AIPAC’s Network Has Already Spent $67.2 Million to Shape the Midterm Elections

The giant influx from American Israel Public Affairs Committee PACs is a case study in money distorting politics.

By Derek Seidman, truthout

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has been spending tens of millions of dollars on political races during the current election cycle, aiming to defeat progressive candidates who are critical of Israel and who express support for Palestinians. Many voters might not even be aware of this, because AIPAC-funded ads and mailers often omit any mention of Israel, even though fostering U.S. support for Israel and electing pro-Israel candidates are among the group’s driving aims.

AIPAC’s lobbying and electoral network has so far spent $67.2 million during the current election cycle, up from $29.3 million during the 2021-2022 cycle. These huge amounts of spending have been dedicated to trying to defeat candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Aisha Wahab in California, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and many others.

AIPAC has a range of affiliated and aligned Super PACs and other entities. Some of the most significant ones are AIPAC PAC, the group’s political action committee, which raises money to contribute directly to candidates; United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, which raises and spends much more money on elections independently; and Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) PAC, which is aligned with AIPAC and specifically focuses on Democratic races.

While there are many donors to AIPAC’s electoral influence operation, a small handful of billionaire megadonors — Wall Street tycoons, entertainment moguls, oil and gas barons, sports franchise owners, and others — provide a hugely disproportionate amount of the donations to the key AIPAC and AIPAC-aligned super PACs to intervene in primary and general elections.