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democratic primaries
Bowman Calls for Primary Voters to Reject AIPAC Money at Rally With Sanders, AOC
Flanked by progressive heavyweights, Rep. Jamaal Bowman called for "the many" to defeat "the money" of AIPAC, which has set funding records in its effort to help defeat the pro-Palestine Congressman.
Jun 22, 2024
Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a prominent critic of Israel's war on Gaza, called on Saturday for voters to defeat the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has poured millions of dollars into defeating him, as he made his final campaign push before the Democratic primary in New York's 16th Congressional District on Tuesday.
The contest has seen one of the largest influxes of money of any U.S. House of Representatives primary race in history, mainly because of AIPAC's super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP), which has spent more than any interest group has ever spent on a House race—more than $14 million, according to The New York Times.
"AIPAC is scared to death," Bowman (D-N.Y.) said at an animated rally in the Bronx in which Sen. Bernie Sander (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also spoke. "They are afraid they have already lost," he said, citing public opposition to AIPAC's agenda.
"They are in this race because we called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza," Bowman said of AIPAC. "And we’re going to keep calling for a permanent cease-fire."
Progressive standard-bearers Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez came to the rally, where placards read "for the many, not the money," to help stave off a possible Bowman defeat to challenger George Latimer, a pro-Israel Democrat who leads in the polls. An Emerson College poll from early June showed Latimer up 17 points, 48% to 31%. The race has been seen as a bellwether for the fate of other pro-Palestine progressives such as Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who faces a primary challenge in August.
It is TWO million degrees but we are happy to be alive folks @JamaalBowmanNY @AOC @BernieSanders take The Bronx pic.twitter.com/Q0KArxNOWm
— Anna Bahr (@anna_bahr) June 22, 2024
Latimer has not just the backing of AIPAC but also some local support and connections. He is the Westchester County Executive and has political clout there—Politico called him "the Cher of suburban New York." The 16th district includes the southern part of the county and a slice of the northern Bronx, giving it a wide mix of demographics.
Latimer was accused by Bowman and others of using an Islamophobic dog whistle in a recent debate, when Latimer said that Bowman's constituency was Dearborn, Michigan—a majority Arab-American city.
In a blow to Bowman, who has described himself as an "outspoken Black man," Jewish voters in the county recently formed Westchester Unites, a group that has mobilized votes for Latimer, including a substantial proportion of the early and mail-in voting that's already underway.
The race has been "nationalized," or "Israelized," as The Nation's Richard Lingeman wrote, with the two candidates' positions on Gaza dictating their fundraising hauls.
The Times reported that UDP was spending up to "$17,000 an hour" and "filling television screens, stuffing mailboxes, and clogging phone lines with caustic attacks." Other pro-Israel groups have also given money.
UDP's ads and messages "almost never" mention Israel, the Times noted. This is in keeping with AIPAC's strategy in races across the country as support for Israel's war on Gaza wanes.
Yet the groups attacking Bowman plan to put forward a different message if the race goes they way they want.
"Assuming the outcome is as we expect it, the message is going to be that being pro-Israel is not just wise policy, it's smart politics," said Mark Mellman, founder of the Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group that spent $1 million against Bowman, told the Times.
Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesman, told the Times that Latimer was "pro-Israel" while "Jamaal Bowman has refused to support the Jewish state as it fights a moral and just war against Iranian terrorist proxies."
The pro-Israel lobby's all-out attack on Bowman for his opposition to the war led Karen Attiah, columnist at The Washington Post, to label its strategy as "shut up or else"—a way of using money to silence public criticism of Israel.
Sanders, who campaigned with Bowman both Friday and Saturday, emphasized the same disturbing dimension to AIPAC's efforts. "This is the message of this campaign: You stand up to powerful interests, they will try to bring you down,” he told the Times.
"Are we a democracy or an oligarchy?" Sanders wrote on social media Thursday, pointing to AIPAC's spending in the Bowman race.
People in New York have also expressed opposition to AIPAC's attempt to influence a local race.
"The funding toward Latimer from AIPAC has definitely turned me off a lot," Sasha Fuller, a 23-year old who attended a Bowman rally on Friday, told the Times. "He’s kind of a more traditional corporate Democrat, so I don’t really support his politics."
Just as Bowman argued that AIPAC was scared, some of his supporters have found a silver lining in the group's blitz of attack ads. Jeremy Cohan, spokesperson for the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said the spending was a sign of change, as public opinion moves further from the positions of groups like AIPAC.
"I do see it as, to some degree, a sign of desperation," Cohan told Al Jazeera.
“They are doing that because they see where the tides are moving," he added. "They see where history is moving.”
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Progressives Brought Down Under Crush of AIPAC-Affiliated Money in Oregon Primaries
"This race showed so clearly why we need to have real campaign finance reform," said Susheela Jayapal, who lost after being outspent 30-to-1.
May 22, 2024
Progressives lost two Democratic primary races in Oregon on Tuesday following heavy spending by outside groups, including at least one tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has spent heavily to oppose left-wing and pro-Palestinian candidates in races across the U.S. in recent months.
In Oregon's 3rd Congressional District, Maxine Dexter defeated Susheela Jayapal, taking 51.1% of the vote to just 28.6% for Jayapal as of Wednesday morning. Jayapal—the elder sister of Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has been critical of Israel—was seen as the most progressive candidate in the race and a potential new member of her sister's caucus. The Portland-area seat is solidly blue and Dexter is expected to win easily in the general election.
