MI-SEN: Ann Arbor progressive Carrie Rheingans (D) backs out of El-Sayed (D) event with Hasan Piker
Democratic State Rep. Carrie Rheingans said Friday that she was still supporting and endorsing U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, but she was choosing to not attend a planned rally next month featuring controversial leftist streamer and influencer Hasan Piker.
In an interview with Michigan Advance, Rheingans, of Ann Arbor, arguably one of the more progressive members of the state House of Representatives, said that she will continue to support El-Sayed but was backing out of the Piker event out to be sensitive toward her constituents of the Jewish faith and descent. She said they were still hurting due to the rapidly increasing wave of antisemitism throughout the nation.
Most recently, Michigan’s Jewish community reeled in the wake of the Temple Israel attack earlier this month in West Bloomfield.
El-Sayed is facing a high degree of criticism for campaigning with Piker on April 7 for two events planned at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, the latter of which is in Rheingans’ district.
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/28/ann-arbor-progressive-carrie-rheingans-backs-out-of-el-sayed-event-with-hasan-piker/