Several of the congressional primaries unfolding across New York City on Tuesday have been shaped by one of the most polarizing forces in Democratic politics: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
With American support for Israel cratering among Democrats, AIPAC was publicly staying on the sidelines in New York City, a year after Zohran Mamdani — a staunch critic of Israel and AIPAC — was elected mayor.
But even as AIPAC’s super PAC withheld financial support from its preferred candidates, it was thrust into the discourse when contenders backed by the mayor accused their opponents of being beholden to Israel — in some cases for previously receiving money from AIPAC.
Then, as super PACs poured over $50 million into these races, making it one of the most expensive congressional cycles in New York history, AIPAC finally made its own contribution. With early voting underway, its super PAC, United Democracy Project, gave $650,000 to Bold America, a group backing Representative Adriano Espaillat, an Israel supporter who is facing a challenge from a first-time candidate, Darializa Avila Chevalier.
Ms. Avila Chevalier was endorsed by the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and Mr. Mamdani, who has defended her despite questions about some of her provocative social media history. She also attended a rally criticizing Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, just one day after Hamas’s deadly attack that precipitated the country’s bombing offensive in Gaza.
The contribution to Mr. Espaillat, made in two installments in May that surfaced in public records last week, was part of the nearly $10 million that has been spent on the 13th Congressional District primary.
Yet by far the most aggressive spending this cycle has been in the 12th Congressional District, where a half-dozen candidates are vying for the seat in Manhattan being vacated by Representative Jerrold Nadler, a fixture of Upper West Side politics.
Outside spending in that race was nearing $40 million as of Monday evening, and AIPAC had little to do with it. One of the leading contenders, Assemblyman Alex Bores, has sparked a deluge of super PAC spending for and against his candidacy from artificial intelligence interests. Another leading contender, Assemblyman Micah Lasher, had benefited from the backing of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who had pledged up to $5 million to support his candidacy.
The influx of outside spending has underscored the role that influential donors have played in these congressional races, with cash flooding the airwaves and mailboxes in a super PAC bonanza with little precedent.
Virtually every candidate is, in some way, being boosted by outside spending. And virtually every candidate is simultaneously denouncing the role of dark money in politics, with the identities of the super PACs’ donors often shielded until after the election.
“Bottom line, politics takes money. Elections are expensive,” said Katharine Pichardo, president and CEO of the Latino Victory Fund, which has spent $380,000 on advertisements for Mr. Espaillat as of a filing on AdImpact, an advertising tracking firm, on Monday evening. “And there are always going to be numerous interest groups that are going to be involved.
“The fact that there’s money in politics doesn’t mean that the elected officials are beholden to those funders,” Ms. Pichardo added. “It just means that that’s what it takes to win.”
During televised debates, Mr. Espaillat repeatedly chastised Ms. Avila Chevalier for condemning super PACs while her candidacy is being aided by two such groups, including American Priorities, a group that recently formed with funding from Muslim business executives who say they want to counter AIPAC and spent over $1 million supporting her, according to AdImpact.
AIPAC’s support for Mr. Espaillat over the course of his decade in Congress has been one of Ms. Avila Chevalier’s leading lines of attack against him in the district, which spans Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.
She argues the donations have compromised Mr. Espaillat, making him reluctant to condemn Israel’s military offensives in Gaza and throughout the Middle East and willing to vote for continued U.S. aid. He has called for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, criticized expanded Israeli settlements and said political donations do not affect his governmental choices.
AIPAC’s late-stage spending on Mr. Espaillat’s behalf was the evidence the insurgent campaigns had been seeking that pro-Israel forces were working to block their paths to victory.
Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats, which is backing Ms. Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, two democratic socialists running with Mr. Mamdani’s support, said the super PACs feel under siege.
“The wealthiest lobbies will always be threatened by leaders like Darializa and Claire because they are actively challenging their for-profit agenda in Congress,”
A representative for AIPAC declined to comment.
Ms. Valdez is running in a highly contested race to replace outgoing Representative Nydia Velazquez, in a district that includes gentrified portions of Brooklyn and Queens. Ms. Valdez’s campaign had accused her chief rival, Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president, of receiving support from AIPAC through a super PAC called Real Fight NYC.
Mr. Reynoso’s campaign vehemently denied the charge, as did a spokesman for AIPAC. Real Fight NYC has spent $409,000, according to AdImpact. A representative for the super PAC said it had actually spent much more, and that about half of the money came from the American Federation of Teachers. The representative said AIPAC did not donate to Real Fight. (Morris Katz, who advises Ms. Valdez and Mr. Mamdani, has since taken down a social media post tying Real Fight NYC to AIPAC.)
Spending in that contest, in which Councilwoman Julie Won is also a candidate, hovers around $2 million.
In the 10th Congressional District, which stretches from Brooklyn into a section of Lower Manhattan, Brad Lander, the former city comptroller, has hammered his opponent, Representative Dan Goldman, for benefiting from pro-Israel supporters aligned with AIPAC and refusing to accuse Israel of a genocide in its war in Gaza.
But Mr. Goldman has not accepted direct AIPAC funding in his re-election campaign, though he does accept contributions from individuals funneled from the group’s website. In that race, outside groups have spent over a half-million dollars.
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