Overview
- Francesca Hong appeared on livestreams hosted by Mike Beyer and Hasan Piker that raised about $92,000 for her campaign, with roughly $35,000 from Beyer’s stream and $57,000 from Piker’s.
- Hong’s campaign defended the outreach as a way to reach young and disengaged voters and said appearing on a show does not equal endorsing every statement a host has made while reiterating a condemnation of antisemitism.
- Ann Jacobs, co-chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus, publicly condemned the appearances and said Hong risked alienating Jewish voters by sitting with hosts who have made inflammatory remarks.
- Several rival Democrats, including Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and candidate Joel Brennan, said they would not appear with those streamers and criticized the decision as a political liability.
- The episode highlights a tradeoff in modern campaigns between rapid fundraising and broad reach on streaming platforms and the reputational risk posed by hosts with histories of controversial comments, including Beyer’s 2025 Twitch suspension over remarks about Jewish identity and Piker’s past inflammatory statements.