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Election Spending and Punishment: How the Lobby's Money Works

Money in American politics works two ways. It rewards friends, and it punishes those who cross the donor. This page follows the pro-Israel lobby's election money through the years of the Iran wars: how much was spent, on whom, and what happened to members of Congress who opposed the war. It also records what the President, a senator, and members of Congress have said about that money in their own words.

How much​

  • 2024. AIPAC's PAC and its super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP), reported spending $95.1 million on the 2024 elections, counting direct donations and independent ads, according to Federal Election Commission filings summarized by the news site Sludge. That is more than double the $44 million of 2022 (Sludge, January 24, 2025). The Israeli-American outlet JNS also reported the rise in pro-Israel PAC spending (JNS).
  • Since 2017. The tracking group Track AIPAC says "Israel's lobby has spent $635M+ influencing U.S. policy — nearly 3X more than Qatar and 2/3 of that spending happens outside of FARA disclosure laws" (Track AIPAC on Threads, June 12, 2025). That is the tracker's figure.
  • 2026 primaries. Rep. Pramila Jayapal: "AIPAC spent $20 MILLION in the Illinois primaries, hiding behind fake Super PACs." (FMEP round-up, March 27, 2026).

The biggest targets​

The super PAC's two largest 2024 races were against members who criticized Israel's war in Gaza: $14.6 million to defeat Rep. Jamaal Bowman and $8.6 million against Rep. Cori Bush, both of whom lost their primaries (OpenSecrets figures in the Sludge report).

In 2026 the largest target was the Republican who led the effort to stop the Iran war. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his May 19, 2026 primary to Ed Gallrein in what Wikipedia's summary calls the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, over $32 million in ads, with more than $9 million from pro-Israel groups against him. Massie called it a "referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress" (Wikipedia). The New York Times described Gallrein as "heavily backed by pro-Israel donors" (New York Times, June 29, 2026). See Thomas Massie.

The rewards​

The money also flows to those who deliver. Examples from the captures, each attributed:

  • Speaker Mike Johnson. The Intercept reported in January 2024 that Johnson received $95,000 from AIPAC after pushing through a $14 billion Israel aid package, with FEC records showing $104,000 from AIPAC that year (as summarized by Grok on X, June 22, 2025). On June 21, 2025, Johnson justified the strikes on Iran by an "imminent danger" that the Director of National Intelligence had said did not exist.
  • Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine). A post citing OpenSecrets said Golden had received over $500,000 from AIPAC; he supported the June 2025 strikes and was the only Democrat to vote against the April 16, 2026 resolution to end the war, which failed 213 to 214 (@shasanzel on X, April 17, 2026). One vote decided that resolution.
  • Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). A widely shared essay said Torres had received "$1.2 million in contributions from AIPAC alone" since 2022 (Prime News Digest on X, March 5, 2026). That is the essay's figure.
  • Hakeem Jeffries. The site DemLabs, citing Sludge, reported that "AIPAC has flooded Hakeem Jeffries campaign with more than a million dollars in earmarked donations," routed through a platform called Democracy Engine, "a workaround that gives unpopular PACs a more politically palatable route for directing campaign cash to favored lawmakers" (Bloomberg, as quoted in the DemLabs snippet, March 16, 2026).
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham. A post claimed Graham "has received over $1 million from the Israel lobby, with direct and indirect support from AIPAC's PAC" (@TrueMaga_ on X, February 24, 2025); no FEC table was attached. See Lindsey Graham.

In their own words​

Senator Ted Cruz, asked by Tucker Carlson in June 2025:

"So AIPAC raises a lot of money for me, but it's actually a misnomer because the people who raise money are individuals. So it's not the PAC itself, but they're individual members who believe in the American-Israeli friendship and relationship." ... "I came into Congress 13 years ago with the stated intention of being the leading defender of Israel in the United States Senate."

(Podscripts transcript, June 18, 2025).

The President, in 2021, as quoted from a radio interview with Ari Hoffman: "The biggest change I've seen in Congress is Israel literally owned Congress — you understand that — 10 years ago, 15 years ago. And it was so powerful. It was so powerful." (Pierre Lherisson on X, July 4, 2026). And in September 2025, after bombing Iran: "Israel was the strongest lobby I've ever seen. They had total control over Congress, and now they don't." In the same interview: "nobody has done more for 'Israel' than I have, including the recent attacks with Iran, wiping that thing out." (Spectator Index; Sahat English on X, September 2, 2025; video posted by Ron Paul).

Rep. Thomas Massie, in May 2026, on the President's own donors: "finally, [maybe his] biggest mistake is letting Israel control too much of his policy. Perhaps it was taking $200 million from Miriam Adelson" (see Miriam Adelson).

The voters notice​

By 2026 the money had become an issue in its own right. A March 2024 video caption stated it simply: "If China or Russia, or Iran funded almost EVERY member of Congress people would be freaking out." (@OnePathOneUmmah on X, March 19, 2024). In the June 2, 2026 Los Angeles primary, a candidate's supporters campaigned against 31-year incumbent Brad Sherman, whom they said "pushed for resolution for Iran war 2025," under the slogan "NO AIPAC / OUR MONEY STAYS HERE" (@WeBarterX2 on X, June 2, 2026). Democratic hopefuls for 2028 were reported to be "scrambling for distance from AIPAC" (Politico, via FMEP, March 27, 2026). The New York Times reported that two New York House Democrats lost primaries in 2026 to challengers who called them too uncritical of Israel.

What the money buys​

A citizen does not need to believe that every vote is bought to see what the money does. It tells members that opposing the war can cost them their seat, as it cost Massie his, and that supporting it brings reward. That is enough to explain why, when the House first voted to end the 2026 war, it failed by seven votes, and then by one.

Status: Thomas Massie, Ed Gallrein, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Pramila Jayapal, Mike Johnson, Jared Golden, Ritchie Torres, Hakeem Jeffries, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Miriam Adelson, and Brad Sherman are alive. Nothing on this page states that any living person committed a crime; campaign donations are legal and are reported here from public filings and named reports. Lindsey Graham: Unknown (several July 2026 posts and one Tablet Magazine column report his death; not confirmed by a primary source in this record).

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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