Plus, the donors behind Bilzerian’s hate campaign
Mahmud HAMS / AFP via Getty Images
Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we spotlight Rep. Hillary Scholten, one of the few Democratic lawmakers in Michigan taking a public stance against the rhetoric of Hasan Piker and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and look at the anti-Israel donors who contributed to far-right antisemitic candidates ahead of last week’s primaries in Florida. We report on new U.S. sanctions targeting the U.K.-based Palestine Action group, and cover the 96% drop in liquefied natural gas exports out of Qatar since the start of the Iran war. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rabbi Shmuel Silber, Matt Little and Dana Nessel.
Curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
The Milken Institute Hamptons Dialogues kicks off today and runs through Sunday.
Elsewhere in New York, Israeli singer Ishay Ribo is slated to perform tonight with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is in Iran today, the latest senior official from the region to travel to the Islamic Republic this week, following Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir’s trip on Monday and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi’s visit the following day.
Iran and Oman have reached a potential agreement that, according to Iran’s deputy foreign minister, would forbid military ships from transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The news comes amid reports of a run on supplies inside Iran, where mounting economic pressure sunk the rial to a new record low earlier this week.
In Washington, a group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is expected to introduce a resolution forcing the Trump administration to provide an accounting of Israeli human rights practices in the West Bank.
One Thing To Know
analysis
Meet the anti-Israel donors backing a neo-Nazi’s GOP congressional campaign
Examining the campaign finance reports of neo-Nazi influencer Dan Bilzerian prompts the question of who exactly would want to be associated with the hate-mongering candidate, who was badly defeated last week in his primary bid against Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), who is Jewish. The next question is who would want to be associated with his associates.
In an age of dog whistles, Bilzerian leads a blaring Wagnerian orchestra of antisemitism. He made his name as an online influencer who dabbled in Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about a Jewish role in everything from the John F. Kennedy assassination to 9/11. He capped his congressional campaign with an ad praising Adolf Hitler and featuring AI images of his opponent “the fat Jew Randy” sprouting horns.
The donor list of the campaign and two supporting committees reveal the “America First, Israel Never” candidate enjoyed a kind of crossover appeal: not so much across the aisle as around the political horseshoe.
The Big Reads
standing firm
The moderate Michigan Democrat holding the line against Hasan Piker
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) has emerged in recent weeks as one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken voices against antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker — but Jewish Michiganders who have worked with her say she’s long been close with and supportive of the community, and that she’s been deeply and personally disturbed by rising antisemitism and rhetoric from Piker and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. David Kramer, a prominent Jewish Democratic leader in the Detroit area, said Scholten is “someone who has a very strong sense of self and what she thinks is right and wrong, and she has a history of speaking up, even if it’s unpopular.” At an event earlier this week, Scholten said that Piker’s antisemitic comments “don’t have any place in the Democratic Party or in the United States of America,” while a day later, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) accused Republicans of stoking Democratic divisions over Piker.
Worthy listen: Appearing on The Atlantic’s “David Frum Show,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, addressed concerns among Jewish Democrats in the state over El-Sayed’s rhetoric and refusal to withdraw his equivocal comments responding to a violent attack in March on a synagogue in suburban Detroit.
terror tag
U.S. sanctions Palestine Action, PFLP-linked group as global terrorists
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned several far-left organizations on Wednesday, including the U.K.-based Palestine Action and transnational group Masar Badil, which is linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. The designation — the first known case of British left-wing activist groups being targeted by American counterterrorism sanctions — places the entities in the same category as Hamas, al-Qaida and ISIS, and could bar foreign supporters from entering the United States.
gas pains
Qatar’s LNG exports plunge 96%, costing Doha $24 billion
Six months into the military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, a Reuters analysis found that Qatar’s liquefied natural gas exports have plunged 96%, resulting in approximately $24 billion in lost revenue, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Doha has been forced to halt much of its LNG production — its primary driver of export earnings — due to attacks on energy infrastructure and inability to physically move it to customers, wiping out the equivalent of roughly five months of Qatari government revenue and establishing the state as one of the chief economic casualties of the war.
