El-Sayed Asked Piker to Curb Rhetoric, Report Says

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, recently called streamer Hasan Piker and asked him to stop rhetoric that El-Sayed warned was costing him votes, according to two people El-Sayed told about the conversation. Piker did not respond to a request for comment, and the account has not been independently confirmed by the people who described it. The reported call comes as El-Sayed seeks to consolidate support after winning the Democratic primary. Piker campaigned with him during the primary, and his public comments have drawn criticism from some voters and political figures. The available accounts do not establish whether Piker agreed to the request, changed his rhetoric or whether his comments have caused measurable losses for the campaign. Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, who supported El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Haley Stevens, said he was not backing the nominee and had not heard from him. Schor also said he did not plan to vote for Republican candidate Mike Rogers. He described his position as unsettled pending a conversation with El-Sayed, while saying his Jewish heritage left him uncomfortable with some of the candidate’s statements about Israel.