Viewers watching Twitch streamer Hasan Piker donated $32,000 in 45 minutes on Thursday to support N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma, an amount more than her campaign could boast having in its accounts two weeks ago.
The candidate announced on social media that the sum amounted to about 133% of the $24,101 she had in the bank as of Oct. 14, based on the Federal Election Commission filings. At the same time, the total donation constituted nearly 28% of the $115,953.98 her campaign raised in total.
Thomas, a nurse running for office for the first time, is competing against Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern for the seat Markwayne Mullin left in March when he became Homeland Security Secretary.
According to Thomas, the fundraising event occurred almost unexpectedly.
“OKLAHOMANS! WE JUST RAISED $32,000 IN 45 MINUTES ON HASAN PIKER’S STREAM!” the candidate wrote on X.
Thomas thanked Booker T. Newton, the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma Senate District 32, who spent the whole day with her in southwestern Oklahoma, for initiating the event.
“But let me tell y’all how this even happened, because I have to give a BIG shoutout to future State Senator Booker T. Newton for State Senate District 32!” she wrote. “Today, I was in Southwest Oklahoma doing meet-and-greets with Booker, who is running for Oklahoma State Senate.”
Thomas said Newton treated her kindly.
“He took the time to introduce me to folks in Altus, which isn’t even in his district, simply because he wanted to make sure I was comfortable and taken care of!” she wrote. “He even helped arrange interviews for me tomorrow!”
However, the problem was finding a quiet place for interviewing.
“Well, I had a livestream scheduled with Hasan Piker and needed somewhere quiet to do it,” she wrote. “So I asked Booker if he had an office I could use. He told me he didn’t have one personally, BUT he knew somebody who could help!”
Newton called his relative, who owns a therapy office in Lawton.
“This man picked up his phone, called his brother-in-law in Lawton, and his brother-in-law graciously opened up his THERAPY OFFICE so I could do my interview!” she wrote. “And from that very office, WE RAISED $32,000 IN 45 MINUTES!”
In her second post, Thomas thanked Newton and his relative.
“ALL BECAUSE SOMEBODY WAS WILLING TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND HELP!” she tweeted. “Booker, THANK YOU! And please extend my gratitude to your brother-in-law for opening his doors to me!”
And she explained why this event is so dear to her heart.
“This is what community looks like. This is what showing up for one another looks like. And this is why I love the people of Oklahoma!” Thomas wrote.
Thomas concluded by thanking Hasan Piker and viewers who donated.
“And to @hasanthehun and EVERY SINGLE PERSON who donated tonight, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!” she wrote. “Y’all really showed OUT tonight! ONWARD, OKLAHOMIES!”
This stream provided some support to the campaign, which lacked financial resources compared to her opponent. Hern had raised about $10.9 million and had spent about $8.1 million as of Oct. 14, according to FEC data compiled by Decision Desk HQ. Thomas had spent about $92,800 in her campaign as of Oct. 14.
Her financial resources were even scarcer in the summer. According to the FEC filings, as of Aug. 5, weeks before her runoff win, Thomas had raised about $57,000 and had $456 in cash. Her runoff opponent, Jim Priest, had spent more than five times as much as she had.
Money raised after Oct. 14, including the $32,000 from Piker’s viewers, will be reflected in the postelection report due by Dec. 3.
Polls showed Hern with a significant lead. A survey by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates from Aug. 3 to 6, before the Democratic runoff, showed Hern at 49% and Thomas at 25%. Election forecasters, including the Cook Political Report and Decision Desk HQ, rate the seats as safely Republican.
Republican Mullin resigned after the Senate confirmed his candidacy as head of the Department of Homeland Security on March 23. The governor appointed Alan Armstrong, retired chief executive of Tulsa energy company Williams, to serve in the position until January. Armstrong signed an affidavit pledging not to run for the seat.
Republican Hern, who represents Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, is endorsed by President Donald Trump and won the Republican nomination with about 67% of the vote in June. After Thomas won her runoff, Hern described her as a socialist “wildly out of touch with the values of Oklahomans.”
Democratic Thomas, who calls herself a democratic socialist, won a field of five Democrats with 45% of the vote in the June 16 primary, but not enough to skip the runoff. She defeated Priest, who is a lawyer and preacher, in the runoff with about 61% of the vote on Aug. 25.
Libertarian Sevier White and independents Curtis Stinnett and Ron Meinhardt are also on the ballot. Oklahoma last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate back in 1990.
Thomas is a nurse, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, and a military spouse who grew up in Ardmore.
Newton is a retired Army first sergeant with 29 years of experience, according to his campaign. He helps service members transition to civilian life. Newton is running against Republican Curtis Erwin, the founding pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Elgin, and independent Valentin Peña for District 32, which includes parts of Lawton and Comanche County. Altus, where Newton introduced Thomas to voters, is out of the district.
Piker, who is 35, streams daily on Twitch as HasanAbi and started his career with The Young Turks, the progressive online network created by his uncle, Cenk Uygur. He uses his platform in the midterms to raise money and organize canvassing for left-leaning candidates across the country. However, his comments make him controversial among Democrats, and their opponents try to use them to discredit him and the candidates he supports.
On Tuesday, Piker sued conservative commentator Scott Jennings for defamation in a federal court in Washington, seeking $72.5 million over an edited video clip from his stream.
