Aipac spent $55m on losing congressional candidates in midterm elections: Report

Nearly two-thirds of its funds were spent on candidates who lost, in a major setback for the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Michael Tuchin addresses the Aipac Policy Summit at a hotel in Washington, DC, on 5 June 2023 (Mandel Ngan/AFP) Published date: 5 November 2026 19:15 GMT | Last update: 3 sec ago The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) spent more than $84m in the 2026 US midterms, but nearly two-thirds of those funds were spent on losing candidates, according to a new report from Responsible Statecraft. Aipac’s Super Pac and other groups spent $55m on failed candidates. The largest portion of those funds, about $32m, was spent trying to defeat Democratic Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. The results marked one of Aipac’s worst performances in years, suggesting that the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has contributed to soaring cost-of-living issues, resonated strongly with voters. In the 2022 midterms, Aipac’s Super Pac, United Democracy Project, saw 69 percent of its expenditure spent on races backed by the organisation that won. That number was even higher in 2024, after Israel’s genocide in Gaza, with 87 percent of its spending going to successful races. In his victory speech earlier this week, Sayed pointedly called out Aipac, naming a higher figure spent against him, which may reflect the additional contributions of smaller Super Pacs. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters “To Aipac, who spent $42m against us. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat you twice," he said, referring to Aipac’s attempt to defeat him in the Democratic primary. Aipac also spent heavily trying to defeat Daniel Biss, a critic of Israel’s policies. Biss, the former mayor of Evanston, Illinois, and grandson of Holocaust survivors, won the Democratic primary in Illinois's 9th congressional district earlier this year, even though Aipac spent almost $6m against him. Biss easily carried the heavily Democratic district on Tuesday night. Despite losing some high-profile races, Aipac is far from irrelevant. 'Freed up or congressionally constrained': Is Trump more or less likely to resume war on Iran? Read More » Aipac claimed victory on Wednesday, saying on X that "more than 234 candidates supported by AIPAC members" had won their races. Aipac did not provide a list of what races it was referring to, and for context, there are thousands of candidates who ran races in the midterms, but it remains an organisation to reckon with in Washington, DC. The Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate have received funding from Aipac members. “We congratulate Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the resounding victories for their caucuses,” Aipac said in a statement. Still, opponents of Aipac heralded Tuesday’s results as a watershed moment in US politics. Aipac Tracker, which tracks the organisation’s influence in Washington, listed 30 members of Congress who won their seats eschewing Aipac ties. In an election postmortem, Vice President JD Vance wrote on Wednesday that Republicans lost the elections because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which Aipac endorsed, and due to its relationship with Israel. Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.