WASHINGTON, DC – J Street Action Fund, the independent expenditure arm of the leading pro-Israel, pro-peace group J Street, announced today a major $700,000 TV ad campaign in Michigan-11’s highly competitive Democratic primary between Reps. Andy Levin and Haley Stevens. The group’s ads highlight Stevens’ reliance on millions of dollars in support from the right-wing group AIPAC and its GOP megadonor-funded SuperPAC.
J Street Action Fund’s ad will begin running in the district this week through Election Day. It can be viewed here.
While AIPAC’s PAC has endorsed and fundraised for over 109 Republican Members of Congress who voted to overturn the presidential election on January 6, 2021, the group’s “United Democracy Project” SuperPAC (UDP) has simultaneously spent over $16 million in primaries to attack and defeat principled progressive Democrats. UDP recently received $1 million each from billionaire Republican mega-donors Paul Singer and Bernie Marcus.
UDP has already spent over $1.5 million to support Stevens, while AIPAC’s PAC has contributed nearly $500,000 directly to Stevens’ campaign. Despite the group’s endorsement of far-right anti-democratic Republicans – including the likes of Jim Jordan, Scott Perry and Elise Stefanik – and their reliance on GOP megadonor funding, Stevens has continued to accept their support and refused to disavow it.
“Democratic voters in Michigan’s 11th district deserve to know that AIPAC, a group that endorses 109 insurrectionist-aligned Republicans, is funneling millions of dollars from GOP megadonors into support for Haley Stevens – targeting Andy Levin simply because he stands for the principled views and goals of mainstream Democrats,” said J Street’s Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Rachlin. “We’re proud to do all we can to back the candidacy of Andy Levin, a fighter for democratic values and a true champion for the pro-Israel, pro-peace beliefs that most Jewish-Americans share.”
AIPAC/UDP’s activities in MI-11 reflect a pattern visible in other Democratic primaries – like Maryland-04, where the group has spent a nearly unprecedented $4 million attacking former four-term Congresswoman Donna Edwards – who, like Andy Levin, they have absurdly smeared as “anti-Israel.” The unprecedented volume of outside spending – evidently aimed at electing Democrats who will embrace AIPAC’s unpopular, right-leaning Middle East policies – exacerbates divides in the Party and harmfully turns the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into more of a political wedge issue.
The J Street Action Fund was created in the 2022 cycle to help counter such harmful right-wing efforts, and to demonstrate that candidates who adopt principled, pro-Israel, pro-peace, anti-occupation positions are in line with the views of most American Jews and can expect significant support from the community. It has supported candidates in several competitive primaries, including the victorious Delia Ramirez in IL-03 and Summer Lee in PA-12.