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Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon declined to embrace the prospect of campaigning with far-left streamer Hasan Piker on Wednesday during an appearance on "CBS Mornings," telling co-host Gayle King she was not personally familiar with him.
"I don't really know who Mr. Piker is," Nixon told King. "I've heard about him."
When pressed, Nixon told King she didn't know who he was "personally, or anything like that."
Democratic strategist and former Biden White House Press Office Chief of Staff Yemisi Egbewole told Fox News Digital Wednesday the approach was politically astute.
"Piker has already said he’s staying away from her campaign to avoid being a distraction, and she clearly isn’t begging him to join," Egbewole said. "If a Dem wants any shot of winning a state like Florida, they should be careful, and it’s clear she’s using a different playbook than other DSA members. Smart!"
The Republican National Committee offered a sharply different assessment of Democrats’ embrace of socialist candidates. RNC press secretary Natalie Baldassarre told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the party’s ideological direction would prove damaging in the general election.
"Their embrace of this poisonous ideology is political suicide, and it will be their downfall in November," Baldassarre said.
King's question came one day after Nixon upset former National Security Council official Alexander Vindman, a whistleblower who became a key witness in President Donald Trump's first impeachment inquiry, in Florida's Democratic Senate primary.
King apologized after Nixon denied knowing Piker personally, then asked whether she would want him to campaign with her.
"I am actually focused on Florida and making sure that I’m talking to voters here to uplift their needs and their concerns. So that’s what my focus is going to be over the next 76 days," Nixon said.
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Nixon acknowledged that she had heard about Piker but did not answer yes or no when asked whether she would accept him as a campaign surrogate.
Her response contrasted with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who repeatedly campaigned with Piker before winning his primary. Piker later criticized Democrats who had supported El-Sayed’s opponent and urged the party to punish members who considered the nominee too far left.
Former Biden administration official Neera Tanden warned that Piker’s rhetoric could alienate general-election voters.
"It’s hard to imagine a bigger turnoff to swing voters than this guy," Tanden said on X.
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Piker faced scrutiny for a 2019 remark blaming the United States for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, comments about Hamas and praise for Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. Piker later walked back the Sept. 11 remark and said it had been inappropriate.
Nixon defeated Vindman by nearly 12 points despite his $16.27 million campaign war chest, compared with approximately $1 million raised by Nixon. She advanced to face Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to complete Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate term.
Nixon also sought to move the conversation away from ideological labels during the interview.
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"It’s not necessarily a socialist message or a progressive message. It’s actually just about the needs of people," Nixon said.
Nixon said she had recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, although DSA officials told Fox News Digital that she previously belonged to a local chapter, unsuccessfully sought its endorsement and had an unclear current membership status.
Nixon will now face Trump-backed Moody in November for the right to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s Senate term.
Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon and Moody for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital also reached out to Piker for comment.
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