Daily Kickoff
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how the popular “Dear White Staffers” Instagram account has pivoted to espousing anti-Israel and antisemitic content, and report on a new letter from Pittsburgh-area rabbis concerned over Rep. Summer Lee’s “divisive rhetoric” on the Israel-Hamas war. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Franklin Foer, NYS Assemblymember Helene Weinstein and Chanan Tigay.
Super Tuesday usually is focused on the presidential race, but with the nominations all but over, there will be more focus on the congressional primaries taking place in five key states — Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina and Texas.
At Jewish Insider, we’ve been covering many of these pivotal primaries, especially when there’s a significant contrast on Middle East policy between the top contenders. Here’s a quick tip sheet of the biggest races:
California Senate: California’s quirky election rules, where the top two finishers move onto the general election — regardless of party — will be significant in the Senate race. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is heavily favored to finish in first place, but the battle for second place is what’s going to be more consequential.
Schiff and his allies have been boosting the campaign of Republican Steve Garvey, a former Dodgers star, in hopes of denying Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) a shot at challenging Schiff in the general election. A Schiff-Garvey matchup would all but guarantee a Schiff coronation in the Senate race. A Schiff-Porter contest, however, would be a lot more unpredictable.
Schiff has campaigned as the most pro-Israel Democratic candidate in the race. The pro-Israel group DMFI endorsed Schiff in January, and AIPAC has backed the congressman as well.
California-16: While 11 candidates are hoping to succeed retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) in safely blue Silicon Valley, three leading Democrats are favored to advance past the top-two primary: Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, state Assemblyman Evan Low and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Two other Democrats, Palo Alto City Councilor Julie Lythcott-Haims and Peter Dixon, a Marine veteran and entrepreneur, could also have a shot of eking by in a crowded race.
The race has drawn millions in outside spending, but national pro-Israel groups haven’t yet deployed any resources. The five leading candidates have, by varying degrees, all voiced support for Israel in the wake of Oct. 7. But while Simitian, Low and Dixon have each cast themselves as unequivocal backers of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, Liccardo has expressed skepticism of the ongoing campaign and Lythcott-Haims has indicated that she would favor proposals to condition U.S. aid to Israel, according to recent interviews with JI.
California-47: Pro-Israel groups are spending heavily to boost attorney Joanna Weiss, a Democrat, over the more politically established Democratic state Sen. Dave Min in the suburban Orange County House seat that Porter is vacating. The expected Republican nominee is Scott Baugh, who unsuccessfully challenged Porter for the seat in 2022.
The groups are targeting Min over his DUI arrest last May, a development that has scrambled the race. Min, who won Porter’s endorsement, began the race as the Democratic favorite, but has been losing ground in recent weeks.
North Carolina Governor: In one of the most consequential gubernatorial races of 2024, North Carolina’s primary is expected to set the stage for a bitterly fought November showdown between Mark Robinson, the Republican lieutenant governor whose past antisemitic comments have drawn scrutiny, and Josh Stein, a Jewish Democrat who serves as attorney general.
Robinson’s history of inflammatory statements, including online posts in which he has quoted Hitler and cast doubt on the Holocaust, have raised questions about his broader appeal in a key battleground state, even as experts believe the general election matchup will likely be close.
Alabama-01: This is a member-vs.-member primary, pitting a more-traditional conservative Republican, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-AL), against Freedom Caucus-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL). One big dividing line in the race is over military support to Ukraine: Carl has backed aid to Ukraine, while the Club for Growth (which endorsed Moore) is airing ads against the congressman over his Ukraine support.
This bellwether primary race, pitting a GOP isolationist against a traditional hawk, is viewed as a pure toss-up.
Alabama-02: The newly drawn Black-majority district gives Democrats a strong pickup opportunity in November, and has consequently attracted a flood of challengers in the Democratic primary. The top three contenders are believed to be state House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, state Rep. Napoleon Bracy and former Department of Justice official Shomari Figures. The race is likely to go to an April 16 runoff. All three top Democrats have been supportive of Israel, with Daniels and Bracy openly pushing for endorsements from AIPAC.
Texas-07: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) is expected to cruise past a primary challenger, Pervez Agwan, who focused his campaign by railing against AIPAC and the American alliance with Israel. A preelection poll showed Fletcher up 67 points (78%-11%) in the Houston-area district.
And in Washington, a day after Vice President Kamala Harris called for an “immediate cease-fire,” earning plaudits from some on the left who have called for a unilateral Israeli cease-fire, John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesperson, on Monday further reiterated that Harris’ message was directed at Hamas — a key piece of context from her Sunday remarks.
“We call on Hamas to accept the terms that are on the table right now, whereby the release of vulnerable hostages — the sick, the wounded, the elderly, women — would help result in an immediate six-week cease-fire and enable a surge of humanitarian assistance,” Kirby told reporters on Monday. “Israel has agreed to this framework, and now the onus is on Hamas to do the same.”
National Security Council officials reportedly toned down Harris’ speech; the original text was more critical of Israel’s control of aid being allowed into Gaza.
digital dive
How ‘Dear White Staffers’ turned into an anti-Israel, antisemitic account

“Dear White Staffers,” the popular and closely watched Instagram page that captivated Washington by publicly sharing allegations of abusive behavior by and gossip about lawmakers and their staffers, has taken on a new tenor in the five months since Oct. 7, morphing into a prominent and vocal anti-Israel platform that some fellow Hill staffers describe as borderline or openly antisemitic, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Unveiled: JI has been able to link the Dear White Staffers account to a staffer working for Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), an early opponent of Israel’s war against Hamas, who faced backlash last week for plans to appear at a gala alongside speakers who have made antisemitic and homophobic comments. Multiple sources told JI that concurrent posts on the Dear White Staffers account and a personal social media account of the Lee staffer placed the two accounts in the same place in Los Angeles at the same time. JI has seen screenshots of the posts in question. Several Democratic staffers described Dear White Staffers’ identity as an open secret among a growing number of Hill staff.
Other links: The Lee staffer appears, masked but identifiable, in a photo from a cease-fire protest on Capitol Hill, which had been promoted by the Dear White Staffers account. Dear White Staffers’ posts about the length of their tenure on Capitol Hill are consistent with that of the Lee staffer. The Dear White Staffers account has verified publicly that it’s operated by only one person. The Lee staffer is also a leader of a congressional unionization effort that was launched in part by Dear White Staffers’ sharing of allegations of mistreatment and abuse.
Behind closed doors: On Oct. 7, following Hamas’ attack on Israel, the staffer shared a post on their Instagram story featuring a vintage poster from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terror group. The poster was captioned “A resistance poster by the PFLP circa 1973. The resistance continues….”
Evolution: Since Oct. 7, the account has evolved primarily into a stream of anti-Israel commentary, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and condemning the administration and Congress for continuing aid to Israel. It has, at times, leaned into antisemitictropes, accusing one Jewish member of seeking the deaths of children, and blaming Israeli training for the Capitol Police’s response to a cease-fire protest at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that turned violent.
View from inside: Five staffers who spoke to JI, all of whom asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive workplace topics and speak freely, said that they’d initially admired and appreciated the role that the account had played in helping to expose the challenging work conditions and low pay that Capitol Hill staffers experienced and pushing for change. But now, multiple staffers said that, as Jews, they feel personally threatened by the account and the content it is posting. “I know a lot of Jewish staffers feel scared about what [they’re] posting,” one source told JI. “It’s terrifying.”