AIPAC Spends Record $30 Million Against Michigan Senate Hopeful El-Sayed Amid Primary Battle

Chants of "Down with AIPAC" echoed at a campaign rally for Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed in a Detroit suburb, highlighting the intense focus on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's involvement in Michigan's primary. Analysts suggest this race could shape the Democratic Party's future stance on Israel.

Michigan state legislator Alabas Farhat vowed at the rally that voters would make the pro-Israel group "burn" millions of dollars by electing El-Sayed. He criticized the allocation of funds, stating, "The status quo has told us for a long time that we don’t have money for modern schools; we don’t have money for clean water to drink, for health care, for affordable housing. But when we call up money to go and bomb children in Gaza, to do an ethnic cleansing campaign in South Lebanon – this administration seems to find that money."

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Down with AIPAC

While Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar also spoke, El-Sayed's opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, was barely mentioned. Instead, AIPAC, which is reportedly spending record amounts to defeat candidates critical of Israeli policies, was repeatedly denounced. El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former public health official, is challenging four-term incumbent Stevens for the seat of retiring Senator Gary Peters.

Federal Election Commission records reveal that AIPAC and other PACs have spent over $54 million to support Stevens. An additional $6.5 million from a dark-money group, the Center for Democratic Priorities, has also been spent on ads favoring Stevens, bringing the total to over $60 million. AIPAC's election arm, United Democracy Project (UDP), has specifically spent $30,638,639.63 in the race, a record for the organization. UDP is funded and directed by AIPAC, which is its largest donor.

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The status quo has told us for a long time that we don’t have money for modern schools; we don’t have money for clean water to drink, for health care, for affordable housing. But when we call up money to go and bomb children in Gaza, to do an ethnic cleansing campaign in South Lebanon – this administration seems to find that money.