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.

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares

7,536 Comments

  2. Thanks for a post that does not try to be funny when it is not the moment for it, and a stop at moderncuratedessentials maintained the same appropriate seriousness, knowing when humour helps and when it just signals desperation for engagement is a sign of editorial maturity that many blogs have not developed yet.

  4. Worth recognising that the post did not pretend to be the final word on the topic, and a stop at freshguild continued that humility, content that admits its own scope and limits is more trustworthy than content that overreaches and this site has clearly developed the editorial maturity to know what it can and cannot claim well.

  7. Just want to record that this site is entering my regular reading list, and a look at eliteledge confirmed it deserves the spot, my regular reading list is short and well curated and adding to it requires meeting a fairly high quality bar that this site has clearly cleared without much effort apparently.

  11. Solid quality, the kind of work that holds up to a careful read rather than a quick skim, and a quick look at wildnorthoutlet kept that standard going strong, content that rewards attention rather than punishing it is something I appreciate more and more these days online across nearly every topic I follow.

  15. High quality writing, no marketing speak and no buzzwords that mean nothing, and a stop at northdawn kept that going, simple direct content that actually communicates something is harder to find than it should be and this is one of the rare places that gets it right consistently across many different posts.

  16. Now setting up a small reminder to revisit the site on a slow day, and a stop at nicholashirshon confirmed the reminder was a good idea, planning return visits is a small organisational act that signals trust in ongoing quality and this site has earned that planned return through consistent performance across the pieces I have read so far.

  17. A piece that did not waste any of its substance on sales or promotion, and a look at fernpier continued that pure content focus, sites that resist the urge to monetise every paragraph are increasingly rare and this one has clearly made the editorial choice to keep the writing clean from commercial intrusion which I value highly.

  18. Now thinking the topic is more interesting than I had given it credit for, and a stop at loopboughs continued that elevated interest, content that revives my curiosity about subjects I had set aside is doing genuine work in the structure of my interests and this site is providing that revivifying effect today actually.

  19. Walked away in a slightly better mood than when I started reading, that says something about the writing, and a stop at flarefests kept that going, content that leaves you feeling more capable rather than overwhelmed is the kind I keep coming back to again and again over the years and across many topics.

  21. This stands out compared to similar posts I have read recently, less noise and more substance, and a look at goldenhorizonhub 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.

  22. Even from a single post the editorial care is clear, and a stop at urbanbuycorner extended that care across more pages, the kind of attention to quality that shows up in every paragraph is what separates serious sites from the rest and this one has clearly invested in that paragraph level attention across what I have read.

  23. Refreshing to read something where the words actually mean something instead of filling space, and a stop at yungbludcomic kept that going, the writing here trusts the reader to follow along without endless repetition or constant reminders of what was already said earlier in the post which I appreciate.

  24. Without comparing too aggressively to other sources this one stands out for the right reasons, and a look at lacecabin continued that distinctive quality, content that distinguishes itself through substance rather than style tricks is content with lasting differentiation and this site has clearly chosen substance based differentiation as its core editorial strategy.

  25. Liked that the post left some questions open rather than pretending to settle everything, and a stop at etheraisles continued that intellectual honesty, content that respects the limits of its own claims is more trustworthy than content that overreaches and this site has clearly figured out which positions it can defend confidently.

  26. Will be coming back to this for sure, too much good content to absorb in one sitting, and a stop at lobbydawns only added more pages I want to dig through, this site is going onto my regular rotation list because it consistently delivers something worth the visit lately rather than empty filler.

  27. Reading this in a moment of low energy still kept my attention, and a stop at rockyrose continued that engagement under suboptimal conditions, content that survives the reader being tired is content with extra reserves of pull and this site has the kind of writing that holds up even when I am not at my reading best.

  28. During the time spent here I noticed the absence of the usual distractions, and a stop at sunlitwoodenstore extended that distraction free experience, content that does not fight my attention with pop ups and modals and aggressive prompts is content that respects me and this site has clearly chosen the respectful approach throughout.

  32. Honestly this was the highlight of my reading queue today, and a look at frostcoast extended that across more pages I will return to, ranking what I read against what else I read each day is something I do informally and this site keeps moving up in those rankings the more I explore it.

  33. A nicely understated post that does not shout for attention, and a look at epicestate maintained the same quiet quality, understatement is a stylistic choice that distinguishes serious writing from attention seeking writing and this site has clearly committed to the understated approach as a core editorial value rather than just a phase.

  35. Most of the time I bounce off similar pages within seconds, and a stop at urbanleafoutlet held me longer than I would have predicted, the ability to convert a likely bouncing visitor into an engaged reader is a quality signal and this site has demonstrated that conversion ability across multiple visits where I expected to bounce.

  36. The way the post stayed on topic throughout without going on tangents was really refreshing, and a look at curatedfuturemarket kept that focused approach going, discipline like this in writing is rare and worth recognising because most writers cannot resist wandering off into related subjects that dilute their main point and confuse readers along the way.

  37. Came across this looking for something else entirely and ended up reading it through twice, and a look at softgrovecorner pulled me deeper into the site than I planned, the writing has a way of holding attention without resorting to manipulative cliffhangers or vague promises that never get delivered later down the page.

  39. A genuinely unexpected highlight of my reading week, and a look at freshtrendstore extended that pattern, the surprise of finding excellent content rather than the predictable mediocre is one of the few real pleasures of casual web browsing and this site delivered that surprise cleanly today which I really do appreciate.

  40. Useful reading material, the kind I can hand off to someone newer to the topic without worrying about confusing them, and a quick look at coastlinechoice confirmed the same beginner friendly tone runs throughout the site which is great for sharing with people just starting their learning journey on this particular topic.

  42. This filled in a gap in my understanding that I had not even noticed was there, and a stop at pactcliffs did the same, the kind of post that gives you more than you expected when you first clicked through from somewhere else, a real find for anyone curious about the area covered here.

  43. Really thankful for posts that respect a reader’s time, this one does, and a quick look at fieldlagoon was the same, no need to scroll through endless intros just to get to the actual content, that approach alone is enough reason to come back here regularly for the kind of writing offered.

  45. Decent post that improved my afternoon a small amount, and a look at novalog added a bit more to that, sometimes the small wins online add up over time and a useful site like this one is the kind of place that contributes consistently to those small wins for me lately across many different topics I follow.

  49. Most posts I read end up forgotten within a day but this one is sticking, and a look at christmasatthewindmill extended that lingering effect, content that survives the immediate moment of reading rather than evaporating is content with genuine retention quality and this site has been producing memorable pieces at a rate notable across my reading.

  50. Worth recognising that this site does not chase the daily news cycle, and a stop at puregreenoutpost confirmed the longer publication arc, sites that resist the pressure to comment on every passing event are sites with genuine editorial discipline and this one has clearly chosen depth over volume which I respect deeply.

Leave a Reply

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