'I'm not a kingmaker': Hasan Piker grapples with limits of his influence [View all]
Popular socialist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker erupted in excitement to his thousands of live viewers Tuesday night, declaring as the race for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District was called, “It’s over! Adam Hamawy! Hamawy-mentum. Let’s fucking go! Read it and weep. First W of the night!” It would be his last of the night.
Piker had campaigned hard for Hamawy in the final weeks of the race, hosting the retired U.S. Army combat surgeon and staunch Israel critic on multiple streams and appearing alongside him on the campaign trail in New Jersey. Hamawy’s win gives Piker, one of the most sought-after political surrogates on the far left, another example to point to that his efforts can help push candidates over the line.
But the three candidates he pushed in his home state of California all underperformed and lost their races, revealing some of the streamer’s limitations as he looks to position himself as a new force in Democratic politics by working to convert his engaged online audience into wins for progressive and socialist candidates.....
“A lot of people think I’m some kingmaker,” a groggy Piker said in an interview Wednesday morning, after streaming for over 10 hours on Tuesday until 11 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time and getting just four hours of sleep. “But I’m not a kingmaker — and I’m very clear about that.”
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