Abdul El-Sayed peppered with questions on Hasan Piker link, fracture with Jewish Dems at Michigan convention

LANSING, Mich.— Socialist-adjacent Michigan U.S.

Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed addressed the media during Saturday's state Democratic Party Nominating Convention, where he was dogged by many of the same questions that have plagued his campaign for months.Surrounded by media in a hallway at the Lansing Center, where the convention took place, El-Sayed was peppered with questions from the press about his relationship with far-left online personality Hasan Piker, along with his stance on Israel and Gaza, which has driven a wedge between his campaign and some Democrats, especially Jewish ones."We’re in the state of Michigan.If you want to make this race about a streamer in California, I just think you’re missing the boat," El-Sayed told reporters.

"This is about affordability in Michigan.This is about seeing a doctor in Michigan.

This is about Donald Trump’s disastrous policies in Michigan.That’s what I’m focused on right now."Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S.

Senate in Michigan, talks poolside with streamer Hasan Piker at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug.3, 2026, in Detroit.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)ABDUL EL-SAYED PLAYS DOWN HASAN PIKER TIES AFTER STREAMER’S VIRAL ANTISEMITISM FIRESTORMFour different reporters asked El-Sayed about Piker, with whom he campaigned and partied during his primary race.He dodged all of them, falling back on describing the polarizing streamer as "a streamer from California" who is irrelevant to his race in Michigan."I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California.

And to folks who want to make this about a social media person in California, let’s not forget what actually matters in our politics, what our politics are really about," he said."I don’t ever want my comments to hurt anybody’s feelings.

It’s important to me that people understand that I take serious the pain of all communities in this sta...