AIPAC faces a test of its strength in the Illinois primary, as Democrats debate the future of the relationship with Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — A crowded primary season in Illinois is shaping up as the next test for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful advocacy organization generating new unrest over the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel and the role of undeclared campaign money in this year’s midterm elections.

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The Israel Public Affairs Committee, which was founded decades ago to lobby for U.S. support for Israel, has allocated at least $1.9 million in advertising through its super PAC in the race to replace Rep. Danny Davis, the veteran politician who is retiring. The organization hopes to boost Melissa Conyers-Irvin, Chicago city treasurer, to victory over more than a dozen other candidates in the March 17 primary.

Other organizations that critics believe are linked to AIPAC also spend large sums of money in Illinois, a source of bitterness and recrimination in a state already known for its naked politics.

The big spending comes after AIPAC allocated nearly $2 million in the recent Democratic primary for a special election in New Jersey, an effort widely believed to have backfired. AIPAC targeted Tom Malinowski, a former congressman who narrowly lost to progressive candidate Analilia Megia — who has been outspoken in criticizing Israel.

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But AIPAC seems unafraid of this experiment, despite the outpouring of criticism from across the political spectrum.

“We expect to be involved in dozens of races in both primaries and general elections this cycle,” said Patrick Dorton, spokesman for AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, or UDP.

AIPAC has pursued its mission with even more urgency as Democratic skepticism and even hostility toward the US-Israel relationship grows over the war in Gaza, putting traditional bipartisan support for military assistance to a historic ally at risk. But the party’s assertive interventions in this year’s primaries, which are expected to expand in the coming months, also threaten to further divide the party and erode any remaining goodwill.

AIPAC was the dividing line in the Illinois primary

Campaign finance laws involving super PACs make it nearly impossible to ascertain who is behind much of the money spent in Illinois. Although the UDP is open about its affiliation, recently established groups such as Elect Chicago Women and Affordable Chicago Now have not yet been asked to disclose the sources of their funds.

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Neither group is committed to disclosing their funding until after the Illinois primary. Critics suspect they are conduits for AIPAC money, and AIPAC has declined to say whether there is any connection.

UDP, Elect Chicago Women, and Affordable Chicago Now are three of the four biggest ad spenders in House races so far, totaling nearly $11 million, with the majority going to Illinois. The financial numbers are drawn from AdImpact, a nonpartisan ad tracking service.

None of the organizations mentioned Israel in their campaign messaging, a strategy that AIPAC-affiliated groups have used in the past as well.

For example, the United Democracy Project in New Jersey attacked Malinowski as sympathetic to efforts to deport President Donald Trump, which weakened his standing with liberal voters. And in Illinois, she is promoting Conyers-Irvin to replace Davis in the 7th Congressional District by saying she will fight to cut costs and protect health care.

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This strategy has contributed to raising speculation and concern about AIPAC’s influence in politics. Israel supporters accuse their critics of using anti-Semitic tropes about dual loyalty, and others say the focus on the Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is misplaced.

“I think the people who are talking more about AIPAC are seeking to demonize Israel and create a rupture in US-Israeli relations,” said Representative Brad Schneider, a Democrat who represents Illinois’ 10th District.

“The problem is Citizens United and the decision to allow dark money,” said Schneider, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus. “The problem is the rules. Let’s fix the rules.”

The candidates have been criticizing each other for their apparent willingness to accept help from AIPAC. Four progressive candidates running for various congressional seats in Illinois jointly condemned the organization’s role in the state’s primary during a press conference in February. Another candidate is selling T-shirts on her website with anti-AIPAC messages.

AIPAC has increased its spending on election campaigns in recent years

Malinowski remains uncertain about his experience as an AIPAC target in New Jersey, and said he will not support any candidate backed by the organization this year. He described himself as pro-Israel despite his opposition to unconditional aid to the country, a position that angered AIPAC.

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“Obviously we were going to talk about Israel and Gaza on the campaign trail because many voters would be asking questions about that topic,” Malinowski said. “But I wanted those discussions to be about substance, not influenced by the endorsement load of now-controversial groups.”

AIPAC said in a statement that Mejia’s success in the primary was a “foreseeable possibility,” suggesting they have no remorse that their role could have helped pave the way for a candidate who called Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide.

Although AIPAC has always been politically active, it began spending directly on campaigns during the 2022 midterm elections.

Since then, it has spent more than $221 million through traditional political action committees and super PACs, according to Federal Election Commission filings between December 2021 and January 2026.

The super PAC focused mostly on the Democratic primaries. In the 2022 and 2024 cycles, the UDP spent at least $1 million supporting or opposing 18 candidates, 16 of whom were Democrats. Many of these candidates were competing in open races.

Traditional political action committees are allowed to raise and donate up to $5,000 per candidate in each election, and can coordinate directly with campaigns. Super PACs have no fundraising or spending limits, but they are not allowed to make direct or in-kind contributions to candidates or coordinate communications.

In 2024, the UDP’s largest investments were made to support centrist challengers to progressive incumbents. It spent more than $13 million in the 2024 Democratic primary in New York’s 16th District, in which incumbent Rep. George Latimer defeated former Rep. Jamaal Bowman. She also spent $8.5 million to oppose former Rep. Cori Bush, who lost her primary to Rep. Wesley Bell.