The Rundown
in it to win it
Republican state senator aims to be ‘boring enough to win’ Rep. Angie Craig’s seat
on the hill
Senate Democrats call on Netanyahu to crack down on West Bank settler violence
germany’s ghosts
AJC report calls out systemic antisemitism in far-right German AfD party
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly visited CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday for briefings on Iran…
The U.S. is planning to resurrect Civil War-era prize courts that would allow the government to fast-track efforts to seize and claim oil and other cargo taken from enemy vessels…
The New York Times does a deep dive into the operations of Iran’s largest bank — Bank Melli — after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said each of its branches around the world “must be shuttered and dark”…
Politico spotlights the increasing calls from lawmakers from both parties for the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Chinese financial institutions that do business with Iran…
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) announced her engagement to attorney Jason Turkish; the couple got engaged while vacationing in Italy and will travel to Israel, where Turkish’s father was born…
Jewish officials in Colorado are calling for Democratic congressional nominee Melat Kiros, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who has accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, to engage with the community over their concerns about rising antisemitism…
Ben & Jerry’s is planning to name three independent directors to its board after Magnum, which owns the ice cream company, imposed term limits on the board, forcing out several members…
Puck is in advanced talks for an investment by RedBird Capital Partners in a deal that values the news company at $250 million…
CNN interviews former Israeli hostage Evyatar David, nearly a year after he was released from Gaza, about his time in captivity and post-captivity trauma…
Israel is reportedly mulling the expulsion of British officials from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat who have been involved in oversight of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over London’s criticism of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories…
Bloomberg looks at Israel’s plans to bolster its Navy, following nearly three years of warfare in which the country’s naval defenses struggled to tackle maritime threats and the inexpensive Houthi drones that largely cut off Israeli shipping routes…
Saudi Arabia is working to reroute its oil exports once again, this time through the costlier Suez Canal, as its ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — itself a backup route to the Strait of Hormuz — have come under attack by the Houthis…
Iranian lawmakers are mulling legislation that would criminalize contact with media organizations considered hostile to the Islamic Republic, with those found guilty facing up to two years in prison…
Rabbi Shmuel Silber was named the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, nearly a year after the sudden death of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the OU’s former executive vice president, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports
Rabbi Josh Joseph, who had served jointly with Hauer as OU’s executive vice president as well as separately as chief operating officer, will assume the newly created role of chief executive officer…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
What Iran War?: The Atlantic’s Jonathan Lemire and Nancy A. Youssef posit that President Donald Trump is forgoing short-term military action in Iran out of concern that Republicans could lose both chambers of Congress in the midterms. “If nothing else, the new approach allows the White House to say it’s trying something and then — importantly — to stop talking about the war. Part of the plan, Trump advisers and allies tell us, is to try to push Iran to the background, while hoping that gas prices come down even a little and that Republicans can shift the nation’s focus to more politically palatable topics ahead of the midterms.” [TheAtlantic]
Holding Up a Mirror: In The Guardian, Michael Visontay reflects on Australia’s royal commission to investigate antisemitism in the country as the monthslong hearing concludes this week. “The commission’s signal achievement has been to hold a mirror to the broader Australian community about the breadth and intensity of hostility that has been directed at Jews since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and the following war in Gaza. The testimony of lived experience highlighted the extent to which intimidation and victimisation of Jews has permeated virtually every corner of life in this country, from children’s sporting fields to schools and universities, the public service, union movement, arts and entertainment, politics and even the healthcare system.” [TheGuardian]
Palling Around with Piker: Bloomberg Opinion’s David Drucker explores the degree to which antisemitism has permeated the Democratic Party. “Major candidates for Congress have paraded around with [Hasan] Piker, a Twitch streamer with over 3 million followers on the platform, and Democratic voters have nominated primary candidates who are aggressively critical of Israel — and only Israel — and traffic in antisemitic tropes. Their rise is jeopardizing the Democrats’ historically strong bond with Jewish voters, a key component of their liberal coalition.” [Bloomberg]
Picture of the Day
Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun (right), the State Department’s antisemitism envoy, met with Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar this week in Bogota. Bula was appointed to the position last month following the victory of Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Credit: X
Birthdays
Danielle Weisberg, co-founder of theSkimm, turns 40
Ruth Ann Hapner, Chatsworth, Calif., resident
Mark Freedman, board chair for North America at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, turns 75
Michael Wolff, author, essayist and journalist, turns 73
Moshe Shlomo “Vladimir” Sloutsker, co-founder of the Israeli Jewish Congress, he is a former senator in the Russian Federation, turns 70
Martha E. Pollack, president of Cornell University until June 2024, turns 68
Kathy Hochul, governor of New York since 2021, turns 68
Anna Azari, Israel’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, turns 67
Gary Cohn, vice chairman at IBM and lead independent director on the board of Apollo Global Management, he was previously the president and COO of Goldman Sachs, turns 66
Nadav Tamir, executive director of J Street Israel, he served as Israel’s consul general to New England from 2006 to 2010
Steve Clemons, editor-at-large at The National Interest and the founding editor of Semafor, he is also chairman and CEO of Widehall, turns 64
Neil A. Wallack, private equity investor and a trustee of the Jewish Federations of North America’s board
Daphne Koller, Israeli-born CEO of Insitro, she was a professor at Stanford for 18 years and a 2004 winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship, turns 58
Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence throughout the four years of the Biden administration, she was the first woman to ever hold the DNI position, turns 57
Vanessa Wruble, co-founder of the 2017 Women’s March which she eventually left citing concerns over antisemitism, turns 52
Joshua Goldberg, managing partner and founder of NYC-based G2 Investment Partners
Shai Babad, former director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, now CEO of the Strauss Group, turns 50
Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston, Ill., he is the Democratic congressional nominee in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, turns 49
Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, turns 43
Nelson France, outreach manager at the Middle East Forum
Adam Metzger, member of AJR, an indie pop multi-instrumentalist trio, together with his two brothers, turns 36
Michael Weiss
Yuval Sapir, director of the Botanical Garden and senior lecturer, both positions at Tel Aviv University
Talia Rubin
The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee didn't address Piker's role in promoting his campaign or his attack on congressional nominee Jeremy Moss
(JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images)
Abdul El-Sayed addresses supporters at his election night event at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 2026
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself, to a degree, from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has been a prominent surrogate of his campaign, after Piker attacked Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss and argued that Jews are inciting antisemitic violence against themselves by supporting Israel.
