Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate
Abdul El-Sayed has been campaigning with
Hasan Piker, a controversial online streamer.
Piker, a 34-year-old streamer with 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, has described himself as a “megaphone” for an angry electorate. He’s also been
controversial among Democrats for some of his rhetoric, including comments that
“Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, some Orthodox Jews are “inbred” and “America deserved 9/11.”
In a recent interview with The Associated Press,
Piker was largely unapologetic for his past remarks but said some were poorly worded. He called the renewed focus on them “totally ridiculous, especially considering that there are far more consequential things happening in the world right now.”
A May 12 Michigan poll suggests
Abdul El-Sayed has the lead in the race to be the Democratic nominee for the state's soon-to-be-open U.S. Senate seat.
Many young voters say politics isn’t delivering and they want candidates who offer something new, not just opposition.
apnews.com