By The Washington Times (Politics) | Created at 2026-08-12 21:41:08 | Updated at 2026-08-12 22:55:44
2 hours ago
Hard-left streamer Hasan Piker conceded Wednesday that Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s unexpected loss in the Democratic primary was partly due to his being her “biggest surrogate.”
Mr. Piker wrote in a social media post, “This is part of why we came close to a victory but ultimately lost.”
The online commentator was responding to former Biden administration official Neera Tanden, who called him a “death trap” for campaigns “possibly in a primary but certainly in the general election.”
On Tuesday night, Ms. Hong, a Democratic state representative, lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who previously dropped out of the race but rejoined.
Ms. Hong led in every poll, but ultimately lost by a fraction of a percentage point.
She ran on an unusually radical platform for a swing state candidate, with her website calling for publicly owned grocery stores and the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In the final days of the primary, Ms. Hong rallied alongside Mr. Piker, who helped knock on doors in support of her campaign.
The popular streamer has a history of biting comments, such as calling Mao Zedong “one of the great leaders of this world,” plus saying he would “vote for Hamas over Israel every single time” and “America deserved 9/11.”
Boasting 3.1 million followers on the streaming platform Twitch, 1.9 million YouTube subscribers and 1.7 million followers on X, Mr. Piker is a leading voice of the socialist left.
Now, Mr. Piker admits that he should not have been the face of Ms. Hong’s campaign.
“I should never be the biggest surrogate of a campaign,” Mr. Piker wrote. “National [liberals] wouldve alleviated some of the ’electability’ concerns of hong which were overstated & outright weaponized in the last week blitz.”
Still, Mr. Piker sees Ms. Hong’s second-place finish as a step forward for socialism.
“Ultimately the platform was good & brought historic turnout,” he wrote.
At the time of the rally, Allison Geyer, a communications director for Ms. Hong, told The Washington Times that Ms. Hong does not associate herself with Mr. Piker’s remarks.
“As she has said previously, she [does] not endorse those comments,” Ms. Geyer said when asked about his hot-button statements. “Hasan speaks for himself, and Rep. Hong speaks for herself.”
Mr. Crowley will face off against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.
Mr. Crowley got late backing from current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who argued Ms. Hong could not win in the general election.
Mr. Piker also campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed, who won the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has sought to tie Mr. El-Sayed to Mr. Piker’s incendiary comments.
