Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.
AIPAC and other allied outside groups have spent millions of dollars trying to defeat a left-of-center candidate in a House race for a term that would last only a few months, in a race that will be decided Tuesday.
United Democracy Project (UDP), AIPAC’s super PAC, has reported that it has poured $1.2 million into opposing progressive candidate Aisha Wahab and backing moderate Democrat Melissa Hernandez in the race to represent California’s 14th district, representing neighborhoods outside of San Francisco. This includes over $800,000 backing Hernandez.
Meanwhile, another PAC that derives funding from AIPAC, Bold America PAC, has spent over $2.1 million opposing Wahab and backing Hernandez, Politico reported last week. In all, outside groups have spent roughly $5 million to oppose Wahab, reports say.
Wahab and Hernandez are facing off to serve out the rest of the Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D) term after he resigned from Congress in April, facing allegations of sexual assault.
In two special elections held earlier this year, Wahab was by far the favorite candidate. In a June 4 election, Wahab received 38 percent of the vote over Hernandez’s 17 percent. She widened that lead in a subsequent June 16 primary election, receiving 43 percent of the vote — 26 points more than Hernandez, who once again got a mere 17 percent. No candidate got over 50 percent of votes, so the race advanced to a runoff, which is being held on Tuesday.
The term for the race being decided on Tuesday is only going to last roughly three months. Winners of special House elections are typically sworn in a few days after their race is certified, and Swalwell’s term was slated to end in January. The race for the term for that same seat starting in 2027 will be held in the general election in November.
The winner of the election is likely to also win in November for a full term. However, the length of the term for Tuesday’s election and the heavy spending demonstrates AIPAC’s and affiliated groups’ efforts to influence elections for races that might normally be considered a distant priority for others.
This comes on top of the fact that, in a year that has seen the ascendance of numerous left-wing candidates who have loudly proclaimed their opposition to Israel, Wahab is far from the most radical.
Wahab has espoused a few beliefs aligned with the movement for Palestinian rights, but often stopped short of full support of Palestine. She has said that the U.S. should restrict some aid to Israel, but not all of it; when asked by streamer Hasan Piker last week whether she believes the U.S. should end all aid to Israel, she demurred and said “humanitarian aid is important to me too.”
Though Wahab has often hit back at AIPAC’s spending in the race, she has not made Israel or Palestine a key part of her platform.
Her stances are reflected in the way that other parts of the pro-Israel community have reacted to her race. One pro-Israel leader in San Francisco described Wahab as “not an anti-Zionist … like Rashida Tlaib or Ilhan Omar” to Haaretz. And, last week, pro-Israel group J Street announced a six-figure spend for Wahab.
One Jewish leader in the district recently told pro-Israel publication Jewish Insider that even figures who back Israel are confused by AIPAC’s spending on the race — at a time when AIPAC is facing scrutiny for dumping huge amounts of money on single races.
“Based on all the local knowledge that we’re hearing from politicos, it’s not a good use of time or money,” the person said, according to the outlet. “People are kind of scratching their heads — not because there aren’t concerns about Wahab … but let’s play where we can win.”
Media that fights fascism
Truthout is funded almost entirely by readers — that’s why we can speak truth to power and cut against the mainstream narrative. But independent journalists at Truthout face mounting political repression under Trump.
We rely on your support to survive McCarthyist censorship. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation.