U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will hold a rally at Michigan State University in early April amid a contested Democratic primary. Photo courtesy Abdul for U.S. Senate.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will hold a rally on Michigan State University’s campus on Tuesday, April 7, his campaign announced Tuesday.
The rally will take place at Anthony Hall at 4:00 p.m. alongside popular leftist commentator Hasan Piker and Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee. Other “special guests” have yet to be announced, according to a press release.
The campaign is aiming to re-energize student voters on issues of student debt relief, economic justice and workers’ rights ahead of the August primary and the later November election. The event is free and open to the public, regardless of party affiliation.
It’s a “crucial” time, said Mia Thurman, the communications fellow for “Spartans 4 Abdul.” Sandwiched between midterms and finals, Thurman said, the rally is meant to serve as a reminder of “why we’re here in school, what we wanna see in our future (and) how to better our future.”
El-Sayed harbors a reputation for being the face of Gen-Z progressivism in the state of Michigan. The senate hopeful has criticized Israel for its actions in the Gaza War and advocated for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. El-Sayed has also pledged to refuse donations from corporate political action committees.
“He is the most staunchly anti-ICE and anti-Israel candidate out there for the Michigan Democratic primary,” said Thurman, who was drawn to El-Sayed’s progressive policies and emphasis on directing money back to Michigan.
The rally’s two confirmed featured speakers, Piker and Lee, aim to appeal to people of different experiences and backgrounds. Piker, for example, rose to fame as a Twitch streamer known for his leftist political commentary.
“Lots of people know who he is and what he does, but they don’t really understand how his work really applies,” Thurman said.
Piker’s participation in the upcoming event has been scrutinized by centrist Democrats for his views on Israel, in addition to allegations that Piker is an antisemite. The rally marks his first foray into the U.S. Senate race.
“Anyone eager to campaign with Hasan Piker is, at best, comfortable overlooking his antisemitic and anti-American extremism and, at worst, endorsing it,” Third Way President Jonathan Cowan told POLITICO Tuesday.
Lee also gave the Working Families Party's response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February, boycotting the president's speech in favor of the People's State of the Union instead, where she was a speaker.
The rally will also feature a student speaker from Spartans 4 Abdul.
The rally is part of El-Sayed’s greater college campus tour, which begins at MSU before concluding the evening at the University of Michigan.
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