Democrats hoping to run to become president in two years have shunned donations from the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC).
Many Democrat hopefuls have already sworn off donations from the pro-Israel political group. This includes:
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who received donations bundled by AIPAC as recently as December, now said that he has sworn off donations from the group.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he never has and “never will” take donations from AIPAC.
- Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) vowed he would not “take AIPAC money” anymore.
- A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) said he had “never taken money or solicited support from AIPAC.”
- A spokesperson for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said, “AIPAC has never contributed to Gov. Beshear and they’re never going to. Ever.”
AIPAC has become politically toxic for money in Democrat circles as many in the party have criticized the Israeli government, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many Democrats previously close to AIPAC believe that the historically bipartisan group has become much closer to Netanyahu’s rightwing government.
Mark Longabaughm, a Democrat strategist who advised Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2016 presidential campaign, said, “This is going to be a huge flashpoint in the primary throughout 2027 and into 2028. The constitution of the party just in the makeup of the voters has changed dramatically. The politics of Israel has changed dramatically.”
AIPAC reportedly spent $22 million in Illinois primaries last week to mixed results. Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire, accused the group of becoming pro-Trump.
“I don’t believe we should be accepting any PAC money at all from anybody,” Booker said, explaining that his move against AIPAC money is part of a broader strategy to avoid any PAC donations.
Gallego said that taking money and endorsements from AIPAC would be akin to “endorsing what’s happening right now” in Iran and Gaza.
Politico noted that many high-profile progressives have sparred with AIPAC, while some potential White House candidates have dodged the question:
And progressives like Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who have been highly critical of the Israeli government and have repeatedly sparred with AIPAC, have accused the group of targeting their campaigns and long rejected its financial aid. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) bluntly told POLITICO: “I don’t take their money, they’re running ads against me.”
Other potential White House aspirants attempted to dodge the question. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), for instance, said he has “individuals who support me” when asked if he would reject AIPAC’s backing. Several more did not respond when reached through spokespeople, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, said, “Efforts to push pro-Israel Democrats out of the political process are alarming and fundamentally undemocratic.”
“We are going to work with mainstream Democrats across the party to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship, and that includes presidential contenders,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, said. “We’re going to remind everybody about the millions of pro-Israel Democratic voters who are part of the political process in federal elections.”
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