Dexter, a member of the state House, received an enormous boost from outside groups, which spent roughly $7 million in supporting her and opposing Jayapal. Pro-Israeli donors funneled $2.2 million through 314 Action Fund, a political action committee (PAC) that served as a vehicle for AIPAC donors, according to The Intercept. Another PAC attacking Jayapal called Voters for Responsive Government, newly formed for this race, has not yet had to release its donor list. Ultimately, Dexter's supporters outspent Jayapal's 30-to-1, HuffPost reported.
"This race showed so clearly why we need to have real campaign finance reform that allows for public financing," Susheela Jayapal wrote on social media Wednesday, criticizing the role of outside super PACs, which she said timed their contributions so they wouldn't have to reveal their donors until after the primary.
The outside group spending gap was, by my calculation, 30 to 1 in favor of Dexter.
And we still don't know who was funding "Voters for Responsive Government," the mysterious super PAC that sprang up to attack Jayapal. pic.twitter.com/Vac6YVTwjL
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) May 22, 2024
AIPAC didn't formally endorse Dexter during the primary race but did congratulate her on Tuesday night in a social media post.
AIPAC congratulates @doctormaxine on her Democratic primary win!
AIPAC members were proud to support Maxine Dexter in her race against an anti-Israel opponent endorsed by @BernieSanders, @AOC, and @jstreetdotorg.
Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics! https://t.co/74h3TFdusd
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) May 22, 2024
Another state representative, Janelle Bynum, won the Democratic primary in Oregon's 5th Congressional District with 68.9% of the vote, defeating progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner in a race in which outside spending was also somewhat lopsided, according to OpenSecrets data. 314 Action Fund poured nearly $500,000 into the race. The Intercept's Ryan Grim argued that the PAC's involvement in this race revealed the hollowness of its claim to support scientists and pro-science candidates—Bynum is a McDonald's franchise owner.
Unlike Oregon's 3rd District, its 5th District will likely have a competitive race in November, with Bynum seeking to unseat incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), who narrowly defeated McLeod-Skinner in 2022. National Democrats have their eyes on the seat, which is seen as highly winnable, with President Joe Biden having won the district handily in 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee supported Bynum with more than $1 million in the primary, according to CNN.
As elsewhere, pro-Israel groups funded ads in Oregon that had nothing to do with Israel or Palestine. This a strategic decision by AIPAC and its super PAC, United Democracy Project (UDP), thanks to growing support for the Palestinian cause, according to Politico.
AIPAC chooses races carefully, sometimes focusing on preventing progressives such as Susheela Jayapal from entering office rather than on dislodging existing members. After spending millions against Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) in 2022, UDP stayed out of this year's primary, in which the "Squad" member faced a pro-Israeli Democrat. Lee won the primary handily last month, even though her opponent was backed by a billionaire megadonor.
Yet UDP does take on Squad members when it sees opportunity: It's pouring big resources into primary challenges to Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.). Bowman faces a pro-Israel Democrat on June 25, Bush on August 6.
"Jamaal Bowman has his own agenda and refuses to compromise—even with President Biden," a UDP attack ad says, criticizing him for not supporting legislation backed by most congressional Democrats.
Commentators have pointed out that the resources that progressive groups must use to defend the seats of Bowman and Bush limits their ability to help newcomers such as Susheela Jayapal.
"In a different cycle, Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party might have been able to help Susheela Jayapal, but they have their hands full—and their wallets committed—as they seek to defend Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush," Daniel Marans, a politics reporter at HuffPost, wrote on social media Wednesday.
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Surpassing Goal, 47,000+ Wisconsin Democrats Vote 'Uninstructed' in Primary
"Rather than dismissing the wave of votes being made to stand in support of Palestine, listen to the demands the movement is making and shift policies," said one campaigner. "Stop sending weapons to Israel."
Apr 03, 2024
Campaigners with Listen to Wisconsin had hoped they could convince 20,000 Democratic primary voters on Tuesday to select "uninstructed delegate" on their ballots to send the message to President Joe Biden that he can't yet count on their votes in the November general election due to his support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
After organizing for less than a month, the campaign far surpassed its goal, with more than 47,800 people voting for the uninstructed option.
The results show "how serious of a problem Biden will have in the general election" if he does not change his policy regarding Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories," said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
About 8.4% of voters in the primary voted for "uninstructed delegate" over the president, in a state where Biden beat former President Donald Trump by less than 1%—just 20,682 votes—in 2020
The primary came just over a month after the Listen to Michigan campaign started the nationwide push for Democratic primary voters to vote "uncommitted" in order to pressure Biden to change his policy in Israel, whose U.S.-backed military has killed at least 32,975 Palestinian people in Gaza.
Wisconsin voters went to the polls a day after a Israeli shelling killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, including one U.S.-Canadian citizen. An Al Jazeera investigation found the attack was intentional.
Nearly 20% of Minnesota Democratic primary voters last month voted "uncommitted," as well as 13% of Michigan voters. On Tuesday, 15% and 12% of voters in Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively, marked "uncommitted" on their ballots.
Iman Abid, director of advocacy and organizing at the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, said the results, particularly in crucial swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, must not be ignored by the Biden administration.
"Rather than dismissing the wave of votes being made to stand in support of Palestine, listen to the demands the movement is making and shift policies," said Abid. "Stop sending weapons to Israel."
A poll released Monday by Poll Progressive Strategies showed that voters under the age of 29 in Wisconsin are among those pushing most strongly for Biden to demand a permanent cease-fire, to halt military aid to Israel, and to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gazans. One hundred percent of voters in the age bracket said they strongly or somewhat approved of an immediate and permanent cease-fire.
"This president must decide if loyalty to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November," said former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner. "He must decide."
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