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3h ago

AIPAC Super PAC Floods California Special Runoff With Millions to Defeat Aisha Wahab

A late-stage ad blitz that signals AIPAC’s move into direct Democratic primary influence could energize Wahab’s progressive base.

(L-R): Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), and Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada), speak at the 2019 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 25, 2019.
East Bay voters on Tuesday will decide who will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in Congress for the remainder of his term. The candidates are both Democrats: state Sen. Aisha Wahab, left, and BART Board President Melissa Hernandez, right.
What to know about California’s special election to replace Eric Swalwell

Overview

  • Tuesday’s special runoff for California’s 14th District has seen concentrated outside spending with United Democracy Project and allied PACs reported to have spent between $1.2 million and nearly $2.5 million and other affiliated groups pushing total outside outlays toward roughly $5 million.
  • Aisha Wahab entered the runoff as the clear frontrunner after earlier special contests where she won 38 percent on June 4 and 43 percent on June 16 while Melissa Hernandez received about 17 percent in both races.
  • Progressive pro-Israel group J Street and the new American Priorities PAC have spent to support Wahab in response to UDP’s ads.
  • Local Jewish leaders and Democratic strategists say the heavy AIPAC-linked attacks risk backfiring by portraying Hernandez as the group’s pick and by mobilizing Wahab’s supporters.
  • The intervention caps AIPAC’s wider shift this cycle from lobbying to direct independent spending after mixed results in other primaries, a strategy that could affect who holds the seat in November and shape how outside groups target Democratic contests going forward.