WASHINGTON – Democratic primary races across the country are witnessing an unprecedented wave of candidates making their opposition to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee a central campaign theme as they attempt to defeat established party members who have received backing from the powerful lobbying organization.
This emerging pattern demonstrates deepening fractures within the Democratic Party regarding America’s Israel policy, as ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Iran create internal party strife before November’s midterm elections. The divisions may also hamper Democratic efforts to take advantage of Republican weaknesses related to economic concerns and public opposition to military involvement in Iran.
Established in the 1950s, AIPAC has maintained its position as one of the capital’s most powerful foreign policy advocacy organizations, channeling millions in campaign contributions to candidates who support robust U.S.-Israel ties while pushing for Israeli military assistance, Iranian sanctions, and legislation favorable to Israeli interests.
More than 100 Democratic candidates have received endorsements from two organizations opposing AIPAC: Track AIPAC, which monitors the group’s political expenditures, and Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee. These endorsed candidates have committed to refusing financial support from pro-Israel organizations like AIPAC and opposing American military assistance to Israel.
“There’s a lot of AIPAC money that will now go to Republican candidates as a result of this,” stated Frank Lowenstein, who previously served as a special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during Democratic President Barack Obama’s term. Lowenstein currently works as a policy fellow at J Street, a competing pro-Israel lobbying organization that criticizes Israel’s current government.
According to a Reuters analysis of candidate questionnaire responses, 73 of the 102 anti-AIPAC endorsed candidates are running against current Democratic Congress members who have accepted AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobby support.
AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa expressed that the organization takes pride in “helping the mainstream of the Democratic Party by helping keep far-left, anti-Israel fringe candidates out of Congress.”
“AIPAC and our millions of Democratic members will be active throughout this cycle and future cycles to help elect candidates who support a strong U.S.-Israel partnership,” Sousa stated.
Sousa placed blame for internal Democratic tensions not on AIPAC but on “people trying to drive millions of pro‑Israel Democrats out of the party.”
Traditional Democratic Israel supporters point to American national security concerns connected to Israeli security, longstanding bipartisan support, and electoral considerations when defending AIPAC involvement in competitive congressional districts.
Progressive and moderate Democrats remain split on how extensively the United States should support Israeli security measures. A March survey conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that approximately 80% of Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents hold negative views of Israel.
With hundreds of Democratic candidates competing in party primaries this year to determine November election nominees, the electoral consequences of the AIPAC controversy remain uncertain as most races have yet to occur.
Two endorsed candidates are mounting competitive U.S. Senate campaigns in Maine and Michigan, contests that will influence which party controls the upper chamber. Both have received Track AIPAC endorsements and actively criticize Israel and AIPAC.
According to OpenSecrets analysis of Federal Election Commission records, AIPAC and its supporters contributed nearly $25 million to Democratic congressional candidates before the 2024 election and over $16 million to Republicans.
However, Israel’s Gaza bombardment has transformed Democratic politics, creating opposition among predominantly younger voters and deepening generational divisions within the party.
While no comprehensive count exists for Democratic candidates who incorporated anti-AIPAC positions into their 2024 campaigns, Track AIPAC reports that this year’s endorsement numbers represent roughly an eightfold increase from two years prior.
Track AIPAC endorsed 12 Democratic candidates before the 2024 election. Justice Democrats, who endorsed no new primary challengers two years ago, have endorsed 15 new challengers this cycle – nine against Democratic incumbents and six in open congressional seats.
During Reuters interviews, six Democratic candidates opposing AIPAC charged the organization with supporting what they characterized as genocide in Gaza and illegal warfare against Iran.
Israel rejects genocide allegations, maintaining it works to minimize civilian casualties while Hamas operates among civilian populations. Both Israel and the United States dispute claims that their Iran operations are illegal, citing objectives including regime change and preventing Tehran’s nuclear weapons development.
AIPAC spokesperson Sousa described the genocide accusations against Israel as “a legally baseless blood libel.”
Anti-AIPAC candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier is challenging U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat. OpenSecrets analysis shows Espaillat received over $133,000 from AIPAC and supporters this election cycle and $181,000 in the 2024 election.
Chevalier accused AIPAC of “pushing our representatives to be complicit in genocide, and pushing us towards this war with Iran.”
Reginald Johnson, an Espaillat campaign spokesperson, said the congressman supports both Israel’s right to exist and Palestinian statehood while opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regional military expansion and the Iran conflict.
Democratic tensions over AIPAC and Israel became visible at a Michigan Democrats’ April 19 convention during a competitive Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate nomination.
When Democratic U.S. Representative Haley Stevens, a Senate candidate, appeared on stage, party activists in attendance booed and heckled her. OpenSecrets data shows she has received over $220,000 from AIPAC and supporters this election cycle.
As Stevens left the stage, audience members stood and chanted “Shame on you,” according to Reuters review of event video.
Arik Wolk, a Stevens campaign spokesperson, said the congresswoman supported the Gaza ceasefire that began last October. “She believes that we must have peace in the region,” Wolk stated. The ceasefire has remained unstable with periodic violence outbreaks.
Steve Israel, a Jewish former Democratic congressman and previous Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee head, characterized these tensions as symptoms of broader concerning party dynamics.
“As younger activists move into the Democratic Party infrastructure and elected office, the party energizes more towards the left. That creates proxy battles, such as whether or not a candidate accepts support from AIPAC.”
He described such conflicts as “self-defeating litmus tests.”
The Democratic National Committee, the party’s governing organization, did not directly respond to Reuters questions about AIPAC-related tensions.
Some Democratic strategists express concern that Republicans could exploit these internal conflicts in election campaigns, as Republicans have generally supported Israel while criticizing Democrats who oppose U.S. assistance.
Kiersten Pels, a Republican National Committee spokesperson, accused Democrats of permitting “a dangerous strain of pro-terrorist, anti-American extremism to take root in their party, which will turn off swing voters in the midterms.”
