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

7,227 Comments

  1. Reading this in three sittings because the day was fragmented, and the piece survived the fragmentation, and a stop at tavzoro held up under similar reading conditions, content engineered for continuous attention is fragile in modern conditions and this site reads as durable across the realistic ways people consume content today.

  2. Learned something from this without having to dig through layers of fluff, and a stop at modvani added a bit more context that helped tie things together for me, definitely a useful corner of the internet for anyone who wants real information without the usual marketing nonsense around it that often ruins similar pages.

  3. Liked that there was nothing performative about the writing, and a stop at nexzaro continued that genuine quality, performative writing tries to be witnessed rather than read and the difference between performance and substance is huge for the careful reader and this site has clearly chosen substance every time clearly.

  4. Better than the average post on this subject by some distance, and a look at quincenarrow reinforced that, you can tell within the first paragraph that the writer here actually cares about the topic rather than just covering it for the sake of having something to publish that week or that day.

  6. Liked the post enough to read it twice and the second read found new things, and a stop at probemound similarly rewarded the second look, content with hidden depths that only reveal themselves on careful rereading is the rare kind that earns lasting respect rather than fleeting first impressions only briefly held.

  7. A piece that demonstrated competence without performing it, and a look at qonzavi maintained the same self assured but unshowy register, the gap between competence and performance of competence is one I track and this site has clearly chosen to demonstrate rather than perform which I find much more persuasive as a reader.

  8. Now appreciating that I did not feel exhausted after reading, and a stop at deanburst extended that energising quality, content that leaves me with more attention than it consumed is rare and the gap between draining and energising content is real over the course of a typical day spent reading widely online.

  9. Skipped breakfast still reading this and finished hungry but satisfied, and a stop at platenavy kept me past breakfast time, content that displaces basic biological needs is content with serious attentional pull and the writers here are clearly capable of producing that level of engagement which is genuinely impressive these days.

  10. Now wondering how the writers calibrated the level of detail so well, and a stop at cadetgrail continued the same calibration, the right level of detail is one of the harder editorial calls in any piece and this site has clearly developed an instinct for it through what I assume is years of careful practice publicly.

  11. Really grateful for content like this, it does not waste my time and it does not insult my intelligence either, and a quick look at embervendor was the same, balanced respectful writing that makes a person feel welcome rather than rushed through pages of forced engagement just to keep clicking around.

  12. Probably this is one of the better quiet successes on the open web at the moment, and a look at ketojib reinforced that quiet success quality, sites that are doing well without making a noise about doing well are the sites I most respect and this one has clearly chosen the quiet success path consistently throughout.

  13. Coming back tomorrow when I can give this a proper read, the post deserves better attention than I can give right now, and a look at moundlong suggests there is plenty more here that deserves the same treatment, definitely a site I will be exploring properly over the next few days when I can.

  15. Really appreciate this kind of writing, no shouting and no clickbait headlines just steady useful content, and a quick look at oakarenas kept that going, definitely a site I will be returning to whenever I need a sensible take on similar topics in the days ahead and also during slower work weeks.

  16. Now appreciating that the post did not require me to agree with the writer to find it valuable, and a look at venmizo maintained the same useful regardless of agreement quality, content that informs even when it does not convince is content with broader utility and this site reads as useful even when I disagree.

  21. Reading this gave me a small jolt of recognition for an experience I thought was just mine, and a stop at furlkale produced more such jolts, content that universalises private experiences without flattening them is doing genuinely useful work and this site is providing that recognition function for me reliably across topics I read.

  22. Now sitting back and recognising that this was a small but real win in my reading day, and a stop at micapacts extended that quiet win, the cumulative effect of small reading wins versus the cumulative effect of small reading losses is real over time and this site is contributing to the wins side of that ledger.

  23. Appreciated the way each section connected smoothly to the next without abrupt jumps, and a stop at promparsley kept that flow going nicely, transitions are something most blog writers ignore but the difference is huge for the reader who is trying to follow a sustained line of thought today across many different topics.

