QUESTION 1): Does an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) endorsement help or hurt a particular candidate in the August 4 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate?
ANSWER 1): It certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI 11) right now, or in her previous runs for Congress. An AIPAC endorsement typically comes with a certain amount of cash, and Stevens has received significant financial backing from AIPAC and its network. In the 2022 election cycle, AIPAC bundled over $940,000 for her Congressional re-election campaign, and reported donations and bundled funds have continued to grow into her 2026 Senate run. She describes herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat” and an unwavering “Zionist.” She has opposed calls to label Israel’s military response in Gaza a genocide and has criticized the United Nations for what she characterizes as biased targeting of Israel.
Needless to say, Stevens’s close ties to AIPAC have made her a frequent target for progressive and Arab American activists, particularly supporters of Abdul El-Sayed, one of Stevens’s Democratic primary opponents. For example, during the Michigan Democrats’ spring endorsement convention on April 19, pro-Palestinian delegates heckled Stevens and chanted “shame on you” during her speech, while cheering El-Sayed.
In her 2026 U.S. Senate race, Stevens faces primary opponents — both El-Sayed and state Senator Mallory McMorrow — who have sworn off AIPAC donations and criticized U.S. policy in Gaza, further highlighting Stevens’s pro-Israel positioning as a key dividing line in the state. However, McMorrow in the last few years has taken money from AIPAC as well as donors who have contributed to AIPAC, drawing scorn from El-Sayed for trying to have it “both ways” by straddling the combustible issue.
Some Democratic activists see AIPAC as the kiss of death, even if a particular candidate isn’t a progressive Democrat. True, the impact of being beholden to AIPAC can be quite negative in some special elections around the country, but special elections are not regular primary elections. The Aug. 4 Michigan Democratic primary is just that — a PRIMARY where all registered voters can cast ballots. There’s scant evidence that being pro-Palestinian or anti-Zionist yields much campaign cash to candidates, but t
The difficulty for Democrats is that their party is polarized between Zionists and pro-Palestine/anti-Semites. August 4 will be a test of whether older, more mainstream Democrats will turn out in force to vote for Stevens, as opposed to far fewer, younger, pro-Palestinian delegates with skimpier wallets at the 4/19 conclave.
Plus, Stevens just picked up endorsements from former U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and ex-Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Stevens is in the midst of a month-long $6 million media blitz fueled at least partly by AIPAC money.
Of course, we should keep in mind that Arab-Americans and/or Muslims (they’re not necessarily the same) make up only about 4% of Michigan’s population at most, although the percentage of such voters in a Democratic primary is much higher. Whatever it is, that’s just a fraction of the electorate, be it primary or general. However, it’s probably twice as big as the Jewish population, and El-Sayed is the best retail politician in the bunch.
All that said, will AIPAC or the Jews vs. Arab/Muslim divide really be a determining factor in what happens Aug. 4, or will other issues take precedence?
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