- by foxnews
- 05 Aug 2026
Michigan Democratic state Rep. Donavan McKinney was also reportedly in attendance.
Piker, who has roughly 10 million followers across multiple social media platforms, has made multiple appearances on the campaign trail with El-Sayed, raising questions about the ideological similarities between the two.
"I never would and never will criticize Mao Zedong," Piker said earlier this year in a clip that recently resurfaced on social media. "One of the great leaders of this world."
While El-Sayed has said he doesn't agree with all of Piker's positions, he has faced criticism for not distancing himself from the controversial streamer.
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., running against El-Sayed in Tuesday night's Senate primary, was asked about the relationship between El-Sayed and Piker in a press gaggle hours before polls closed.
"I don't believe Mr. Piker lives here in our state. I do think his rhetoric should be denounced. I do think that my opponent should distance himself from him. I don't know what they were doing last night at this pool party that was going on, but I was with Congresswoman Hillary Scholten and Debbie Stabenow," Stevens told Fox News.
Referring to Piker, Stevens said, "Some of this stuff makes people uncomfortable. Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable. You know, we don't need these demagogues or people citing allegiance to Mao coming into Michigan."
And pointing to El-Sayed, Stevens added, "Maybe instead of being with Mr. Piker, you know, if he ends up winning the nomination, maybe he'll come with me and hear from some of the small businesses who don't want this extreme politics coming into our state."
"Instead of spending his final hours campaigning with Michiganders, Abdul El-Sayed spent it poolside with an antisemite and terrorist sympathizer who believes America deserved 9/11," NRSC regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday.
The campaign of presumptive GOP nominee Mike Rogers also weighed in as voters headed to the polls Tuesday.
"We're getting ready to prosecute the case against Abdul, but it looks like he's already giving us a head start," Alyssa Brouillet, Rogers' campaign communications director, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This is giving fraud, not serious. And Michiganders are battling serious issues they need a senator to deal with - not someone who dances around with LA and NYC influencers who think 'America deserved 9/11.'"
"Are you crazy?" Piker responded. "Of course."
Fox News Digital reached out to the El-Sayed campaign and Piker's team for comment.
The El-Sayed campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by the time of publication.
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