'Campaign grenade': Hasan Piker Minnesota event sparks backlash
'Campaign grenade': Hasan Piker Minnesota event sparks backlash
A sold-out Hasan Piker event is opening a new fight inside Minnesota politics. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the story.
(FOX 9) - A sold-out Hasan Piker event is opening a new fight inside Minnesota politics.
Two Minnesota Democrats bring Hasan Piker into the race
What we know:
Across the country, Democrats have tried to avoid the subject of Piker. The Wall Street Journal asked whether the party has a Piker problem, and The Atlantic said his history of controversial comments has become a crisis for Michigan Democrats tied to the streamer and his 11 million social media followers.
Local perspective:
State Sen. Omar Fateh and Rep. Ilhan Omar plan to welcome Piker to Minnesota for a podcast on Monday night. Fateh posted that the event sold out in five minutes.
Piker has walked back some comments, including that America deserved 9/11. The Jewish Community Relations Council said it documented a long history of statements it considers hateful and anti-Semitic and quickly labeled hosting Piker a betrayal of Jewish Minnesotans.
What they're saying:
Omar's campaign said, "Early voting among people under 40 is down, and we need to do everything to get young people to the polls. The Congresswoman knows the Democratic Party is a Big Tent party, and she’s excited to join Senator Omar Fateh’s event to mobilize young voters and get them to vote in this critical midterm election."
"With Piker, it is just tossing a grenade into the campaign. It's going to knock Flanagan off of her main talking points about affordability and Donald Trump. It's going to create a split within the DFL. There's nothing about this that's going to be a positive," said Dr. Larry Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political science professor.
Statewide campaigns face new pressure
Dig deeper:
The criticism is not coming only from Republicans.
Omar's congressional opponent seized on the event, and criticism also came from DFLers. Rep. Angie Craig rejected the visit while Sen. Amy Klobuchar called some of Piker's statements "reckless and unacceptable."
Big picture view:
Jacobs said hosting Piker is a no-win situation for statewide Democrats because candidates could alienate more moderate voters, DFL Jews or progressives.
"I think it was motivated by progressives who are situated in safe districts in Minneapolis. And they just don't understand the competitive battle in Minnesota. Minnesota, overall, is at parity. And the statewide race, particularly between Peggy Flanagan and Michelle Tafoya, is a toss-up with about 10% undecided," said Jacobs.
What we don't know:
It is still not clear how Peggy Flanagan will respond to Piker's endorsement of her campaign or to his Minnesota appearance.
Flanagan was silent after Piker gave her his endorsement and her campaign did not respond for two days as FOX9 asked about his visit.
The event location also has not been revealed.
The Source: Omar's campaign, the Jewish Community Relations Council, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic and Dr. Larry Jacobs.