How Much Influence Does Israel Have Over U.S. Elected Officials?

Bernie Sanders’ 2020 national campaign director Analilia Mejia beat AIPAC-backed candidate Tom Malinowski in NJ’s recent special election

As mid-term season ramps up, important primary races are underway in Texas and Illinois. The midterm elections will potentially reshape the U.S. Congress, making it critical to understand how important the outcomes are for Israel and its powerful slate of U.S. lobbying groups.

“We expect to be involved in dozens of races both in primaries and general elections this cycle,” said Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for AIPAC’s affiliated super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP).

According to Track AIPAC, there are currently only 21 members of U.S. Congress who have never accepted money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel PAC in the US) or other pro-Israel lobby groups. The remaining 514 sitting members have all accepted varying amounts of fundraising money from pro-Israel lobbyists.

With the Illinois primary just two days away, AIPAC has spent more than $1.9 million on ads to replace retiring Rep. Danny Davis with Melissa Conyears-Ervin, the city treasurer of Chicago. She faces over a dozen other candidates in the upcoming primary. And IL Sen. Dick Durbin is retiring after more than 30 years in office, with three top Democratic candidates vying for his seat.

Durbin received more than $2.7 million in pro-Israel donations over his decades in office. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who accepted more than $1.7 million in pro-Israel donations, is vying for his seat along with Rep. Robin Kelly, the recipient of just over $368,000 from Israeli lobbies and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, who has received just over $248,000.

U.S. Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia are also retiring. Schakowsky has received more than $2.5 billion from Israeli lobbyists while Garcia hasn’t received any and rejects AIPAC. Dozens of Democrats are vying for those seats, with AIPAC playing an increasingly bigger role in candidates’ platforms.

Schakowsky, once a staunch supporter of Israel, has increasingly become critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war in Gaza and recently withdrew her support of Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller to succeed her. Miller has pulled in more than $3.3 million in AIPAC-related donations. “Illinois deserves leaders who put voters first, not AIPAC or out-of-state Trump donors,” said Schakowsky. She endorsed Evanston Mayor Daniel Bliss instead, who has received just over $288,000 in pro-Israel funding.

The Texas Senate primaries have yielded tight races for Democrats and Republicans alike, with AIPAC once again playing a key role. James Talarico, who received just over $23,000 from pro-Israel interests, will face an as yet to be determined Republican challenger. Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who has accepted more than $2 million from AIPAC and other Israeli interests, is being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who received just over $53,000 from Israeli lobbyists.

The Republican primary was so close that the two candidates will face a runoff on May 26. Paxton’s success puts President Donald Trump in a sticky position. Trump himself has received more than $230 million from Israeli groups and it was expected he would endorse Israel’s candidate, Cornyn. But Paxton has gained traction within the MAGA movement, and Trump risks alienating his voters by endorsing Cornyn. Talarico’s popularity has been rising with some predicting he may turn one of Texas’s Senate seats blue for the first time in 33 years.

AIPAC and its offshoots began to ramp up spending during the 2022 midterms, shelling out more than $221 million between December of 2021 and January of 2026.

Their strategy has not always paid off though, as was the case in the recent Democratic primary special election in New Jersey. Israeli lobbyists spent more than $378,000 pushing former Rep. Tom Malinowski for a House seat. He was defeated by progressive candidate Analilia Mejia, who has been openly critical of Israel.

To learn if your U.S. representatives better reflect your interests or Israel’s, check Track AIPAC.

7,471 Comments

  1. However selective I am about new bookmarks this one made it past my filter, and a look at fondarbor confirmed the bookmark was worth the slot, the precious slots in my permanent bookmark folder are difficult to earn and this site earned one without making me think twice about whether the slot was justified by the quality.

  2. The post made the topic feel approachable without making it feel trivial, that is a fine balance, and a stop at hazelharborartisanexchange maintained the same balance, finding the middle ground between welcoming and serious is genuinely difficult and the writers here have clearly figured out how to consistently hit it well across many different posts.

  3. This stands out compared to similar posts I have read recently, less noise and more substance, and a look at cloudcoveartisanexchange kept that gap going, you can really feel the difference between content made by someone who cares versus content made to fill a publishing schedule for an algorithm trying to keep growing somehow.

