Progressive Twitch streamer Hasan Piker defended his comments that he would rather vote for a third-party candidate over California Governor Gavin Newsom in the 2028 presidential election, following Democratic outrage over the remarks.
Newsweek reached out to Piker and a Newsom spokesperson for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Although the 2028 presidential race is years away, prospective candidates like Newsom are already garnering attention and speculation about their plans. The Democratic primary threatens to be divisive; there is no clear consensus candidate, and numerous politicians are expected to jump into the race.
Piker’s remarks reveal divisions among Democrats and progressives over the party's future. Many moderate Democrats believe former Vice President Kamala Harris lost in 2024 because swing voters viewed her as too liberal. But progressives have raised concerns about the policies of candidates like Newsom. Progressives like Piker sitting out the election or backing third-party candidates could complicate Democrats’ path to retaking the White House.
What To Know
Piker, a streamer who is popular among Gen Z progressives, said he would be unlikely to back Newsom in a hypothetical matchup against Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 race during an interview on the I’ve Had It podcast with Jennifer Welch.
Welch and AustinShow, another popular progressive streamer, both said they would vote for Newsom. Piker, however, said he would “probably vote third party.”
“At that point it doesn’t even matter,” he said. “My policy on this is the same as my refusal to endorse Kamala Harris. The reason why I did not endorse Kamala Harris is she did things that were not only unproductive but also unconscionable. I still stand on that. I still talk about it all the time because people constantly bring it up.”
He said there’s no “singular force” capable of “making or breaking an election.” If he had the power to do so, it would be the most “idiotic thing in the world not to listen to my demands,” he added.
Campaigns, he said, are competing with “the couch.” If the Democratic Party nominated Newsom, a centrist with progressive opposition, as he believes they did in 2016, 2020 and 2024, “then they just don’t care,” Piker said.
Welch pushed back on that. She said he agrees with Piker on his criticisms of Democrats, but that she would “crawl through 10 feet of concrete to vote for Newsom,” despite believing he is “duplicitous” and a “hypocrite.”
Piker’s remarks went viral, garnering three million views on X, and divided Democrats. He responded on Wednesday in a series of posts.
“The midterms just started and yall are crying abt the general? do you want free healthcare? do you want free college? do you want to stop israel? i’ll vote for anyone who sincerely believes in making that happen,” he wrote.
In a separate post, “S***libs who don’t care about losing to trump now want you to obey in advance to their hypothetical establishment candidate while there isn’t even a guarantee there will be an election 2 years from now. using marginalized ppl as a cudgel as gavin threw trans ppl under the bus."
Some Democrats pushed back on his remarks about Newsom.
“Actual trans person here: Gavin Newsom made a comment about trans athletes that I don’t agree with but California is still one of the best places to be trans in the country. See the difference? You don’t care about what happens to us, so stop acting like you speak for us,” responded writer Ari Drennen
“Insanely irresponsible take given the harm this administration has unleashed just one year in,” wrote Tahra Hoops, director of economic analysis at the Chamber of Progress.
Others backed Piker. Briahna Joy Gray, a progressive activist, wrote to X, “Oh! Well, good for Hasan. Love to see it.”
Who Is Hasan Piker?
Piker, widely known online as HasanAbi, is a prominent left-wing political commentator and one of Twitch's most influential streamers. He first gained visibility at The Young Turks, where he worked as a producer and later as an on-air host before transitioning full-time to Twitch in 2018.
He has more than three million followers on Twitch, making him one of the platform’s most-watched political streamers. He has taken on progressive policy viewpoints over the years and is an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy, and has been in opposition to the Democratic establishment.
He has faced criticism and suspensions for comments about ICE and Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott.
Is Gavin Newsom Running for President in 2028?
Newsom has not formally announced a presidential campaign but is speculated to be a likely candidate. Typically, candidates do not announce campaigns until after the midterms. Primary campaigns are expected to begin in 2027.
He addressed speculation in June 2025 in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
"I'm not thinking about running, but it's a path that I could see unfold,” he said at the time.
Gavin Newsom’s Polling for 2028
Newsom is among the candidates receiving the most support in early 2028 polling.
The latest survey of the race found him with 14 percent support, second only to Harris at 27 percent. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg followed at 8 percent. The poll was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates from January 21-27, 2026, among 1,000 likely voters.
A HarrisX/Harvard poll similarly showed Harris leading the pack with 39 percent, followed by Newsom at 30 percent. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and a favorite among progressives, placed third at 12 percent.
It surveyed 2,000 registered voters online from January 28-29, 2026 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.99 percentage points.
What People Are Saying
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker said on Wednesday: “What would it actually take for me to vote for Gavin Newsom? Because it’s not like I’m never going to vote for Gavin Newsom. But if he f****** turned around and was like, ‘I’m going to stick it to the Republicans regardless. I'm going to actually punish the Republicans that have actually engaged in corruption.’ If he earnestly changed his policies on homelessness, instead of f****** combating homelessness as an aberration that must be forcibly excised, sometimes directly by his own hand. Instead, he actually had a robust housing policy that combatted the reasons as to why homelessness exists and persists. If he hadn't vetoed Medicare for All in his own f****** state.”
Democratic strategist Tré Easton, vice president for policy at the Searchlight Institute, responded to the clip of Piker on X: “1. He’s neither hot nor cool. 2. His politics are just ‘hate the Democrats.’ 3. We should all stop listening to him.”
What Happens Next
The 2028 primary is still years away. Candidates will seek to unite the party, though it still remains divided. The outcome of the 2026 midterms in November could also shape the direction the party takes.
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