Friends,
Last night -- after battling against an unprecedented $3 million of AIPAC and DMFI spending against her -- J Street-supported candidate Summer Lee triumphed over her AIPAC-backed opponent in Pennsylvania’s 12th District.
She was one of several J Street-backed candidates who won on a night that brought exciting wins and significant lessons for our movement.
The margin in Lee’s race was extremely close, just 446 votes at the most recent count -- with that number likely to grow as final precincts are tallied.
Every dollar and every phone call made a difference. Standing with a wide range of allies, JStreetPAC and our new independent expenditures arm, the J Street Action Fund, helped a principled candidate who supports diplomacy-first American leadership triumph over AIPAC’s largest-ever negative ad blitz.
In Oregon, J Street endorsee Andrea Salinas overcame an unbelievable $13 million in outside spending from billionaire-funded crypto SuperPACs. In North Carolina and Pennsylvania, J Street-supported candidates Cheri Beasley and John Fetterman advanced to the general election in battleground states.
At the same time, we saw the devastating and ominous impact that AIPAC’s overwhelming Democratic primary spending can have. In North Carolina’s 4th district, conservative Don Davis defeated J Street endorsee Erica Smith after AIPAC and their allies spent $2.9 million -- more than both leading candidates’ campaigns combined.
We should take a moment to be proud of our victories, but we also need to get to work. To overcome intensive right-wing attacks and keep electing pro-Israel, pro-peace champions across the country, we need to mobilize like never before.
Next Tuesday, J Street endorsee Jessica Cisneros faces off against AIPAC-supported Congressman Henry Cuellar, who has faced heavy criticism as the last anti-abortion Democrat in the House. We cannot afford to wake up next Wednesday to find out we fell just a few votes short -- we have to leave everything on the field.
Below is a map of four priority primary races in the weeks and months ahead. Please consider taking 60 seconds to become a member of JStreetPAC so that we can legally tell you more about these campaigns and how we can fight AIPAC's influence together >>
These candidates are current and future champions who are likely to face a deluge of right-wing spending and attacks. We cannot let groups like AIPAC -- who simultaneously fundraise for extremist, Trump-aligned Republicans -- decide the future of American politics and foreign policy. We cannot let their right-wing, hawkish vision dominate the Democratic party and threaten the future of Israelis and Palestinians.
As Summer Lee showed us last night: When we stand together, we can win.
Laura Birnbaum
National Political Director, J Street
Visit the JStreetPAC website to join us >>