  4. Güvenilir bir apk bulmak gerçekten işkenceydi valla. Play Store’da resmi uygulama yok diye duyunca üzüldüm. En sonunda güvendiğim bir adrese ulaştım ve size de buradan bahsetmek istediğim nokta şurası: 1xbet indir apk 1xbet indir apk. Valla bak net söyleyeyim — telefonuma kurduktan sonra çok mutlu oldum.

    Hiçbir sorun çıkmadı şu ana kadar. Birçok apk denedim ama en stabilı bu çıktı — kesinlikle pişman olmazsınız deneyin derim. Herkese hayırlı olsun…

  5. Now appreciating the way the post avoided the temptation to be longer than necessary, and a look at sageharborcommercegallery continued that lean approach, content with the discipline to stop when finished rather than padding for length is content that respects both itself and its readers and this site has that disciplined editorial culture clearly throughout.

  6. Came in skeptical of the angle and left mostly persuaded, and a stop at portolives pushed me a bit further in the same direction, content that can move a critical reader by argument rather than rhetoric is rare and worth pointing out because it indicates real substance underneath the surface presentation here.

  7. Никогда не думал, что столкнусь — человек в ступоре , а тащить куда-то нет никаких сил. Моя семья это пережила года два назад . Руки опускаются, а время тикает. Начинаешь обзванивать знакомых , а вокруг одни обещания . Пока кто-то не подсказал один нормальный проверенный вариант. Требуется срочная помощь — а самому везти нет физической возможности , то выход один . Речь конкретно про выезд нарколога круглосуточно. У нас в столице, если честно, тоже полно левых контор без лицензии. Вся проверенная информация ниже по ссылке: анонимный выезд врача нарколога на дом анонимный выезд врача нарколога на дом Честно говоря , после того как прочитал , многое прояснилось . Там и про капельницы подробно , и про последующее кодирование. И цены адекватные, без разводов на месте. Советую не откладывать.

  8. Took a chance on the headline and was rewarded, and a stop at learnanddevelopquickly kept the rewards coming as I clicked through, the kind of place where every link leads somewhere worth the click is a small luxury on the modern web where so many sites are mostly empty calories disguised as content.

  9. Started reading skeptically because the headline seemed overconfident, and the post earned the headline by the end, and a look at meadowharborgoodsgallery continued that pattern of earning its claims, sites that can back up their headlines without overpromising are rare and this one has clearly developed editorial calibration on that front consistently.

  10. Felt the writer was speaking my language without trying to imitate it, and a look at frostrivercommercegallery continued that natural fit, when a writers default voice happens to match what you find easy to read the experience feels frictionless and that is something I notice and remember about specific sites going forward.

  11. This one is staying open in a tab for the rest of the day so I can come back and re read certain parts, and a look at jewelbrookartisanexchange suggests I will be doing the same with a few more pages here too, this is going to be a deep dive over the coming hours.

  12. Android kullanıcısı olarak iyi bir uygulama şart. Herkes farklı bir link atıyordu kime güveneceğimi bilemedim. En sonunda sağlam bir kaynağa ulaştım ve size de buradan bahsetmek istediğim nokta şurası: 1xbet yukle android 1xbet yukle android. Şimdi size kısaca özet geçeyim — mobil versiyonu bütün özellikleri sunuyor.

    Hiçbir kasma yaşamadım şu ana kadar. Kendi deneyimlerimi aktarıyorum size — kesinlikle pişman olmazsınız deneyin derim. Umarım siz de memnun kalırsınız…

  13. Looking forward to seeing what gets published next month, and a look at windharborcraftcollective extended that anticipation across the broader site, finding myself looking forward to a sites future content rather than just consuming its existing content is a stronger commitment level than I usually reach with new finds and this site triggered that.

  14. Granted I am giving this site more credit than I usually give new finds, and a look at silverharborcommercegallery continued earning that credit, the calibration of how much trust to extend after limited exposure is something I do carefully and this site has earned more trust on shorter exposure than most due to consistent quality across.

  15. If you asked me to point to a recent positive sign for the open web this site would be near the top, and a stop at caramelcoveartisanexchange reinforced that designation, the few sites that serve as evidence the web can still produce quality independent content are precious and this one has clearly become one for me.

  16. Now adding the homepage to my regular check rotation rather than waiting for individual links to find me, and a stop at valecovecraftcollective confirmed the rotation upgrade, the move from passive discovery to active checking is a vote of confidence in a sites ongoing quality and this site has earned that active engagement clearly.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *