USA07 May, 20262 min read
Hasan Piker Joins Saikat Chakrabarti Rally as Matt Dorsey Condemns His Rhetoric
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Hasan Piker joined a San Francisco rally supporting Saikat Chakrabarti's campaign. Opponents condemned him, including lawmakers who said he has no place in the Democratic Party.
Piker backs Chakrabarti
Hasan Piker joined San Francisco congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti for a Thursday rally to boost his campaign to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi, as Supervisor Matt Dorsey moved to condemn Piker’s rhetoric within the San Francisco Democratic Party.
Dorsey said he plans to submit a resolution condemning Piker’s “vile, wildly divisive, and widely condemned rhetoric” and urged Chakrabarti to clarify whether and how his views differ from Piker’s.
Chakrabarti’s campaign spokesperson Tiffaney Bradley responded that voters face “dire crises including rising costs, war and an erosion of their civil rights,” and said “the Democratic Party is failing to respond to this crisis and is polling at some of its lowest numbers in decades.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the party board would not convene to vote on the resolution until later this month, while Dorsey said he felt it necessary to “elevate it sooner rather than later.”
Rival Democrats and money
The San Francisco Standard framed the broader California political fight as “Billionaire Tom Steyer and PG&E are at war in the California governor’s race,” with Steyer’s campaign sending a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission alleging campaign finance violations. Steyer’s attorney Ryan Hughes wrote, “I am writing to respectfully request that your office launch an investigation into a campaign finance scheme perpetrated by some of the most powerful special-interest groups in Sacramento,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by Power Play.
The Standard reported that Steyer’s campaign, fueled by $120 million of the candidate’s own money, alleged PG&E and two affiliated committees did not disclose they were using one entity to pass $8 million to another that runs anti-Steyer ads. PG&E deferred comment to California Is Not for Sale, whose spokesperson Amelia Matier wrote, “Steyer’s complaint is sensational nonsense to try to grab headlines,” while the FPPC declined to comment on the allegations.
National backlash and stakes
Beyond San Francisco, the Intercept described Piker as “the Democrats’ New Man on the Trail, Whether They Like It or Not,” as insurgent candidates on the left used him as a “go-to surrogate” to shepherd online supporters behind them.
At a May Day rally in St. Louis, Cori Bush told the crowd, “I love seeing you all,” and “I just don’t love why I keep seeing you all.”
The Intercept reported that Piker argued on his Twitch stream that “80 percent of the Democratic Party now agrees with the principles that Cori Bush was defending,” and said he described Bell as an “AIPAC stooge” while urging St. Louisans to rally around the Bush campaign.
In a statement to The Intercept, Bell campaign spokesperson Jordan Blase said, “If Cori Bush spent as much time meeting with her constituents as she does associating with people who condone sexual assault and blame America for September 11th, she may have fared better in her last election.”