More than any other outside group is spending money on the midterm elections in 2026, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The pro-Israel advocacy group has spent millions of dollars in races all over the country.
AIPAC’s main method is the United Democracy Project (UDP), which is a vehicle to spend money at elections. UDP is a super PAC, and therefore legally allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections without being connected to political candidates in any way – and is regulated by the Federal Election Commission.
OpenSecrets‘ campaign finance data shows that UDP has already spent $54 million in congressional races. To date, the pro-Israel donor network has committed $71 million, the second-largest amount of money raised outside of elections other than in the cryptocurrency sector.
Yet, amid its huge financial resources, AIPAC is facing heavy opposition on the floor of the United States on both its activities in American elections and for its unconditional military support for Israel. It has been targeting the Democratic primaries to silence the critics, but it has suffered a number of political failures in recent years, many of which have been costly.
In Michigan, AIPAC and allies put $30 million into an unsuccessful campaign to stop progressive Abdul El-Sayed from defeating establishment-backed Haley Stevens for the Democratic Senate nomination. Progressives have also beaten candidates who were funded by AIPAC in the last couple of elections in California, Illinois and New York.
The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft pointed to the “unusuality of this funding network.” UDP was the Michigan state’s biggest absolute spender, but 97 percent of the bulk of its spending had been out-of-state and its top donors were billion-dollar Republican donors, Institute representatives said.
The progressive left is no longer the only one who has concerns about the group’s “excessive spending”. Recently, however, Republicans who want to see AIPAC remain neutral in the election, and hope that its actions don’t turn off voters in Michigan’s Arab-American heartland, asked the group to cease running public ads for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
The mounting unease is partly a change in American sentiments after the terrible Gaza war, and the spreading unrest in the Middle East. According to a Quinnipiac University Poll report, 48 percent (and a record 66 percent of Democrats) think Washington is too supportive of Israel.
AIPAC’s political clout and wealth is on the rise, but the midterm primaries show that big money and name recognition aren’t enough to win. In many races, this once-very sought-after endorsement has become a very polarizing campaign issue that candidates try to stay away from.
