How an AIPAC endorsement became a liability

Pro-Palestinian Jewish American demonstrators rally in Manhattan on February 22, 2024. | Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images The American Israel Public Affairs Committee — better known by its short name, AIPAC — bills itself as a bipartisan advocate “for policies that strengthen the US-Israel partnership.” In 2026, it’s become something else: a major — and seemingly, losing — issue in Democratic politics.

Progressive Democratic candidates in primaries across the country are explicitly calling out their opponents’ relationship with AIPAC, often using the connection as a rallying point to persuade voters about the problem of “dark money” in politics.

Most recently, in Michigan, AIPAC spent about $30 million boosting Rep.

Haley Stevens in her bid for the state’s Democratic Senate nomination.

Her opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, drew attention to it again and again.

She lost.

As one of the biggest spenders in US elections, the group has gone well beyond its origins lobbying members of Congress to support its agenda.

According to David Dayen , executive editor of the American Prospect, AIPAC is spending millions of dollars against candidates who speak out against Israel’s actions in Palestine — sometimes using advertisements that have nothing to do with Israel, and may appear unrelated to AIPAC.

Dayen spoke with Today, Explained co-host Noel King about the backlash surrounding AIPAC’s spending, the group’s complicated web of shell PACs, and what it all means for the Democratic Party’s quickly evolving stance on Israel .

Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity.

There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts , Pandora , and Spotify .

What is AIPAC? AIPAC started out as a lobbying organization.

It was inaugurated in the 1950s.

It has historically been seen as one of the more powerful lobbying organizations in Washington.