Two years in the past, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent thousands and thousands of {dollars} via its super PAC to defeat two vocal critics of Israel, Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
“AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down,” Bush vowed in her concession speech.
Now AIPAC’s opponents consider that they’re on the offensive – and a new group known as American Priorities has a lot to do with it.
The super PAC, which began simply six months in the past, has shortly emerged as an influential drive in House Democratic primaries, spending a minimum of $5.6 million to increase Democrats who’re fiercely vital of Israel, its battle in Gaza and AIPAC’s affect in Democratic primaries. American Priorities helped two democratic socialists – Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez – pull off wins within the current New York primaries and in addition chipped in to assist a third, Melat Kiros, defeat Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette on Tuesday.
The group’s spending is nonetheless dwarfed by that of AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, which has spent a minimum of $34 million this election cycle. The two sides haven’t gone head-to-head in lots of primaries but, choosing their fights extra pragmatically. But to progressives who had gotten used to being vastly outspent, American Priorities has change into one thing of an surprising savior.
The 2024 election yr was a “bruising cycle for us, but it was a real building cycle,” mentioned Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for Justice Democrats, a progressive group that is typically aligned with American Priorities in primaries. “We are seeing this cycle the fruits of this labor.”
A spokesperson for American Priorities mentioned the group was created out of a perception that there was “nothing close to a countervailing force” to AIPAC in primaries.
“The idea was to build a spending force that would back people who speak plainly about what most Democratic voters – and indeed most Americans – already believe, so that telling the truth stops being the thing that gets you outspent three to one,” the spokesperson, Greg Krieg, mentioned in a assertion.
American Priorities poses an ideological take a look at for progressives who’ve lengthy denounced not simply AIPAC’s spending, but in addition all massive cash in politics. So far, that has been the premise of AIPAC’s response to American Priorities.
“The same scrutiny that’s applied to the AIPAC super PAC should be applied to anti-Israel dark money as well,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for United Democracy Project, advised NCS in response to requests for remark for this story.
Asked whether or not American Priorities was having an affect on AIPAC’s technique in primaries, Dorton mentioned the super PAC makes “our own independent decisions based on evaluating each race.”
Bush, who is making a comeback bid for her previous seat in an August main, advised NCS not too long ago that she doesn’t know a lot about American Priorities however that AIPAC’s opponents now know they “need to go full force” to fight its affect.
“I truly believe that we need to get the big money out of politics,” Bush mentioned. “But right now, having a counterweight to AIPAC and … the big cryptocurrency folks and big real estate, big pharma, the war profiteers, ICE contractors … will be useful to us because often one of the issues we have is we are grassroots.”
American Priorities has raised $5.5 million as of June 3, in accordance to its filings with the Federal Election Commission. That’s a modest sum in contrast to the eight-figure funding of AIPAC’s super PAC, which spent almost $6 million alone in a single current House main in Maryland during which its most popular candidate gained.
But American Priorities’ willingness to spend upwards of $1 million in particular person races – and to spend at vital junctures in campaigns – represents a new capability for the anti-AIPAC left. Operatives say its aggressiveness was particularly essential in Avila Chevalier’s main, the place she confronted a fierce late advert blitz – partly funded by AIPAC – centered on her previous controversial tweets.
American Priorities ran a number of TV and digital adverts within the main’s last days, emphasizing Avila Chevalier’s assist from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and contrasting with the incumbent, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, as more durable towards US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Justice Democrats mentioned in a assertion that Avila Chevalier wouldn’t have gained “without the support of American Priorities.”
American Priorities has spent in eight primaries, together with for democratic socialist Chris Rabb for an open House seat in Philadelphia and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam in her main problem to North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee. Rabb gained whereas Allam’s race has been American Priorities’ solely loss to date, coming after the group spent $1 million backing her.
The group made a late play in Tuesday’s Colorado primaries, spending $150,000 on TV adverts boosting Kiros within the last week.
Justice Democrats and American Priorities are a part of a constellation of teams which might be working extra intently after 2024 to fight AIPAC, additionally together with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ political staff and the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project. Amira Hassan, political director for a new PAC affiliated with the coverage mission, mentioned “one of the big lessons in this cycle is it takes all of us being on the same page and being highly, highly in coordination.”
American Priorities, nevertheless, has stood out for its cash.
The super PAC’s prime donors, at $1 million apiece, have been Omer Hassan and Mohammad Waqas Javed. Little is publicly recognized about them, and the data they’ve supplied the FEC is minimal: Waqas identifies as a resident of New York City and the CEO of Showcase Commerce Inc. – a firm with little public footprint – whereas Hassan identifies as a retiree from Redwood City, California.
Both have been additionally prime donors to a super PAC that supported Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral marketing campaign, giving about $250,000 every.
