Pro-Israel Groups Intensify Campaign to Oust Critical Progressive Lawmakers amid Primary Season Challenges

Pro-Israel organizations are increasing their efforts to target incumbent progressives who have criticized both Israeli military action in Gaza and ongoing US support for Israel. However, these groups have yet to significantly spend against one such Democrat during this year’s primary season – Rep Summer Lee (D-PA) survived a challenge from moderate rival Bhavani Patel last week despite being an early and vocal critic of the Israeli response to attacks in October. The congresswoman did not face significant spending by influential groups like AIPAC or DMFI, which opted against involvement due to doubts over her electability prospects. Meanwhile, a political action committee backed by Republican donor Jeffrey Yass spent on ads claiming Lee opposed Joe Biden’s presidency during the primary campaign. Progressives are celebrating Lee’s victory as a test for future elections and have accused AIPAC of attempting to buy seats with its money. Rep Cori Bush (D-MO) has become another major target following her calls for ceasefires in Gaza, which have attracted criticism from pro-Israel groups. Her primary opponent Wesley Bell raised more than $100k ($650K of this sum coming through a PAC platform called Democracy Engine Inc.), but the true amount donated by these organisations remains unclear due to earmarking techniques obscuring identities, whereas George Latimer’s (D-NY) opponent Jamaal Bowman raised less than $1m during Q1 2024. Pro-Israel groups have gained significant wins in previous elections against other progressive candidates like Rep Andy Levin and Donna Edwards. They aim to both defeat incumbents and prevent new anti-Israel members from joining Congress, with DMFI President Mark Mellman highlighting that while “hard” seats could go either way this year, they will also focus on races where the incumbent is already weakened due to unrelated scandals. Democratic strategist Jon Reinish has suggested some of these egregious Squad members may lose their seats as successful Democrats who better represent community values are found by voters in upcoming elections. Nearly two dozen progressive groups, including Justice Democrats and IfNotNow Movement, have launched a campaign defending outspoken progressives against pro-Israel criticism.