J Street Action Fund Announces $3 Million Ad Campaign Taking On AIPAC-Backed Anti-Democracy Candidates

Washington, DC – J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy organization, announced today the five Senate and House races where the J Street Action Fund Super PAC will spend $3 million in the 2026 midterm elections.

The ads target Reps. Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate race, Max Miller in OH-07, Derrick Van Orden in WI-03, Ryan Mackenzie in PA-07 and Mariannette Miller-Meeks in IA-01.

This investment marks the first time that the J Street Action Fund has gone on offense against AIPAC-backed incumbents in a significant number of competitive Congressional races. It is the organization’s largest Super PAC investment in its history and, combined with over $7 million in bundled conduit support for candidates, makes 2026 a record-setting cycle for J Street’s political spending in Congressional elections.

“J Street Action Fund’s investment in these targeted races represents the views of a majority of Jewish Americans who understand that we need to preserve American democracy and fight xenophobia in all its forms to keep our communities safe,” said Tali deGroot, VP of Political and Digital Strategy at J Street. “While AIPAC supports deeply unqualified, antisemitic and anti-democracy candidates to preserve blank-check support for the Netanyahu government, J Street is committed to exclusively supporting candidates who will fight for peace and democracy in the US and abroad.”

This cycle alone, AIPAC has spent tens of millions of dollars aiming to elect candidates who embrace an unconditional, no-questions-asked approach to Israel’s government. This approach is increasingly at odds with public opinion, prompting AIPAC to use shell PACs and other means to hide their spending. Increasingly, AIPAC’s endorsement is a liability, not an asset. Now, even conservative candidates like Mike Rogers in Michigan have asked AIPAC to not get publicly involved in their race.

J Street takes the opposite approach. We are deeply committed to transparency and will always be public about which candidates we support in any given race. We are investing in candidates who reflect the views that the vast majority of Jewish Americans and the broader electorate share: support for Israel alongside strong support for Palestinian rights, diplomacy, democracy and a US policy willing to hold allies accountable.

The J Street Action Fund is proud to invest in candidates who represent the nuanced, pro-peace approach that aligns with the mainstream of the American Jewish community and the Democratic Party. All of the candidates benefiting from J Street Action Fund support are facing AIPAC-backed MAGA extremists.

The Targets

Mike Collins (GA-Sen) has a pattern of close associations with neo-Nazis and white nationalists, including Nick Fuentes, Richard Spencer and his own staff. One of Collins’ former staffers has posted images of a swastika and himself wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe, as well as white supremacist slogans. Another former Collins staffer shouted antisemitic insults at a member of Congress. Collins himself has made posts on social media reinforcing antisemitic stereotypes. Collins’ son-in-law, who shares an address with him, has also repeatedly promoted white nationalist and antisemitic rhetoric online. Collins also denies the results of the 2020 election and believes the US government should pay reparations to insurrectionists who were convicted for their participation in the January 6 riots at the Capitol. Aside from these issues, Collins is the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee that should be disqualifying on its own.

Max Miller (OH-07) is facing credible allegations of physically and emotionally abusing his ex-wife and their daughter. Miller has also allegedly violated a 2023 non-disparagement agreement with his ex-girlfriend over a defamation lawsuit Miller brought against her for alleging he abused her. In addition, Miller is a former White House senior advisor to Trump who helped plan the January 6 rally denying the results of the 2020 election, which led to the insurrection at the Capitol. Miller is a threat to others and he is unfit to serve in Congress.

Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) personally participated in the January 6 insurrection and has a history of making antisemitic comments, including tweeting a Nazi reference at a Jewish former Cabinet secretary and comparing COVID-19 policies to the policies of Nazi Germany. Van Orden also addresses Jews as a monolith and asserts that Jewish Democrats are voting against their own interests. His history of sexual harassment and anger issues further demonstrates that his conduct and judgment have no place in Congress.

Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07) enabled Trump’s “Big Lie” by signing onto the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus brief seeking to block the certification of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election results. Mackenzie also signed a letter calling on Congress to reject Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes. Mackenzie opposed “forever wars” when he was running for Congress, but since being elected, he has supported Trump’s disastrous war in Iran. Pennsylvanians deserve better than blind loyalty to Trump and his MAGA agenda.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), like her Republican House colleagues, has voted in support of Trump’s destabilizing war in Iran each time it has come up for a vote on the House floor. Over a dozen US soldiers have died since the war began, including two Iowans, and Miller-Meeks continues to put our troops in harm’s way. Miller-Meeks keeps sending billions of our taxpayer dollars to illegal wars abroad, while US soldiers bear the consequences.