The influential pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has suffered a big setback in the Democratic Party’s Senate primary in the US state of Michigan. Despite pouring large sums behind its favoured candidate, Haley Stevens, she was defeated.
But even after its candidate’s primary defeat, AIPAC is not stopping. It is now planning to spend several million dollars again for Republican candidate Mike Rogers in November’s general election.
In the primary, AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, spent $32 million behind Congress member Haley Stevens. The aim was to defeat Abdul El-Sayed, a sharp critic of Israel. But that effort failed. Making history, he won the Democratic Party’s nomination for the seat.
Six people who spoke with AIPAC’s leadership told the New York Times that many of the group’s major donors believed large sums should be spent against El-Sayed in the general election too. In that case, several million dollars could be spent for Republican Mike Rogers.
AIPAC spokesman Derin Sausa said in a statement: “Our members are determined. We will work so that in November, voters reject Abdul El-Sayed and his extreme anti-Israel positions.”
But Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for AIPAC’s super PAC the United Democracy Project, said no final decision had yet been made on spending in the general election. According to US Federal Election Commission data, the group had about $80 million on hand at the end of June.
A big shift for AIPAC
Openly backing a Republican candidate in the general election would be a big shift for AIPAC. The group has long claimed to be equally acceptable to both parties, and before 2022 it did not spend directly in federal elections.
But many AIPAC supporters see El-Sayed as a major threat, because criticism of Israel was one of the main themes of his campaign. He has also said that, if elected, he would vote to end US funding for Israel.
Sam Markstein, political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said: “The time to tell us to stay quiet or be polite is over. We will not be afraid, nor stopped by smears. We will do whatever it takes to win.” He added: “Living with respect matters more to us than being loved.”
In his victory speech, Abdul El-Sayed sent a message of support to Jewish voters too, while continuing to criticise AIPAC’s role in the primary. “To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, or people of any other faith, even those who believe in no faith, I want to say: my commitment to your safety is as firm as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” he said.
Several political analysts with ties to both the Democratic and Republican parties believe that in November’s general election, various political committees linked to AIPAC could spend several million dollars for Mike Rogers. Six people who spoke with AIPAC leaders before the primary said they had believed from the start that if El-Sayed won the nomination, AIPAC would again spend large sums against him. Mike Rogers has always presented himself as a firm supporter of Israel.
According to many analysts, AIPAC’s huge spending in the Democratic primary ultimately backfired, as El-Sayed’s position in opinion polls steadily strengthened. He used AIPAC’s spending as one of his main political weapons against rival Haley Stevens. AIPAC leaders, however, expressed no regret in private conversations, with several people close to the group saying a close contest between the two candidates had been expected from the start.
For decades AIPAC has argued that supporting Israel is politically profitable for both Democratic and Republican politicians. But the situation is now beginning to change, and in many Democratic primaries taking a pro-Israel stance is becoming a political risk for candidates. A recent survey found that nearly half of Michigan’s Democratic voters had a negative view of AIPAC, while only 12 percent viewed the group positively.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidates who are critics of Israel are winning primaries in seats in New York, California and Illinois, so more questions than ever could be raised about Israel in the next Congress. Across three election cycles so far, AIPAC’s super PAC has lost several races, but this was the first time it faced defeat despite spending such large sums. It has spent money in a Democrat-versus-Republican general-election contest only once — spending about $1.2 million against Pittsburgh Democratic Congress member Summer Lee, who nonetheless comfortably beat her Republican rival.
AIPAC had also considered campaigning this year for Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins, but people close to the group think it is unlikely to spend large sums in both Maine and Michigan at once. It has already announced $1.2 million in spending in a contest between two Democrats for a California congressional seat.
Michigan is not the first time AIPAC’s spending has become an election issue. This year, in Illinois’s Democratic primary, AIPAC-backed political committees spent about $4.4 million for state senator Laura Fine. Her rival, Evanston mayor Daniel Biss, criticised Laura Fine throughout the campaign over her AIPAC support. Biss is himself Jewish and has long-standing ties with Israel, yet he won that primary. He has made clear that, if elected to Congress, he would work to change US policy on Israel.
Late in the Michigan primary, sensing a clear lead in the polls, Abdul El-Sayed openly challenged AIPAC to spend against him in the general election too. “AIPAC, if you’re listening to me, come to the general election. Spend your money. Spend more if you have to. I’ll happily waste your money. Then we’ll get to the real work — running the country and finding the answer to the question of whether US foreign policy will be run in the interest of another country,” El-Sayed said.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the more liberal, pro-Israel group J Street and an AIPAC critic, said it would be a big political mistake if AIPAC’s super PAC directly backed Mike Rogers. “Failing to understand the current political reality in the United States and to grasp the change of times both angers and frustrates me,” he said.
Ron Weiser, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, donated $125,000 to the United Democracy Project in this election. According to Weiser, AIPAC should spend for Mike Rogers. “The first reason is that I’m a Republican. The second is that I don’t want to hear any more voices talking about ending funding for Israel or taking such positions like the democratic socialists,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report