Every Democrat running in a competitive race should be asked one simple question: Are you with Abdul el Sayed and Hasan Piker, or not?
Piker was not a random celebrity who clicked “endorse.” The militant-left streamer was a key surrogate who campaigned shoulder to shoulder with el Sayed. Piker supplied access to millions of young followers, and the activist energy el Sayed needed to defeat Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Michigan Democratic primary for Senate.
Then came the general election.
The warning signs were not hidden. Piker had famously said America “deserved 9/11.” After winning the primary, el Sayed dismissed that as a “dumb statement” and “gotcha politics.” Asked whether he would campaign with Piker again, he would not answer. The alliance remained useful, so the self-appointed party of accountability suddenly discovered context and forgiveness.
Under immense pressure, el Sayed released a carefully written statement. “Nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” he declared, before condemning antisemitism in the abstract. He never named Piker, disavowed him, or said Piker would be kept off the campaign trail.
Imagine el Sayed were a Republican running in Michigan. Imagine he had elevated an extremist who denied the Holocaust. Democrats would make that association the centerpiece of every competitive race in America. Cable news would demand answers by the hour. Every Republican with any political smarts would denounce both men. Silence would be treated as complicity. And, frankly, Democrats would be right to do it.
El Sayed and other Democrats want to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted Piker’s audience, online muscle, and ideological fervor during a hard-fought primary. Now that normie Democrats in the suburbs, Jewish voters, and independents matter, they want distance without divorce.
The only Democrats who deserve any credit for standing up to Piker are Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), whose Grand Rapids-area seat was Republican until she won it in 2022, and maverick Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). Scholten called Piker “a hack who thrives on hate.” Fetterman has criticized Democrats who campaign with him and demanded that they choose between Piker and Israel.
Stevens now says Piker “should be condemned” and has urged el Sayed to sever ties. But she also endorsed el Sayed after losing the primary and volunteered to campaign for him. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer fell in line, too. So did Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, who is the epitome of an establishment Democrat.
Apparently, party unity trumps standards.
For nearly a decade, Democrats have presented themselves as guardians of norms and decency. They demanded that every Republican answer for President Donald Trump and every offensive statement from the Right. Never Trump Republicans became cable TV fixtures. Where are the Never el Sayed Democrats? Where are the Never Piker Democrats?
Republicans know what happens when a toxic nominee becomes a national liability.
At the height of the tea party movement, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada squandered winnable Senate races. In 2012, Todd Akin’s infamous “legitimate rape” remark poisoned his Missouri campaign and spilled into races elsewhere. Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, and other Republican leaders called on Akin to withdraw, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee pulled its support.
THE BLUE WAVE IS REAL. DEMOCRATS ARE ABOUT TO SINK IT
Democrats should be held to the standard they imposed on Republicans. Every Democrat in every swing race should be asked whether el Sayed must permanently cut ties with Piker — and whether they will withdraw their support if he refuses. Candidates should not be permitted to mutter a generic condemnation and pivot to grocery prices.
The answer so far is unmistakable. Democrats quarrel about principles in primaries. Once power is at stake, they fall in line.
Dennis Lennox (@dennislennox) is a political commentator and public affairs consultant.