Neither donor responded to requests for remark. But a particular person shut to American Priorities, talking on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly focus on its donors, mentioned a lot of its contributors weren’t very politically energetic till Mamdani’s marketing campaign, which was the “moment that inspired them and brought them into the fold.” Emboldened by Mamdani’s win, they started strategizing about how to affect the social gathering nationally on the difficulty of Palestinian human rights.
They additionally need to present the Democratic Party shouldn’t take Muslims with no consideration, the particular person mentioned.
“Part of it’s Palestine, part of it’s countering AIPAC, but it’s also about giving a long-overlooked community, which is critical to any Democratic majority, a real voice in our politics,” the particular person mentioned.
American Priorities has spent probably the most to date within the Democratic main for New Jersey’s twelfth District, the place it backed Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon who volunteered at a Gaza hospital in the course of the battle. Hamawy began the first as a political unknown, however after $1.6 million in spending from American Priorities, he completed forward of a dozen different candidates and is now doubtless headed to Congress as a result of the district closely favors Democrats in November.
American Priorities ran adverts that highlighted Hamawy’s medical background, together with in Gaza, and his assist from Sanders, who mentioned in a single spot that Hamawy has “the guts to stand up to the political establishment.”
“American Priorities was extremely helpful in this election,” mentioned Vincent Vertuccio, a senior strategist for Hamawy’s marketing campaign. “It was a really pleasant surprise and something that we’re really glad to see.”
Hamawy served as a protection witness within the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind cleric who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a case associated to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy’s marketing campaign has mentioned he condemns Abdel-Rahman’s actions and rhetoric, saying Hamawy knew the cleric earlier than his arrest as a part of a closeknit Muslim neighborhood in New Jersey.
The runner-up in Hamawy’s main, East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, is a self-described AIPAC member who was open in his assist for Israel however mentioned the social gathering ought to concentrate on points extra vital to voters on a each day foundation. He mentioned he was “disappointed” AIPAC didn’t spend within the main, calling it a “race where their influence would’ve mattered.”
“I could not nearly have competed on that level” with American Priorities, Cohen mentioned. “(Hamawy) was everywhere.”
Dorton, the spokesman for the United Democracy Project, declined to remark.
Cohen and different candidates who’ve gone up towards candidates backed by American Priorities argue its spending flies within the face of long-running progressive guarantees to rid politics of huge cash.
After the group began spending within the main for Valdez in New York’s seventh Congressional District, two different candidates – Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilwoman Julie Won – issued a joint assertion accusing Valdez of breaking a pledge to reject super PAC assist. “The hypocrisy is staggering,” they mentioned.
Vertuccio mentioned that marketing campaign finance reform is nonetheless progressives’ “north star,” however they “have an obligation to use every tool at our disposal to win” within the meantime.
Critics of American Priorities have additionally more and more centered on one of many group’s donors, Texas businessman Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq, as a result of as well as to giving the group $625,000, Mahrouq additionally donated $125,000 in 2024 to his state’s prime two Republican leaders, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Won and Reynoso mentioned Valdez was “benefiting from a super PAC funded by a MAGA Republican megadonor.” Espaillat alluded to Mahrouq a number of instances in debates towards Avila Chevalier.
Avila Chevalier, talking in a type of debates, mentioned she didn’t find out about American Priorities’ spending till she examine it in The New York Times. But she mentioned it didn’t shock her.
“It makes sense that there are Democratic donors out there, who, just like Democratic voters, want to fight back against AIPAC and its influence over our democracy,” she mentioned.
Mahrouq is an auto trade entrepreneur who has mentioned he was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. In response to a checklist of questions over electronic mail, he known as himself an “independent businessman” whose political giving is guided by beliefs together with “a US foreign policy in the Middle East that respects the dignity of all people in the region.”
“I understand people may try to read contributions through a partisan lens, but that’s never been my approach – I support people, not parties, and over the years I’ve backed leaders from different backgrounds whose values I believed would strengthen the great state of Texas and our country,” he mentioned.
Krieg, the American Priorities spokesperson, downplayed the concept the super PAC was beholden to any single donor. He mentioned the group “raises from a pool of people – there’s no billionaire dictating decisions here – so there’s real variety in who’s involved.”
American Priorities declined to say which primaries it is concentrating on subsequent. But many within the anti-AIPAC motion are wanting forward to Bush’s main in Missouri towards Rep. Wesley Bell, who defeated her in 2024, and the first for Senate in Michigan. Both are on August 4.
In Michigan, AIPAC’s super PAC has already spent over $7 million boosting Rep. Haley Stevens towards Abdul El-Sayed, the previous Detroit public well being director. El-Sayed is a vocal critic of Israel who has touted himself as “dangerous” to AIPAC.
Krieg mentioned the circumstances in Michigan make it “exactly the kind of place a group like ours ends up mattering.”