AIPAC Is Cleaning Up in Democratic Primaries

A super-PAC linked to the pro-Israel group has spent millions to defeat progressive candidates.

Haley Stevens

Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens defeated fellow Democratic Rep. Andy Levin on Tuesday, in a matchup between two incumbents competing in the same district after Michigan lost a seat in redistricting. Levin, the son of former Rep. Sander Levin and nephew of the late Sen. Carl Levin, is a progressive who boasted the support of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, while Stevens has a more moderate platform. But the most notable thing about this race wasn’t what either of them said or did—it was the incredible amount of money that poured in from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the biggest American lobbying group for, in its words, “a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.”

The group pumped $4.3 million into the race in support of Stevens, using a super-PAC called the United Democracy Project, with ads that left no indication of the group’s actual purpose. What’s the backstory there? NBC News offers some helpful context:

In January, one of Stevens’s top fundraisers, former AIPAC president David Victor, sent a solicitation to friends accusing Levin, who is Jewish, of being “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

In the email to friends, Victor contends that Levin has been too critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and that the fact that Levin is Jewish gives cover to other lawmakers to call themselves pro-Israel while delivering similar rebukes. That has put Victor and AIPAC in the position of backing Stevens, who is not Jewish.

By comparison, J-Street, a “pro-Israel, pro-peace” Jewish group that argues for a less hawkish Israel policy, spent a mere $700,000 on Levin’s behalf. And what’s interesting here is that while AIPAC was extremely committed to getting Levin out of Congress because of a specific policy beef, UDP’s ads didn’t really mention that policy.

J-Street argued, unsuccessfully, that Levin was being targeted by right-wingers wading into a Democratic primary. AIPAC also endorsed a number of Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, and much of UDP’s funding has come from Republican mega-donors, including the hedge funder Paul Singer.

After years of cozying up to Trump, AIPAC has been one of the biggest-spending outside groups in this year’s Democratic primaries. Last month, it shelled out $6 million to defeat former Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, who was seeking to return to Congress. In that race, UDP attacked Edwards for “a poor reputation for constituent services”—the group’s true passion. And in South Texas, UDP spent $1.9 million on behalf of Rep. Henry Cuellar, who defeated progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros by 289 votes.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate