Congress
AIPAC’s dwindling allies in Congress
With help from Jason Beeferman
Pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is set to enter the 120th Congress with fewer allies in Washington after a bruising election night for Republicans.
More than 30 of the bipartisan group’s preferred candidates fell this week — marking defeat for AIPAC in over three-fourths of the competitive races that have been called so far where it backed an incumbent. That includes ousted GOP Reps. Mike Lawler in New York, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania and Max Miller in Ohio.
The pro-Israel group also lost one of its most influential allies in the Senate when Maine Democrat Troy Jackson trounced incumbent Republican Susan Collins, the powerful appropriations chair. AIPAC bundled over $3.3 million in contributions for Collins this cycle, more than it gathered for any other candidate. And it suffered a major setback in Michigan when progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers after a contentious primary battle earlier this year.
“To the super PACs and special interests who tried to beat us, we are coming for your system of politics,” El-Sayed told a jubilant crowd at his election night party in Detroit on Tuesday night. “To AIPAC who spent $42 million against us, thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat you twice.”
The pro-Israel group, long a formidable force in electoral politics, has faced a reckoning in recent months amid significant voter unease over the U.S.-Israel relationship. In the latest POLITICO Poll, 34% of U.S. adults said the U.S. is too closely aligned with Israel’s government.
AIPAC has privately acknowledged it faces significant “challenges” ahead, telling allies in a memo obtained by POLITICO that it would no longer directly endorse candidates or contribute or earmark funds for their campaigns. But AIPAC will continue supporting candidates through its affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC.
AIPAC released a statement Wednesday afternoon congratulating the “hundreds of pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans who won their elections.”
“Our community will work with returning and newly elected members of both parties to advance America’s interests by strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told Blue Light News.
Liberal pro-Israel advocacy group J Street jumped on Tuesday night’s results as evidence of AIPAC’s waning influence. J Street spent $3 million via its action fund to help defeat GOP Reps. Miller, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania and Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa, as well as GOP Senate nominee Mike Collins in Georgia. All five candidates lost.
“This is an earthquake for the influence of AIPAC, the influence of J Street, and where we stand inside the Democratic Party,” said Ilan Goldenberg, J Street’s senior vice president and chief policy officer. “Democrats want to have a relationship with Israel. They want to have a constructive relationship with Israel. They don’t want to give Israel a blank check.”
Many of AIPAC’s losses across the country this cycle weren’t driven solely by policy debates about Israel. The shellacking came after several progressive Israel critics beat out AIPAC-backed candidates in Democratic primaries earlier this year.
“There’s plenty of pro-Israel candidates who won tough races too,” said Democratic Majority for Israel President Brian Romick. “You had a D by your name, you won.”