Pro-Israel AIPAC's allies are dwindling in the US Congress
Despite spending tens of millions of dollars, most AIPAC-backed candidates were defeated in the elections, Politico reported.
Quick Look
- According to Politico, although AIPAC spent tens of millions of dollars in the November 3 midterm elections, the vast majority of the candidates it supported lost.
- It is stated that the lobby group has difficulty, especially in the face of criticism against Israeli policies.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
AIPAC is a powerful lobbying organization that supports pro-Israel candidates in US elections. Before the November 3 midterm elections, the lobby group changed its strategy.
In the news on the Politico website, it was stated that the number of Congress members who had close relations with AIPAC decreased even more after the midterm elections on November 3, and that opposing candidates won the race in many constituencies despite the lobbying organization spending tens of millions of dollars.
"This week, more than 30 candidates favored by the bipartisan group (Republicans and Democrats) fell out. This means that AIPAC-backed politicians were defeated in more than three-quarters of the contested races whose results were announced." statements were included.
It was stated in the news that Republican Representative Mike Lawler from New York, Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania and Max Miller from Ohio were among the important names who lost the House of Representatives election despite the support of AIPAC, and it was also underlined that Republican Senator and budget commission chairman Susan Collins from Maine, supported by the pro-Israel lobby, lost against Democrat Troy Jackson.
In the news of the website, it was noted that AIPAC spent tens of millions of dollars to prevent Abdul el-Sayed of Egyptian origin, who was nominated by the Democrats in the state of Michigan and elected as the first Muslim senator in the country's history, to win, but could not get the candidate it supported to be elected.
According to the news, Sayed said in his victory speech, "I call out to the super PACs (Political Action Committees) and special interest groups who are trying to defeat us: We are after your political system. Thank you to AIPAC, which spent 42 million dollars against us, for giving you the opportunity to defeat you twice." It was stated that:
It was determined in the news that most of the losses suffered by AIPAC throughout the USA in the last midterm elections were not only due to policy debates about Israel, and the impact of this "heavy defeat" on the fact that the candidates supported by the pro-Israel lobby lost against alternative candidates criticizing Israel in the Democratic Party primaries was also emphasized.
Pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, which changed its strategy before the midterm elections on November 3 after the decrease in support for Israel in the US public, announced that it would end direct support and certain amounts of donations to candidates in the elections as of October 22.
Open Questions
- How will AIPAC's future election strategy change?
