Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, met individually with Jewish party leaders over the weekend to apologize for controversial statements he made in the past. The meetings are part of an effort to win over skeptical Jewish Democrats, CNN reported. 

“I don’t ever want my comments to hurt anybody’s feelings. It’s important to me that people understand that I take seriously the pain of all communities in this state,” El-Sayed told CNN.

El-Sayed declined to discuss his relationship with Hasan Piker, a far-left Twitch streamer who campaigned with El-Sayed during the primary, saying it's "not a serious conversation." Piker had told his audience earlier this month that the issue of Israel has become so toxic that American Jews who support the country could be met with retaliation. 

"If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews," Piker said earlier this month. 

In the state's primary earlier this month, El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate whose campaign received tens of millions in funding that was linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.