AIPAC didn't always spend on campaigns. Now it faces criticism over money in politics

U.S. support for Israel has been a central issue in Democratic primary contests. That's put a spotlight on the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC and the strength of its political influence.

AILSA CHANG, HOST: During this election season, there's an organization you've probably been hearing a lot about - AIPAC. That's the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Its focus is on strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership. And this year, it's become the center of a debate about money in politics. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt joins us now with more. Hi, Barbara. BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa. CHANG: OK. So we're talking about AIPAC right now, especially because it recently came under scrutiny in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan. SPRUNT: Right. CHANG: Can you talk about what did their involvement look like there? SPRUNT: Well, its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent over 30 million in support of Congresswoman Haley Stevens and against the progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who ultimately won. And one thing that's important to remind everyone, this kind of election spending is a relatively new endeavor for AIPAC. The nonprofit started in the '50s and, for decades, it was focused on education, lobbying Congress and the White House. It did not contribute to campaigns. They did a 180 on that ahead of the 2022 election cycle and formed a PAC and a super PAC. So really, we're just in the third cycle of spending in this way. CHANG: And how does their spending compare to other big political groups? SPRUNT: Well, this year, the super PAC has spent about 62 million and counting, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending. For comparison, if you lump the AI-related super PACs together, they've spent about 50 million, crypto super PACs, about 72 million. So certainly not chump change. CHANG: Yeah. SPRUNT: But these are all far from the top spenders that you'll see in general, like, the super PACs associated with party leadership. CHANG: Right. OK. So how would you say AIPAC spending is shaping the conversation in these primaries? SPRUNT: You know, AIPAC is often singled out by name in ads and in speeches. Some of this, I think, has to do with the anger about the war in Gaza. Candidates have used AIPAC to try to paint their opponent as somehow subservient to special interests. At the same time, we're also seeing that AIPAC has become a proxy for this general, growing distaste about money and politics. And another thing to be mindful of, people saying explicitly or implicitly that AIPAC money is foreign money. Here's Democratic political analyst Van Jones. VAN JONES: That's just not true. And I think it plays into old stereotypes that Jews are disloyal people with some global conspiracy that's sinister. SPRUNT: It would be illegal if the money coming into AIPAC was from foreigners. CHANG: Right. SPRUNT: It is coming from Americans. CHANG: OK. Well, that Michigan Senate primary we just talked about, that's an example where AIPAC was not successful, but we have been seeing its spending move the needle in other races, right? So how effective would you say AIPAC is on the whole? SPRUNT: You know, I asked Dany Bahar this exact question. He's an economist. And he looked at AIPAC's win rate, and he says it's comparable to other single-issue PACs, like the NRA or Planned Parenthood. And as you said, like, election results are mixed. One of AIPAC's biggest successes was in the '24 cycle when it helped oust former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a very vocal critic of Israel. But it's complicated. This year, in a special House primary in New Jersey, AIPAC bet big against a Democrat who was supportive of Israel but had signaled some openness to place conditions on military aid. And ultimately, a candidate who is much more critical of Israel won. So a lot of people saw that and said it was a strategy that, you know, frankly, backfired. I don't think AIPAC is measuring its success by any one race. It takes the long view. Here is Patrick Dorton, the spokesman for the super PAC. PATRICK DORTON: Our mission as a organization is to support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. That is a long-term goal, not a short-term one, year-by-year goal. That's a long-term goal. CHANG: OK, but looking at that long-term goal, it does seem like there are some real challenges there. SPRUNT: Yes, especially when you look at it through two key metrics - support for Israel among voters and support in Congress. For decades, there was generally strong bipartisan support for Israel. The war in Gaza has cut into that. And on the Congress side, you know, in July, nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel. The effort failed, but it was a significant moment. And so we're at this time when AIPAC is spending more than it ever has, and it's also witnessing this deterioration of support for a U.S.-Israel alliance, which is its core mission. So that's a big challenge and one that's not likely to be resolved anytime soon. CHANG: That is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thank you so much, Barbara. SPRUNT: Thank you, Ailsa. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

