Left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker criticised the Democratic establishment while attending Abdul El-Sayed’s election night watch party during Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.
Speaking to CNN, Piker praised El-Sayed’s campaign and argued that grassroots support was more important than financial backing.
“They might have the money, but we have the people,” Piker told CNN’s Arlette Saenz.
Piker also criticised outside spending in the race, including more than $30 million spent by the political action committee affiliated with AIPAC in support of Representative Haley Stevens.
He described the advertising campaign against El-Sayed as a “heinous smear campaign” and said the candidate had run an “issues-first campaign” that he hoped “Democrats can learn from.”
Addressing concerns that El-Sayed could struggle in a general election, Piker rejected the idea that Michigan is politically divided.
“It’s only considered a purple state because the establishment Democrats dropped the ball twice. In both instances, Donald Trump came in like a wrecking ball because there was a lot of appetite for change,” he said.
Piker also dismissed suggestions that his own endorsement could become a liability for Democrats in a general election.
“No, I do not think that I would be a liability in the general election,” he said, adding that he believed voters were “sick and tired” of politics centred on personalities rather than policy.
