One super PAC is pouring assets into crucial major campaigns in a time of intense polarization and politics, with the radial benefit of promoting restraint and tamping down extremes within both parties.
The pro-Israel advocacy group American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC ), which has recently turned its attention to electoral politics, has emerged as a bulwark against radical candidates from both sides of the aisle. At a time when the marriage has been in jeopardized, notably by an rising left-wing faction of the Democratic Party and by Republicans who are extremely isolated, they are tasked with electing candidates who support a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship.
Its goal overlaps with encouraging logical candidates who have legislative experience rather than nihilistic bomb-strikers who prefer to use clicks over competence.
In order to maintain bipartisan support for Israel, AIPAC intends to spend at least$ 100 million on both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who led the charge to “defund the policeman” in the House and is currently under investigation for possible use of safety money, are their best targets this time.
The super PAC of AIPAC has already spent about$ 8 million on Bowman, which is a significant amounts, and they only recently launched their advertising campaign against Bush. Dislodging incumbents in primaries is no simple task and it remains to be seen if these two large- profile, left- wing targets will drop out to more reasonable, pro- Israel challengers.
The pro-Israel organization, however, is also quietly spending millions on less well-known primaries where the differences between two candidates are frequently stark—and succeeding. They spent more than$ 1 million to help center-right Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX ) win in the face of a significant challenge from a right-wing candidate with a history of antisemitism. They prevented former Republican congressman John Hostettler from resigning from Congress after he wrote a book blaming Israel for its involvement in the Iraq war. They assisted a liberal Maryland state senator, Sarah Elfreth, who had a history of backing Israel, win a primary contest against a candidate supported by national liberal donors.
And they secretly swayed pro-Israel donors to stop Susheela Jayapal, the sister of House Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, from becoming a member of the House. The more moderate candidate, state legislator Maxine Dexter, ended up winning comfortably.
California has been AIPAC’s lone setback so far this election cycle, where state senator Dave Min emerged as the Democratic nominee despite receiving a barrage of ads from AIPAC’s super PAC. In a battleground district, Min still faces a competitive general election.
In choosing its battles, AIPAC is faultless in its decisions. Even as she was up for a contested April primary, it did n’t go after Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA ), another anti-Israel member of the Squad, in part because the challenger did n’t raise enough money and demonstrate enough local support to win over the incumbent. So far, AIPAC’s super PAC has also avoided going after Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D- MN), even though she barely won a tough primary two years ago. She’s facing the same opponent this time around, but AIPAC has n’t yet gained support from her rival despite her increasingly heated rhetoric against Israel and campus antisemitism.
That reality also reflects the limitations of AIPAC—or any outside group’s — influence. When lawmakers are already out of step with the districts they represent, when has AIPAC been most successful? Bowman’s district, which includes Westchester County, N. Y. and parts of the Bronx, has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country, making his frequent anti- Israel diatribes not just extreme but self- defeating. Bush represents a district that includes suburban St. Louis, where radical rhetoric does n’t resonate.
A key component of AIPAC’s successful playbook this cycle has also been encouraging strong candidates with widespread appeal to run. George Latimer, the executive of Westchester County, was immediately a strong contender against Bowman due to his popularity and familiarity with the district. Wesley Bell, a progressive African-American official who backed criminal justice reform, is the type of candidate who can assemble a strong coalition of Democratic supporters in opposition to a divisive incumbent.
But in the deep- blue districts featuring progressive neighborhoods, college campuses, and sizable Muslim communities, recruitment has been more difficult. Rep. Rashida Tlaib ( D- MI ), for instance, is n’t facing any credible opposition, in part because of an Arab- American constituency in Dearborn that is n’t bothered by her virulent anti- Israel attacks.  ,
The rhetoric of the left-wing Republicans against AIPAC is one of the greatest ironies, despite the fact that it has primarily been used by moderate Democrats to fight extremism on all fronts. A sinister narrative based on AIPAC’s extensive resources has overshadowed the fact that they are currently the biggest outside force for moderation in politics, a sign of the abuse of language and general bias in coverage.
In that sense, AIPAC’s involvement in congressional elections is doing as much to improve the health of America’s democracy as it is to ensure the future of a strong U. S. Israel relationship.
Josh Kraushaar ( @JoshKraushaar ) is the Editor in Chief of Jewish Insider and a Fox News Radio political analyst.