AILSA CHANG, HOST: During this election season, there's an organization you've probably been hearing a lot about - AIPAC. That's the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Its focus is on strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership. And this year, it's become the center of a debate about money in politics. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt joins us now with more. Hi, Barbara. BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa. CHANG: OK. So we're talking about AIPAC right now, especially because it recently came under scrutiny in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan. SPRUNT: Right. CHANG: Can you talk about what did their involvement look like there? SPRUNT: Well, its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent over 30 million in support of Congresswoman Haley Stevens and against the progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who ultimately won. And one thing that's important to remind everyone, this kind of election spending is a relatively new endeavor for AIPAC. The nonprofit started in the '50s and, for decades, it was focused on education, lobbying Congress and the White House. It did not contribute to campaigns. They did a 180 on that ahead of the 2022 election cycle and formed a PAC and a super PAC. So really, we're just in the third cycle of spending in this way. CHANG: And how does their spending compare to other big political groups? SPRUNT: Well, this year, the super PAC has spent about 62 million and counting, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending. For comparison, if you lump the AI-related super PACs together, they've spent about 50 million, crypto super PACs, about 72 million. So certainly not chump change. CHANG: Yeah. SPRUNT: But these are all far from the top spenders that you'll see in general, like, the super PACs associated with party leadership. CHANG: Right. OK. So how would you say AIPAC spending is shaping the conversation in these primaries? SPRUNT: You know, AIPAC is often singled out by name in ads and in speeches. Some of this, I think, has to do with the anger about the war in Gaza. Candidates have used AIPAC to try to paint their opponent as somehow subservient to special interests. At the same time, we're also seeing that AIPAC has become a proxy for this general, growing distaste about money and politics. And another thing to be mindful of, people saying explicitly or implicitly that AIPAC money is foreign money. Here's Democratic political analyst Van Jones. VAN JONES: That's just not true. And I think it plays into old stereotypes that Jews are disloyal people with some global conspiracy that's sinister. SPRUNT: It would be illegal if the money coming into AIPAC was from foreigners. CHANG: Right. SPRUNT: It is coming from Americans. CHANG: OK. Well, that Michigan Senate primary we just talked about, that's an example where AIPAC was not successful, but we have been seeing its spending move the needle in other races, right? So how effective would you say AIPAC is on the whole? SPRUNT: You know, I asked Dany Bahar this exact question. He's an economist. And he looked at AIPAC's win rate, and he says it's comparable to other single-issue PACs, like the NRA or Planned Parenthood. And as you said, like, election results are mixed. One of AIPAC's biggest successes was in the '24 cycle when it helped oust former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a very vocal critic of Israel. But it's complicated. This year, in a special House primary in New Jersey, AIPAC bet big against a Democrat who was supportive of Israel but had signaled some openness to place conditions on military aid. And ultimately, a candidate who is much more critical of Israel won. So a lot of people saw that and said it was a strategy that, you know, frankly, backfired. I don't think AIPAC is measuring its success by any one race. It takes the long view. Here is Patrick Dorton, the spokesman for the super PAC. PATRICK DORTON: Our mission as a organization is to support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. That is a long-term goal, not a short-term one, year-by-year goal. That's a long-term goal. CHANG: OK, but looking at that long-term goal, it does seem like there are some real challenges there. SPRUNT: Yes, especially when you look at it through two key metrics - support for Israel among voters and support in Congress. For decades, there was generally strong bipartisan support for Israel. The war in Gaza has cut into that. And on the Congress side, you know, in July, nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel. The effort failed, but it was a significant moment. And so we're at this time when AIPAC is spending more than it ever has, and it's also witnessing this deterioration of support for a U.S.-Israel alliance, which is its core mission. So that's a big challenge and one that's not likely to be resolved anytime soon. CHANG: That is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thank you so much, Barbara. SPRUNT: Thank you, Ailsa. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

During this election season, there's an organization you've probably been hearing a lot about - AIPAC. That's the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Its focus is on strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership. And this year, it's become the center of a debate about money in politics. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt joins us now with more. Hi, Barbara. BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa. CHANG: OK. So we're talking about AIPAC right now, especially because it recently came under scrutiny in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan. SPRUNT: Right. CHANG: Can you talk about what did their involvement look like there? SPRUNT: Well, its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent over 30 million in support of Congresswoman Haley Stevens and against the progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who ultimately won. And one thing that's important to remind everyone, this kind of election spending is a relatively new endeavor for AIPAC. The nonprofit started in the '50s and, for decades, it was focused on education, lobbying Congress and the White House. It did not contribute to campaigns. They did a 180 on that ahead of the 2022 election cycle and formed a PAC and a super PAC. So really, we're just in the third cycle of spending in this way. CHANG: And how does their spending compare to other big political groups? SPRUNT: Well, this year, the super PAC has spent about 62 million and counting, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending. For comparison, if you lump the AI-related super PACs together, they've spent about 50 million, crypto super PACs, about 72 million. So certainly not chump change. CHANG: Yeah. SPRUNT: But these are all far from the top spenders that you'll see in general, like, the super PACs associated with party leadership. CHANG: Right. OK. So how would you say AIPAC spending is shaping the conversation in these primaries? SPRUNT: You know, AIPAC is often singled out by name in ads and in speeches. Some of this, I think, has to do with the anger about the war in Gaza. Candidates have used AIPAC to try to paint their opponent as somehow subservient to special interests. At the same time, we're also seeing that AIPAC has become a proxy for this general, growing distaste about money and politics. And another thing to be mindful of, people saying explicitly or implicitly that AIPAC money is foreign money. Here's Democratic political analyst Van Jones. VAN JONES: That's just not true. And I think it plays into old stereotypes that Jews are disloyal people with some global conspiracy that's sinister. SPRUNT: It would be illegal if the money coming into AIPAC was from foreigners. CHANG: Right. SPRUNT: It is coming from Americans. CHANG: OK. Well, that Michigan Senate primary we just talked about, that's an example where AIPAC was not successful, but we have been seeing its spending move the needle in other races, right? So how effective would you say AIPAC is on the whole? SPRUNT: You know, I asked Dany Bahar this exact question. He's an economist. And he looked at AIPAC's win rate, and he says it's comparable to other single-issue PACs, like the NRA or Planned Parenthood. And as you said, like, election results are mixed. One of AIPAC's biggest successes was in the '24 cycle when it helped oust former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a very vocal critic of Israel. But it's complicated. This year, in a special House primary in New Jersey, AIPAC bet big against a Democrat who was supportive of Israel but had signaled some openness to place conditions on military aid. And ultimately, a candidate who is much more critical of Israel won. So a lot of people saw that and said it was a strategy that, you know, frankly, backfired. I don't think AIPAC is measuring its success by any one race. It takes the long view. Here is Patrick Dorton, the spokesman for the super PAC. PATRICK DORTON: Our mission as a organization is to support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. That is a long-term goal, not a short-term one, year-by-year goal. That's a long-term goal. CHANG: OK, but looking at that