Topline
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed reportedly told controversial left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker his inflammatory rhetoric about Jewish people and Israel needs to stop, CNN reported, as El-Sayed has faced calls from within his own party to distance himself from Piker.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed visits “The Story With Martha MacCallum” at Fox News Channel Studios on October 05, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
El-Sayed recently called Piker and told him his anti-Israel rhetoric is costing him votes, CNN reported, citing two unnamed sources who said El-Sayed told them about the conversation.
El-Sayed has faced a barrage of attacks from Republicans over his affiliation with Piker, whom he campaigned with before the Democratic primary, and calls from other Democrats to distance himself.
The controversy surrounding Piker flared up in August when Piker suggested on his Twitch stream that the narrative that Jewish people “are singularly invested in Israel” could incite antisemitic violence.
El-Sayed said in the wake of the backlash that he disagrees with “any rhetoric that puts the [Jewish] community at risk” and that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my spokespeople,” but he did not mention Piker explicitly in the statement.
El-Sayed has maintained he won’t disavow Piker, but disagrees with some of his remarks and has no plans to campaign with him again.
On Sunday, El-Sayed told CBS, “I’m not interested in having a conversation about Twitch streamers in California, because they are not raising the prices of gas and groceries,” he said when the network asked about concerns among Jewish voters over his refusal to directly condemn Piker’s August comments about Jewish people and support for Israel.
Tangent
El-Sayed is also a critic of Israel and has described its military action in Gaza as “genocide.” At the same time, he has tried to smooth the waters with the Jewish community. He apologized in August to the Michigan Jewish Democratic Caucus for remarks he made in the wake of an attack on a synagogue in suburban Detroit, when he said, “hurt people hurt people,” referring to the attacker, whose family member was allegedly killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon. He told the caucus he hoped to “earn your trust,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
Big Number
50%. That’s the share of respondents in a recent Fox News poll who said they would vote for El-Sayed over Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., in the Senate race. Rogers had 49% support in the poll.
Key Background
Piker faced significant backlash from Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in the wake of his August comments about Israel and antisemitic violence. Piker said, “if Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they’re singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone will come around and take action—not against Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.” Piker has since said he was trying to make a point that being Jewish and supporting Israel are not mutually exclusive. Republicans seized on El-Sayed’s affiliation with Piker in the wake of the comments, with his opponent, Rogers, referring to Piker as El-Sayed’s “running mate.” It also cost him the support of at least one Democrat in his state. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., has withheld her endorsement of El-Sayed, telling the Washington Post in a statement that El-Sayed “had a prime opportunity to cut ties with Piker and directly disavow his words, but he did not.”
further reading
Here’s What Hasan Piker Said And Why It’s So Controversial (Forbes)
How Left-Wing Twitch Streamer Hasan Piker Has Divided Democrats (Forbes)
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