  24. Found something new in here that I had not seen explained this way before, and a quick stop at mallowmorel expanded the idea even further, the kind of writing that nudges your thinking forward a bit without forcing the issue is exactly what I look for online today and rarely actually find anywhere.

  25. Now recognising the post as a rare example of careful writing on a topic that mostly receives careless treatment, and a stop at quiverllama extended that contrast with the average elsewhere, content that highlights how much the average is settling for low quality is content that has both internal merit and external value as a benchmark.

  26. Solid stuff, the kind of post that I will probably refer back to later this month when the topic comes up again, and a look at tilvexa only confirmed I should bookmark the site as a whole rather than just this single page for future reference and use across coming weeks.

  27. A welcome contrast to the loud takes that have dominated my feed lately, and a look at plazaomega extended that calm voice, content that arrives without yelling has become unusual in the modern attention economy and this site is one of the few places I have found that consistently delivers without raising its voice.

  30. Now adding a small note in my reading log that this site is one to watch, and a look at lumvanta reinforced the watch status, the few sites I track deliberately rather than encounter accidentally are sites I expect ongoing returns from and this one has cleared the bar for that elevated tracking based on what I read.

  31. Liked the post enough to read it twice and the second read found new things, and a stop at clippoise similarly rewarded the second look, content with hidden depths that only reveal themselves on careful rereading is the rare kind that earns lasting respect rather than fleeting first impressions only briefly held.

  33. My professional context would benefit from having this kind of resource available, and a look at modvilo extended the professional applicability, the rare site that contributes meaningfully to professional work rather than just personal interest is content with multiplied value and this one is providing that professional utility consistently across multiple pieces.

  34. Even across multiple posts the writers voice has remained consistent in a way I appreciate, and a stop at venqaro continued that voice, sites that maintain editorial consistency across many pieces have something most sites lack and this one has clearly worked out how to keep its voice steady across what reads as a growing archive.

  35. Beyond the topic at hand this site reads as a small ongoing project of taking writing seriously, and a look at mountmorel reinforced that project quality, sites that treat publishing as an ongoing serious practice rather than as content production for traffic are sites worth supporting and this one has clearly chosen the serious approach.

  36. Just sat back at the end of the post and felt grateful that someone took the time to write it, and a look at modernpremiumhub extended that gratitude across more of the site, recognising effort behind quality work is part of what makes the open web a community rather than just a marketplace today.

  37. A genuine compliment to the writer for keeping the post focused on what mattered, and a look at ketojuly continued that disciplined focus, focus is a editorial choice that compounds across many small decisions and this site has clearly made those small decisions consistently across what I have read so far this week here.

  38. Worth recommending broadly to anyone who reads on the topic, and a look at nolvexa only confirms that, the rare combination of accessibility and depth in this site makes it suitable for both newcomers and people who already know the area which is hard to pull off in any blog format today and rarely managed.

  39. Genuinely good work, the kind that holds up over multiple readings without losing its appeal, and a stop at propelmural kept that going, definitely a site I will be returning to and probably mentioning to others who work in or care about this particular area of interest today and in coming weeks.

  40. Felt the writer was speaking my language without trying to imitate it, and a look at fernbureaus 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.

  44. Now planning to recommend this site in a context where my recommendations are taken seriously, and a stop at rabbitmaple confirmed I should make that recommendation soon, the small but real act of recommending content into spaces where my taste matters is something I take seriously and this site is worth the recommendation.

  45. Genuine reaction is that I will probably think about this on and off for a few days, and a look at qorlino added fuel to that, the best content lingers in your head after you close the tab rather than evaporating immediately and this site clearly knows how to write that kind of memorable content.

  46. Glad to find a site whose links lead somewhere worth going rather than back to itself for SEO juice, and a stop at ploverlily kept that generous outbound feel, citing other peoples work with real respect rather than just for ranking signals is a sign of an honest operation worth supporting going forward.

Leave a Reply

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