# El-Sayed's Ties to Hasan Piker Roil Michigan Senate Race

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/el-sayeds-ties-to-hasan-piker-roil-michigan-senate-race
- Published: 2026-09-17T01:02:07.729066+00:00
- Topics: michigan-senate, el-sayed, hasan-piker, israel, campaign-2026

## What the left says
- El-Sayed has explicitly and repeatedly disavowed Hasan Piker's offensive comments, including remarks about Jewish Americans and 9/11, showing he draws clear lines even while accepting political support.
- The barrage of questions about a social media personality reflects a Republican-driven media strategy to distract from substantive policy debate, especially after Mike Rogers avoided the debate entirely.
- El-Sayed's on-the-ground response to a Detroit tornado, working alongside local officials to help residents, demonstrates a candidate focused on community needs rather than manufactured controversies.
- Polling shows El-Sayed maintaining a consistent lead over Rogers with better favorability ratings, suggesting these attacks are not resonating with Michigan voters.

## What the right says
- El-Sayed personally invited Piker, who has said America 'deserved 9/11' and celebrated violence against a healthcare CEO, to campaign with him in Michigan, making the association a direct choice rather than an incidental one.
- El-Sayed's refusal to give a clear yes-or-no answer on recognizing Israel as a Jewish state raises legitimate concerns about where he stands on a core issue for many Jewish and pro-Israel voters.
- Questions about El-Sayed's imam eulogizing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a 'heroic martyr' and past promotion of a debunked hate-crime hoax point to a pattern of concerning associations worth public scrutiny.
- Rogers avoided Tuesday's debate specifically due to objections about the moderator's perceived bias, not to dodge the substance of these questions, which have continued to surface across multiple platforms and interviews.

## Common ground
- El-Sayed personally invited Hasan Piker to campaign with him in Michigan during the primary.
- El-Sayed has stated he disavows specific offensive comments Piker made about Jewish Americans and 9/11.
- Mike Rogers did not attend the Tuesday debate in Detroit, citing objections to the moderator.
- Polling since the August 4 primary has shown El-Sayed with a narrow but consistent lead over Rogers.

## Sources
- [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/el-sayed-pressed-piker-israel-socialist-ties-after-gops-rogers-skips-senate-debate) (Right)
- [RealClearPolitics](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2026/09/16/why_democrats_keep_coming_back_to_hasan_piker_711156.html) (Center)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6091986-el-sayed-on-rogers-avoiding-debate-the-elephant-was-not-in-the-room/) (Center)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/6089598-piker-influence-young-voters/) (Center)
- [The Nation](https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/abdul-el-sayed-polls-michigan-race/) (Left)
- [Washington Free Beacon](https://freebeacon.com/democrats/watch-abdul-el-sayed-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-the-streamer-in-california-he-brought-to-michigan/) (Unknown)
- [Washington Free Beacon](https://freebeacon.com/democrats/he-is-a-symbol-of-jihad-abdul-el-sayeds-imam-delivered-absentee-funeral-prayer-hailing-slain-hamas-leader-ismail-haniyeh-as-heroic-martyr/) (Unknown)
- [Washington Free Beacon](https://freebeacon.com/democrats/william-morris-endeavor-sticks-with-hasan-piker-much-to-notorious-influencers-surprise/) (Unknown)
- [Washington Free Beacon](https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayed-promoted-infamous-hijab-hate-crime-hoax-despite-warnings-from-police/) (Unknown)

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