Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss was in talks to endorse Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed before a controversy over left-wing streamer Hasan Piker's comments. A source close to the talks said they were derailed when Moss instead issued a statement criticizing El-Sayed and his association with Piker, who made antisemitic remarks during a live stream. The comments have caused concern among Democrats in Michigan, where El-Sayed won a narrow victory in the primary last month. New polling suggests that cutting off military aid to Israel is a popular position among Democratic voters in key battleground states.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for a Senate seat in Michigan, was initially set to receive an endorsement from Jeremy Moss, another Democrat running for a House seat in the state. However, this plan was derailed when Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer, criticized American Jews during one of his broadcasts and showed an image of Moss on screen. Piker's comments sparked outrage among some Democrats, including Rep. Hillary Scholten, who accused him of spreading hate. In response to the controversy, Moss issued a statement declining to endorse El-Sayed and criticizing his association with Piker. This development comes after El-Sayed won a narrow primary victory against Rep. Haley Stevens, whose seat Moss is trying to keep blue. The incident highlights tensions within the Democratic Party in Michigan, particularly regarding issues of antisemitism and Israel.
Written for “Michigan Political Endorsement” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 2264 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-27
The Democratic nominee for a House seat in Michigan was in talks to endorse his party’s Senate nominee in the state, Abdul El-Sayed, before a flap on Monday over left-wing streamer Hasan Piker derailed those plans, a source familiar with the talks told Semafor.
asserted
source → endorse → Semafor
State Sen. Jeremy Moss instead issued a statement on Monday that pointedly declined to back El-Sayed and criticized his association with Piker.
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that → issue → Piker
The streamer showed an image of Moss onscreen during a broadcast last week.
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streamer → show → broadcast
“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,” Piker said.
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Piker → keep → action
Piker’s comments have thrown Democrats off-course in Michigan, weeks after El-Sayed’s narrow victory in a bitter primary against Rep. Haley Stevens — whose seat Moss is vying to keep blue.
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Moss → throw → seat
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., joined Moss in airing frustration with El-Sayed’s lengthy denunciation of the “scourge” of antisemitism, which contained no criticism of Piker.
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which → join → Piker
“Piker is a hack who thrives on hate, shock, and awe because he lacks substance,” Scholten said in a statement.
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Scholten → thrive → statement
Moss, who is Jewish, took a lighter touch in a statement on Piker’s remarks, saying that Jewish Michiganders won’t be “gaslit that we’re responsible for the antisemitic harm upon us.”
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we → take → us
El-Sayed’s GOP opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, reveled in the disunity across the aisle.
“Conman Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t have the guts to disavow his running mate,” Rogers said in a statement, referring to Piker.
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Rogers → revel → Piker
Know More
Moss has faced weeks of attacks over claims, amplified online, that he’d admitted he was running for Congress only to strengthen US ties to Israel.
uncertain
he → face → Israel
Last week, Moss said that an alleged recording of him making those remarks had been faked.
asserted
him → say → remarks
Piker was commenting on that story as he told viewers of his Twitch stream that overly pro-Israel sentiments put “American Jews” at risk.
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sentiments → comment → risk
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, without mentioning Piker by name, denounced his remarks as “dangerous and antisemitic.”
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Jeffries → mention → remarks
It’s not clear whether Moss has entirely ruled out an El-Sayed endorsement as a result of the controversy.
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Moss → ’ → controversy
El-Sayed alluded to Piker, though not by name, in his statement responding to the controversy.
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Sayed → allude → controversy
“While politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we’re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools, and healthcare,” the Senate nominee wrote.
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nominee → try → gas
El-Sayed appeared on Fox News for a 30-minute interview on Monday night, but the Piker incident did not come up.
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incident → appear → night
Notable
- New polling for the IMEU Policy Project, conducted by YouGov, suggests that cutting off military aid to Israel is a popular position in the six states that will vote first in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.
uncertain
that → conduct → primary
- “[M]y argument against the dangerous false conflation between [Z]ionism and [J]udaism which in turn increases antisemitism is now turned on [its] head,” Piker wrote Monday in response to the dust-up.
asserted
Piker → increase → up
