Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee failed on Tuesday to secure wins in the two Illinois US House primaries it invested the most money in, the latest electoral flop for the pro-Israel lobbying organization whose brand has become increasingly noxious to Democratic voters amid Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza.
In Illinois' 7th and 9th Congressional Districts, AIPAC spent millions backing Chicago treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who finished second, and Democratic State Sen. Laura Fine, who finished third. In the latter race, AIPAC pivoted from initially attacking Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss—who ultimately won—to concentrate on defeating Justice Democrats-backed Kat Abughazaleh.AIPAC, which faced backlash for trying to conceal its spending in the Illinois contests using shell organizations, tried to spin the 9th Congressional District results as a win, despite spending more against Biss than against Abughazaleh.'Though Kat narrowly lost this race, we are proud to have backed this campaign that helped ensure the people of IL-09 would not be represented by another AIPAC shill,' Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, said in a statement. 'This outcome is a massive loss for AIPAC as they lose more and more influence within the Democratic Party. No amount of shell PACs or covert funding can hide their toxicity from Democratic voters, their monopoly over this party’s agenda is coming to an end.”Two AIPAC-backed candidates did prevail Tuesday: Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in the 2nd Congressional District and former Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th Congressional District.AIPAC's mixed results came amid broad alarm over outside spending that flooded Tuesday's midterm primary elections in Illinois, driven by pro-Israel, crypto, and AI special interest groups. Overall, more than $92 million was spent on campaign ads in Tuesday's contests in Illinois, a state record. 'I think we can safely say that almost $100 million spent in a handful of primaries is a full-spectrum disaster for democracy,' wrote David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, which called the torrent of spending 'a corruption of democracy that is relatively unprecedented in modern elections.'The National Journal reported Tuesday that when the national midterm cycle is over, 'the price tag for the Illinois primary will be an important footnote in what’s projected to be the most expensive midterm election ever.''The nonpartisan research firm AdImpact estimates that more than $10.8 billion will be spent on ads alone this cycle,' the Journal observed. 'Even as the competitive map gets smaller, the price tag keeps increasing as more outside deep-pocketed groups invest more in primaries.'Super PACs, entities that can spend unlimited sums boosting their preferred candidates, pumped roughly $31 million into Tuesday's US House primaries in Illinois. AIPAC-linked organizations accounted for around $22 million of the total.'It’s time to kick AIPAC and other billionaire-funded super PACs out of Democratic primaries,' US Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote ahead of Tuesday's races.
Midterms Illinois Super-Pacs Democratic-Party Aipac
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Kat Abughazaleh's chances of winning in Illinois as AIPAC spends big—PollsPolls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. If an individual is in line ahead of 7 p.m., they will be able to cast their vote.
Read more »
Illinois primaries to help decide Sen. Durbin’s replacement and test AIPAC’s influencePolls have closed in Illinois after voters cast ballots in several primary contests that will test the direction of the Democratic Party. Follow for live news updates.
Read more »
Daniel Biss Wins Illinois 9th District Primary After AIPAC Drops MillionsDaniel Biss secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night.
Read more »
Illinois Democrats Just Delivered a Reality Check on AIPACPerspective: There were dual lessons in Illinois for the pro-Israel lobby group and the progressives it is fighting against.
Read more »
AIPAC gets split results for supported candidates in 2026 Illinois primary electionAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee spent reported $22M supporting pro-Israel candidates in Tuesday's IL primary election
Read more »
Gov. JB Pritzker criticizes AIPAC after pro-Israel group spent heavily in Illinois primaryIllinois Gov. JB Pritzker is condemning special interest money that poured into the state ahead of this week’s primary, including from a pro-Israel political group that the billionaire and potential 2028 presidential contender once supported.
Read more »