Piker’s comments and tie them to El-Sayed, suggesting the streamer was the Democrat’s “running mate.”

“More calls for violence coming out of the El-Sayed campaign … Here is his running mate, Hasan Piker, saying that if AMERICAN JEWS support Israel, they will be violently targeted because of it,” Rogers wrote on X.

Piker defended himself, saying on X that “this isn’t a call for violence” and that “falsely tying israel to jewish people IS increasing antisemitism.” El-Sayed also weighed in, putting distance between his campaign and Piker’s platform.

“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” El-Sayed said in a statement on social media. “Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”

“But I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” he added, suggesting that “politicians and pundits” are trying “to make this race about a Twitch streamer.”

Activist David Hogg had a similar take, saying over the weekend that the media’s focus on Piker is “kind of weird” as “the median voter knows nothing about” the streamer.

Stevens, who has rallied behind El-Sayed since losing the primary, had said earlier this month that it “certainly makes sense” for El-Sayed to “get rid” of his affiliation with Piker.

Piker’s recent comments are the latest in a history of controversial statements, including his 2019 remark that “America deserved 9/11” as blowback against U.S. military campaigns — though he’s recently said he could have better phrased the claim.

Republicans say the totality of the remarks — coupled with some of El-Sayed’s statements — are bad news for his campaign.

“This race will be determined by what the conversation is about,” Republican strategist Doug Heye said. “El-Sayed’s bizarre no-name Piker statement and really out there Fox News interview put the spotlight exactly where he doesn’t want it – on him.”

GOP strategist Brian Seitchik, said it was “politically convenient” for El-Sayed to distance himself from Piker. “Now that he’s in the general election, El-Sayed has suddenly found the courage to distance himself from proud American hater Hasan Piker,” Seitchik said. “But a change in campaign strategy doesn’t erase the record of reality that both men are enthusiastic antisemites.”

“Michigan voters will decide between a mainstream-normi like Mike Rogers or a hater with a long record of hyper troubling rhetoric about Israel and the Jewish community,” he added. “A charming delivery doesn’t make extreme views any less extreme.”

Michigan Democratic strategist Adrian Hemond said El-Sayed “needs leftists like Hasan Piker to think nicely of him” to support his apparent theory of the case that “he can remake the electorate by bringing more progressive voters” to the polls.

But Piker’s controversies don’t help El-Sayed stay in a positive light, Hemond said. He argued that more distance from Piker and a message that focuses more on the competition with Republicans than on the future for Democrats are El-Sayed’s best path forward in the race, which is critical for Democrats in their fight for Senate control.

Cook Political Report considers the race a toss-up this fall, while Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) now views the race as leaning toward Democrats, a step away from toss-up territory. The latest DDHQ polling averages signal El-Sayed and Rogers are in a dead heat, taking turns in the lead over the last two months.

If Republicans win the Michigan seat in November, though, DDHQ estimates that Republicans jump to an 86 percent chance of holding the upper chamber.

“In an environment like this, a Democrat should be running away with this race, both because the president is deeply unpopular and because Republicans basically don’t win U.S. Senate elections in Michigan,” Hemond said.

David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University in Michigan, suggested that El-Sayed’s distance from Piker signals he understands the high stakes and is gearing up for the general.

He pointed out that El-Sayed’s association with Piker was helpful during the primary.

“I mean, he went with Piker to Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and they packed the joints. And it doesn’t surprise me now, that he’s looking to, you know, pump the brakes a little bit. I would expect that. It’s a candidate transitioning from primary to general,” Dulio said.

“I think all the concerns are well founded because Michigan is not New York City,” he said of the fear that the far-left brand could be a riskier bet in November. “That brand of progressivism it’s going to be a tough sell in Michigan.”

Some other Democrats conceded that Piker’s comments were largely unhelpful, and as Democratic strategist Eddie Vale put it, “if those individual diversions start to add up, then it can become a problem.”

Still, Vale added, “Ultimately this election is going to be decided on [President] Trump and his cratering economy.

“So random distractions aren’t going to be fatal to anyone’s campaign in and of themselves,” he said.