{"id":10903,"date":"2026-07-19T22:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10903"},"modified":"2026-07-19T22:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:20:16","slug":"aipac-has-spent-a-record-amount-on-michigans-senate-primary-the-biggest-test-of-its-influence-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10903","title":{"rendered":"AIPAC has spent a record amount on Michigan&#8217;s Senate primary, the biggest test of its influence yet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. &#8212; <\/span>Senate candidate <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/michigan-senate-democrats-stevens-elsayed-b493c8c5d3897b4f82418f9df1f8b078\">Haley Stevens<\/a> talks often about manufacturing, taking on President Donald Trump and why she\u2019s the Democrat best positioned to win Michigan. The congresswoman has far less to say about the pro-Israel group that has spent millions trying to get her elected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/michigan-senate-democrats-stevens-elsayed-b493c8c5d3897b4f82418f9df1f8b078\">AIPAC<\/a>, and its affiliated groups have spent close to $30 million backing Stevens \u2014 their largest investment ever in a single race \u2014 as they seek to defeat progressive favorite <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/michigan-democrats-senate-elsayed-van-hollen-506138f60767f1907340eb89373c80c8\">Abdul El-Sayed<\/a> in the Aug. 4 primary. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Stevens has largely avoided discussing the organization directly, even as its spending has reshaped the race. Asked twice about AIPAC during a July campaign stop in West Michigan, she responded for more than 800 words without mentioning the group a single time. Israel came up only once, when she said she \u201cwanted to see the U.S. and Israel working together to rebuild Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cAnyone who supported me is supporting me because of my dedication to the people of Michigan, and the things that I have done for Michiganders,\u201d Stevens told The Associated Press when asked whether she welcomed AIPAC\u2019s support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The exchange illustrates how politically fraught AIPAC has become in Democratic politics as the war in Gaza has <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/democrats-israel-aid-trump-netanyahu-1b0bf0c3ab906fead410a81475a8c884\">divided the party<\/a> over U.S. support for Israel. AIPAC works to elect lawmakers who support its mission of strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and advancing policies it says enhance the security of both countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AIPAC did not respond to a request for comment. The organization\u2019s super PAC, United Democracy Project, declined to comment. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The issue carries particular weight in Michigan, home to the nation\u2019s <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/dearborn-michigan-lebanese-americans-iran-war-trump-ec2282be4ddd13ae5c8a5e7c25037f6b\">largest Arab American<\/a> population. Beyond Michigan, El-Sayed\u2019s progressive allies are framing the race as a broader test of whether grassroots organizing can overcome unprecedented outside spending.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cOne of the laws of nature in politics is whoever spends the most money wins,\u201d said New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan this weekend. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIt is an opportunity to show that things other than money can win in America.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The four-term congresswoman raised half of what El-Sayed did in the latest fundraising period until June 30. Her team said in a statement that the campaign \u201cis raising the resources we need to win this race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">She spent only $12,000 of her own campaign funds on advertising through early July, before bumping it up to close to $1 million, according to AdImpact. Outside organizations, meanwhile, have poured close to $50 million into boosting her candidacy. One of them, A Stronger Michigan, has spent roughly $12 million without disclosing its donors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">El-Sayed has made AIPAC and the tens of millions of dollars spent to support Stevens a centerpiece of his campaign. He and his allies have accused Stevens as being a mouthpiece for her large donors. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cShe is nothing more than an employee of these billionaires,\u201d said Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is also campaigning with El-Sayed this weekend at rallies in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Stevens has said she supports \u201ccomprehensive campaign finance reform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Most voters are unlikely to realize many of the ads blanketing Michigan\u2019s airwaves are funded by AIPAC. They never mention Israel, instead highlighting Stevens\u2019 work on manufacturing and featuring former President Barack Obama. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cAIPAC never runs on AIPAC. They never even talk about Israel and Palestine,\u201d said former Rep. Andy Levin, whom Stevens defeated in a 2022 Democratic primary after redistricting. AIPAC spent millions opposing Levin, who is Jewish. \u201cIf you\u2019re just a voter and you see a million ads, you don\u2019t know who paid for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The surge of spending from AIPAC comes as the Democratic candidates have taken sharply different positions on Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">While Stevens is not Jewish, she has long been one of Congress\u2019 most outspoken supporters of Israel. She has described herself as a \u201cproud pro-Israel Democrat\u201d and once said during a Hanukkah celebration that \u201cIsrael comes to me in my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Stevens has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a recent debate, she said he \u201chas not made us safer, has not brought us closer to peace, and he\u2019s endangered Jews here in America and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">El-Sayed has embraced the contrast. The son of Egyptian immigrants, he has called Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza a \u201cgenocide,\u201d described the Israeli government as \u201cevil,\u201d and repeatedly argued that AIPAC\u2019s influence distorts Democratic politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThe reason that we\u2019ve seen this war fought is because of the impact of AIPAC in our politics,\u201d El-Sayed said during a recent debate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The war in Gaza began after Hamas&#8217; Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. It has since waged on for <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/gaza-palestinian-israel-thousand-days-war-ceasefire-f81c32c32a96cd7dd7952ef9b70b06b3\">over 1,000 days<\/a>. Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive, Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim U.S. senator. He recently addressed questions about whether his faith would hurt his electability in the battleground state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWhen they raise questions about my \u2018electability,\u2019 they are usually pointing to the most obvious thing about me that makes me \u2018different\u2019 \u2014 that\u2019s my name and my Muslim faith,\u201d he wrote in an email to supporters. \u201cFaith, to me, isn\u2019t just about an identity. It\u2019s about the choices that I make every single day about how I live my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">El-Sayed has spent about $3.2 million from his own campaign account on advertising, with around $1 million in outside spending. His campaign has instead emphasized grassroots organizing, saying it has recruited more than 10,000 volunteers statewide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Asked how many volunteers Stevens has, her campaign said it has \u201chundreds across Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThis election will come down to the many versus the money,\u201d El-Sayed wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Once-firm support for Israel has eroded within parts of the Democratic Party in the fallout from the war in Gaza. As divisions over Israel have deepened, criticism of AIPAC has intensified.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Earlier this week, 103 House Democrats voted unsuccessfully to block $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, the clearest sign yet of the party\u2019s divide. Among them was New York Rep. Pat Ryan, who had previously voted to send aid to Israel and accepted support from AIPAC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI expect groups like AIPAC will not support me in my future elections and frankly, I don\u2019t want their support,\u201d Ryan said on social media, later adding that he was returning the money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The tension also played out in 2024. In Michigan&#8217;s Senate race, Democratic activists pressured now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin to take a harder line on Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. Slotkin, who is Jewish, had already distanced herself from AIPAC years earlier. She ultimately defeated Republican Mike Rogers by fewer than 20,000 votes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Rogers is running for Senate again this year, and is unopposed in the GOP primary. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">While the issue still remains divisive for Democrats, some question whether it will ultimately shape how most primary voters cast their ballots, with concerns such as the economy carrying greater weight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cIt\u2019s not that Democratic primary voters love AIPAC. They obviously don\u2019t,\u201d said Michigan political strategist Adrian Hemond. \u201cBut this doesn\u2019t even register as an issue that\u2019s influencing voting behavior for the overwhelming majority of primary voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. &#8212; Senate candidate Haley Stevens talks often about manufacturing, taking on President Donald Trump and why she\u2019s the Democrat best positioned to win Michigan. The congresswoman has far less to say about the pro-Israel group that has spent millions trying to get her elected. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/70b76807-cb5d-42be-8573-9d709b0555fd\/wirestory_588bb869eb557643950bf68d6a0d7a10_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}