A super PAC created as a counterweight to powerful pro-Israel advocacy groups has pledged to spend $2 million in New York to support a pair of candidates challenging Democratic House incumbents from the left and a third progressive Democrat running for an open seat.
The new super PAC, American Priorities, told The New York Times that the money would fund television, streaming and digital advertisements that boost three congressional candidates also backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez.
Mr. Lander, who is challenging Representative Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th Congressional District, and Ms. Avila Chevalier, who is challenging Representative Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District, are trying to defeat Democratic incumbents with close ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, typically the largest pro-Israel spender in elections. But all three candidates with American Priorities’ support have been outspoken critics of Israel’s wars and military actions across the region.
The cash infusion could help level the playing field in a handful of expensive and increasingly competitive primary contests taking place on June 23. The largest share of the spending, about $1 million, has been earmarked for Ms. Avila Chevalier in her campaign to topple Mr. Espaillat, who is the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a district in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. She has emphasized the congressman’s support from AIPAC and associated donors — roughly $350,000 over his five terms — in her campaign against him.
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was targeted and detained for his organizing, is expected to appear with his wife, Noor, in one of the advertisements supporting Ms. Avila Chevalier, whom he protested with on Columbia’s campus in 2023.
In a statement, a spokesman for American Priorities pointed to Election Day victories by Mr. Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as proof of their candidates’ viability.
“The Democratic Party does not need more members who will vote the right way when it’s safe or keep their heads down when times get tough,” he said. “We need members who will lead, especially when the questions facing us are hard.”
The group’s cash infusion comes as many outside groups seek to increase their spending on the primaries. In late May, Latino Victory Fund, a group that has long supported Mr. Espaillat, said it would commit $750,000 to his campaign. Days later, BOLD PAC, the group allied with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said it would spend $600,000 for the congressman.
Ms. Avila Chevalier was helped by Justice Democrats, the group that helped elect Ms. Ocasio-Cortez in 2018, which is spending more than $380,000 on her behalf, including $250,000 on digital ads. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has not endorsed any candidate in the Seventh or 13th Congressional Districts, which neighbor hers.
In the Seventh District, New Yorkers for Lower Costs has planned to spend $130,000 supporting Ms. Valdez, as has Leaders We Deserve, the group founded by the former Democratic National Committee vice chair, David Hogg, which has committed $175,000 to her.
Mr. Goldman, heir to Levi Strauss and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has donated $1 million to his campaign and pledged to match every donation he receives.
The $2 million spend is American Priorities’ first investment in New York, and follows smaller outlays in North Carolina, Texas and Pennsylvania. Some of the group’s biggest funders are prominent Muslim business owners who also supported Mr. Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
With just three weeks until Election Day, AIPAC and its affiliated super PACs do not appear to have bought any advertising time for this cycle in New York. That could still change, but three people who had been in touch with the group said they had the impression it would not spend in New York.
Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for United Democracy Project, typically the biggest super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, declined to comment when asked about its spending plans.
The candidates being helped by American Priorities have all denounced super PACs in the past.
Months ago, Mr. Lander pushed his opponent, Mr. Goldman, to agree to what he called the “People’s Pledge” to try to curb outside spending in the race. The agreement would require any candidate benefiting from super PAC ad spending to denounce the ad, call for its removal and donate half of the cost of the ad to charity using funds from their own campaign account. Mr. Goldman did not agree to the plan, though, and it is not clear if Mr. Lander will still honor it.
Ms. Valdez had previously said she did not want super PACs spending in her race. But she later changed course and put up a so-called red box on her campaign website, which gives instructions to anyone spending on her behalf in a way that would not violate rules barring direct coordination.
In a recent interview, Ms. Valdez said she still believed that ”we have to fix the way our congressional races are funded, full stop,” but that she needed to be realistic about the current campaign finance system. “We’re trying to run a race that will win,” she said.
Ms. Avila Chevalier has pledged not to accept money from any corporate PACs.
As it shells out millions of dollars in three of the city’s more competitive primaries, American Priorities will sit out another closely watched contest in Manhattan, where several candidates are vying to succeed Representative Jerrold Nadler in the wealthy and overwhelmingly Democratic 12th District. The race has already attracted millions of dollars in outside spending from former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and super PACs tied to artificial intelligence companies.
Maya King is a Times reporter who writes about the intersection of politics, religion and ritual in New York City.
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