As the Congressional midterm elections to be held in the USA on November 3 are approaching, the influence of lobby groups on the elections is also being discussed.
While disagreements continue in the country, especially due to the ongoing attacks in Gaza, the pro-Israel American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) stands out as one of the most prominent foreign lobby groups.
According to the website "OpenSecrets", which analyzes election campaigns, groups affiliated with AIPAC have spent more than $100 million so far on pro-Israel candidates who will compete on November 3.
However, despite this expenditure, it did not go unnoticed that AIPAC-supported candidates were defeated, especially in races closely watched by the public and the press.
AIPAC, which was founded in 1954 under the name "American Zionist Public Affairs Committee" and changed its name to "American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee" in 1959, defends the United States' unconditional support for Israel and opposes criticism of Israel.
The committee, whose purpose was to persuade Congress to support Israel's economy and integrate Jewish immigrants into society, expanded its purpose to the areas of military aid and joint defense cooperation after the 6-Day War in 1967 and the Arab-Israeli War in 1973.
While AIPAC did not directly support any political candidate until the early 1980s, it began to support small pro-Israel groups from then on.
As of December 2021, AIPAC began to support candidates directly.
According to the New York Times, the money AIPAC has spent on candidates running for Congress since 2022 has more than doubled, from about $30 million to more than $70 million.
Despite this, the success of this lobby group, originating from the foreign country that pours the most money into the elections, in the elections is controversial.
Especially in the elections in Michigan and California, AIPAC-supported candidates suffered a great defeat against Muslim candidates.
AIPAC suffered its biggest defeat in the primaries for these midterm elections in the state of Michigan.
The group supported U.S. House of Representatives Haley Stevens against Abdul El-Sayed, a medical doctor of Egyptian descent, in the Democratic race in Michigan.
El-Sayed, who will be the first Muslim senator to be elected to the US Senate if he wins the elections in November, describes Israel's attacks on the Palestinian people as genocide and argues that the resources provided to Israel should be directed to health, housing and infrastructure investments in the US.
AIPAC poured $30 million into Stevens in this race, thus providing the most financial support to a single candidate to date.
But on August 5, El-Sayed won the Michigan primary, and AIPAC suffered a major blow.
AIPAC, which was also defeated in the primaries in Illinois and New York, took its final blow in California.
After AIPAC, Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned from his post in California due to sexual assault allegations against him, a race began among Democrats between Aisha Wahab of Afghan origin and Melissa Hernandez, who is supported by AIPAC.
Wahab emerged victorious in the special election held in the state on August 20. This was one of AIPAC's prominent defeats.
The Washington Post newspaper stated that AIPAC-affiliated groups spent nearly $2.5 million to help Wahab's opponent, Melissa Hernandez, win.
Wahab was a prominent candidate when he described Israel's attacks on Palestine as "genocide".
The American public's opinion on Israel changed especially after the attacks launched against the Palestinians on October 7, 2023.
In a survey published by Quinnipiac University in June, it was noted that 48 percent of the American public thought that "the Washington administration supports Israel too much." This was the highest rate in history in the survey.
On the other hand, according to political analysts speaking to the US press and The New Arab's report dated July 2026, AIPAC, which achieved an overwhelming success rate of 98 percent in the candidates it supported in the 2022 elections, is thought to fall below this performance in the 2026 midterm elections.
Accordingly, this success rate is expected to decrease to the 60 percent to 70 percent range due to the increasing grassroots reaction.
On the other hand, according to New York Times research, as the public's opinion about Israel began to change, AIPAC no longer directly mentions the name "Israel" in its election advertisements.
The research stated that between April 2022 and July 2026, AIPAC funded 109 television and digital advertisements for the American elections.
However, only 6 of these ads directly mentioned Israel.
Instead, the ads in question, although specifically designed to boost candidates who support Israel, focused on issues like abortion rights and the economy, which polls show are higher priorities for many voters.
On the other hand, AIPAC's refusal to register with the Department of Justice under FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) is also a long-standing controversy.
While critics argue that AIPAC should be brought under FARA, arguing that its lobbying activities directly support the goals of the Israeli government, AIPAC refuses to register, arguing that it has no foreign officials on its board of directors, does not receive funding directly from the Israeli government, and is run entirely by U.S. donors.
FARA was enacted in 1938 to counter Nazi and Soviet influence and required individuals or entities operating in the interests of a foreign state to register with the Department of Justice.
