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Twitch streamer Hasan Piker joked Tuesday that the “Hasan Piker Democrats,” a label Republicans used against the party, had won the midterms, and he declared that “Woke 3.0” comes next.
Piker streamed for more than 13 hours as Democrats won control of the House and Senate. At times, more than 200,000 people were watching, nearly six times his usual audience.
His stream logged 1.75 million hours of watch time, the most of any individual streamer that night, according to Streams Charts, an analytics firm that monitors livestream audiences.
What did Hasan Piker mean by ‘Woke 3.0’?
Piker said the “Hasan Piker Democrats” name was the Republicans’ idea, not his. “As the leader of the Democratic Party coalition, I’m officially branding woke back,” he said.
“We’re skipping Woke 2.0, we’re getting to Woke 3.0,” he added, and he also joked that he was now Senate majority leader.
“Woke” began as shorthand for awareness of racial and social injustice, and conservatives now often use it to mock progressive politics. “Woke 3.0” wasn’t a new phrase, but it spread fast online on election night.
Behind the jokes, Piker pledged to “hold the Democratic Party to account” on an agenda centered on working-class interests. He also said the party should have run more socialists in its primaries.
Who is Hasan Piker?
Piker, known online as HasanAbi, is a self-described socialist. He grew from a fringe internet commentator into one of the most-followed progressive voices online, with an audience that skews young and male.
He has 3.1 million followers on Twitch, 2 million each on Instagram and YouTube, 1.9 million on TikTok and 1.7 million on X.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Piker said young men had turned to Democrats to punish the Trump administration over the cost of living. He warned they could become “double haters,” voters who dislike both parties, if Democrats don’t deliver.
He is also controversial. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., has called him an “unapologetic antisemite” over his remarks about Israel, and the Anti-Defamation League has raised similar concerns. Piker denies being antisemitic.
Why did Republicans tie Democrats to Hasan Piker?
Before Election Day, President Donald Trump called Piker a “terrible liability” for Democrats, and Vice President JD Vance called him Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s “best friend.”
In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, used Piker’s comments to paint his Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, as “bought and paid for by the Democratic Socialists.” The Democratic Socialists of America is a political group that backs socialist candidates.
Both Democrats won. El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, and Talarico defeated Paxton.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who joined Piker’s stream on election night, said the results should push more Democrats to engage with him.