Category: American israel public affairs committee
AIPAC targets Massie with massive spend as primary hits the homestretch
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliates throw around tens of millions of dollars in American elections to ensure that hardline supporters of Israel are elected to the U.S. Congress on both sides of the aisle.
While the pro-Israel lobbying firm has long enjoyed success in America, it has encountered a number of setbacks in recent months.
For instance, by recently pouring millions of dollars into the Democratic primary against former New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski over his criticism of the Israeli government, AIPAC unwittingly paved the way for a fiercer critic of Israel, Analilia Mejia, to succeed ex-Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
‘One Republican is standing in the way.’
In Illinois, AIPAC also made a bad investment in Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who got crushed in the 7th District Democrat primary to replace retiring incumbent Rep. Danny Davis.
Despite its recent missteps and growing unpopularity on the left, AIPAC still appears confident that it can help unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R) in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District by characterizing him as a turncoat and Republican challenger Ed Gallrein as the optimal choice.
The United Democracy Project, an AIPAC super PAC established in 2022, recently spent $790,000 for a week of broadcast and cable ads in the Cincinnati, Louisville, and Charleston media markets, reported the Jewish Insider.
In the 30-second ad that AIPAC apparently hopes will hurt Massie, a narrator states, “What happened to Thomas Massie? He’s flipped. Massie started out as a conservative Republican but now votes with liberal Democrats.”
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The ad does not specify which votes the UDP perceives as blemishes on Massie’s record. The congressman did, however, recently vote in favor of resolutions directing Trump to remove the U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, and voted last year against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In November 2023, he also ruffled feathers when casting the lone “no” vote in Congress against a resolution that: reaffirmed the State of Israel’s right to exist, deemed denial of that right a form of anti-Semitism, rejected calls for Israel’s destruction, and condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Massie stated at the time that he agreed with the “title ‘Reaffirming the State of Israel’s Right to Exist’ and much of the language,” but voted no “because it equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism.”
“On Israel, Massie votes with AOC and Ilhan Omar again and again,” says the narrator of the AIPAC ad. “Massie’s a flippin’ disaster. That’s why President Trump supports Ed Gallrein for Congress.”
In October, Trump endorsed Gallrein, a farmer and Navy SEAL combat veteran whose website notes that he’s “fighting for President Trump’s and the Republican Party’s America First Agenda.”
Last month, Trump reiterated his support for the GOP challenger, stating that Massie — a lawmaker with an 86.77% lifetime Turning Point Action score and a 91.25% score this Congress — is the “Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman we have had in many years,” and that Gallrein is alternatively “the person that will help us do the job, and do it right.”
Rep. Massie said in a statement to Blaze News, “The fact that AIPAC has resorted to using its pro-abortion super PAC shows how desperate they are to breathe life into their empty suit. Millions of dollars won’t make up for the fact that he’s AWOL on the campaign trail. He’s skipped seven debates and forums so far.”
The UDP previously blew over $328,000 in 2024 on a television campaign attacking Massie, reported McClatchy DC.
“Republicans are trying to help Israel,” said the 2024 ad. “But one Republican is standing in the way. It’s Kentucky’s Tom Massie.”
A spokesman for UDP said at the time that the AIPAC group wanted “to make sure every voter in the state knows how bad he is on Israel.”
Recent polling suggests that AIPAC might be throwing good money after bad as far as Massie’s race goes.
According to a Quantum Insights poll released on April 9, Massie led Gallrein 46.8% to 37.7% among likely Republican voters, with 14% undecided and 1.5% saying they wouldn’t vote. The same poll found that 49.9% of respondents preferred a candidate who is independent-minded while 37.4% preferred a strong Trump supporter.
On the prediction market platform Polymarket, Massie presently leads Gallrein 71% to 28.6%.
The primary race will be held on May 19.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to incorporate comment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
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