AIPAC, progressives clash in Pennsylvania House race

Progressives are agitated by a pro-Israel super PAC’s late involvement in a Pennsylvania race that’s poised to send a new “squad” member to Congress.

Summer Lee, an activist-minded state representative and Democrats’ pick for the 12th Congressional District, was considered one of liberals’ top recruits in a reliably blue area of the state.

But just days before Tuesday’s midterm elections, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) political action committee, the United Democracy Project (UDP), invested heavily to back Lee’s Republican challenger, a move that sent fury through grassroots communities eager to expand their power amid a score of expected defeats. 

“It’s completely unprecedented and shows their dedication to insulating Israel from criticism is stronger than their commitment to American Democracy,” said Max Berger, a progressive strategist and former campaign aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Democracy is on the ballot this cycle, and AIPAC is helping the side that wants to end free and fair elections,” he said.

Democrats are preparing for major losses in the lower chamber. From once solidly safe to traditional swing districts, many down-ballot candidates have faced an unusually challenging cycle, running against an onslaught of GOP funding, consolidated messaging on crime and inflation and a red base that polls show is motivated to reclaim its majority.

They’ve struggled as their party’s top surrogate, President Biden, has failed to inspire voters in even some blue parts of the map that Democrats fear could get much redder in the coming days. 

Lee’s race was one of the left’s only bright spots. After a close primary, the labor advocate beat out her toughest competitor, UDP-backed moderate Steve Irwin, to face off against Republican nominee Mike Doyle for the Pittsburgh-area seat this week.

While Democrats continue to grumble about their prospects for success, progressives saw Lee’s contest as a much-needed chance to show voters their flank of the party has some appeal. That in essence, despite big defeats elsewhere during earlier primaries, they can pull off a victory against a Republican in the fall.

Beyond just optics, progressives have also viewed a potential Lee victory as a way to enlarge their collective bargaining power in the House, even if they lose the chamber. 

By adding another member to the squad, the left wing could still cause headaches for Republicans and continue to push its own party in a more liberal direction through the rest of Biden’s first term, a best-case scenario for one district in an otherwise grim cycle.

That thinking was thrown into question, however, just before Election Day, with outside spending to boost the Republican effort causing what progressives see as a hurdle at the eleventh hour.

Liberal strategists and activists say the pro-Israel group’s decision to help fund the GOP candidate not only potentially halts Lee’s momentum, but more critically undermines the nature of what Biden and fellow Democrats say is the defining issue of this election cycle: democracy itself.

Berger dubbed the bipartisan AIPAC and its super PAC a “Republican organization” — a common sentiment among those on the left who see their efforts to aid a right-wing candidate as insulting.

“On a personal level, I find this shocking and disgusting,” he said.

Reached for comment, Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for the UDP, told The Hill the PAC supports pro-Israel candidates on both sides of the aisle. “We’re agnostic to party,” Dorton said. “We want pro-Israel members of Congress. Period.”

Dorton added that he believes the tightness of the race shows that some voters don’t align with Lee, which was shown during the primary.

“There were a lot of Democrats in the district that were uncomfortable with the positions of Summer Lee,” he said.

Lee’s race is a microcosm of the overall significance of Pennsylvania. Prominent figures in both parties have spent time and resources there: Biden and former Presidents Obama and Trump rallied supporters over the weekend, a sign that each side believes the state is crucial for their midterm and longer-term success. 

Lee, who hails from a working-class background, skews to the left of the president and more moderate Democrats in Congress. Notably, she has championed several of the policies core to progressives’ vision such as the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.”

Lee has received support from local Jews, including in her native Pittsburgh, but has also been criticized strongly for a prior comment on Israel. In a tweet last spring, she appeared to question the United States’s approach to the country.  

“When I hear American pols use the refrain ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’ in response to undeniable atrocities on a marginalized pop, I can’t help but think of how the west has always justified indiscriminate& disproportionate force &power on weakened & marginalized ppl,” she tweeted in May 2021. 

On Friday, Irwin, whom Lee ultimately beat by just under 1 percentage point, endorsed her candidacy, a show of unity in the consequential battleground. 

During the May primary, several pro-Israel groups spent money against Lee, including the Democratic Majority For Israel. The PAC’s chairman, Mark Mellman, who is also a columnist for The Hill, did not respond to a request for comment about its potential spending plans for the final leg of the general election.

Lee, in turn, was supported by progressive organizations like Justice Democrats, which played a major role in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) first congressional bid, and the Working Families Party, which supports a variety of left-wing upstart candidates.

Leading up to the general election, the UDP used targeted advertising against Lee in an effort to promote Doyle, who, just by chance, has the same first and last name as the Democratic congressman vacating his seat and creating a rare opening.

The move concerned some top progressives. One of Lee’s biggest advocates, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), campaigned for her over the weekend, aiming to provide a final boost in the tightening race. Sanders criticized the PAC’s involvement as part of a broader critique against corporate spending to influence the political process, a common gripe among left-wing Democrats.

Israel “is not the issue,” Sanders told WESA, a local NPR affiliate station. “It’s just a smoke screen. This is simply one more instance where billionaires are protecting their own personal interest.”

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