But, in the statement — posted on X under the heading, “My statement on Hasan Piker’s comments regarding Jeremy Moss” — El-Sayed didn’t name Piker or Moss, and didn’t directly address Piker’s comments.
“I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate what they believe without fear of violence,” El-Sayed said. “This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.”
Amid ongoing attacks on him for his association with Piker, El-Sayed also insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
He went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his own campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward.
“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” El-Sayed added. “Antisemitism is a scourge and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”
Despite the title of the statement addressing Moss, the statement itself did not directly address El-Sayed’s fellow Michigan Democrat or Moss’ allegations that opponents are spreading fabricated audio of him promoting antisemitic tropes.
Republican nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) blasted El-Sayed’s comments as insufficient.
“Hasan Piker’s call for violence against the Jewish Community, specifically against Jeremy Moss, must be condemned by every single Michigan Democrat. But Conman Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t have the guts to disavow his running mate,” Rogers said. “Abdul’s attempt at distancing himself from this violent and hateful rhetoric now that he and Hasan won the primary is the epitome of what a conman does — says one thing when it serves him and another when it doesn’t.”
Rogers added, “His rhetoric is causing fear in Michigan communities, is unAmerican, and makes him unfit to represent our state.”
Moss said in a statement later on Monday that he and El-Sayed, whom Moss has not yet endorsed, are in ongoing conversations about their shared goals, safety for Jews and Arabs and co-existence among Michigan communities.
“These important conversations do not fit neatly in the confines of a tweet or a reel, like so many want them to. I’m grateful that Abdul and I are having them,” Moss said. “There is still work ahead to unite our ticket despite our differences. It won’t happen overnight, nor should it. It will require continuing outreach that is credible and authentic.”
But Moss made clear that despite his disagreements with El-Sayed, he will not support Rogers, as some other leaders in the Jewish community plan to.
Moss also lambasted Piker, without naming him individually.
“Provocatuers are exploiting this moment to create further divisions. I will not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan’s Jewish community should and shouldn’t believe,” Moss continued. “And we certainly won’t be gaslit that we’re responsible for the antisemitic harm upon us. The attempted murder of Jewish children in West Bloomfield has no justification,” he said, referencing the violent attack on Temple Israel earlier this year.
Piker has so far shrugged off criticisms of his comments, including those from another Michigan Democrat, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI). In a response, Piker called Scholten “an israel 1st congresswoman,” and said she’s “vying for the spotlight by actively defaming a prominent antizionist voice to harm the dem senate majority chances over a 90/10 issue,” while referencing unverified rumors about Scholten’s personal life.
The Alaska Senate race is pitting a moderate Democrat against a Republican with a record as a national security hawk
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks during a ceremony for the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, DC on December 3, 2024.
Alaska’s closely watched Senate race, which will help determine the balance of power in the Senate, is set to pit a consistent — if rarely prominent — Democratic supporter of Israel against a prominent Republican national security hawk. Unlike in some other battleground races, the issue of Israel has rarely come up in the campaign.
Peltola was not a leader on Middle East policy issues during her time in the House and did not highlight it as a priority, but was generally a reliable vote in support of Israel, breaking on numerous occasions with the majority of her party on the issue.
Peltola’s campaign did not provide comment in response to repeated inquiries from Jewish Insider about whether her stance has changed since leaving the House. But she has said she opposes the Iran war, and would have voted with nearly all other Democrats for war powers measures that sought to force a halt to the war.
“Dan Sullivan voted for the Iran war 12 times,” Peltola said on X on Thursday, highlighting the impact the war has had on rural Alaska communities. “Alaskans are suffering because Dan Sullivan continues to rubber stamp an unpopular foreign war that’s causing energy prices to skyrocket. We need change.”
Peltola was one of just 46 House Democrats who voted in February 2024 in favor of a stand-alone Israel aid package — separate from the bipartisan package that also provided aid for Ukraine and Taiwan — and one of just 16 who voted for a measure that would have forced the Biden administration to proceed with arms sales to Israel that had been withheld.
Peltola also voted for various measures imposing strengthened sanctions on Iran and severely limiting the Biden administration’s ability to lift such sanctions, some of which were opposed by a majority of Democrats. She also was in favor of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
She voted for a resolution describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, for a measure calling for the firing of university presidents for their testimony on campus antisemitism, for the Antisemitism Awareness Act and for a resolution describing the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic — though she voted against censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for using the phrase.
Peltola also voted against a measure — that became increasingly unpopular among Democrats — which would have allowed the Treasury Department to unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deemed to be supporting terrorism.
Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been more deeply involved in national security issues, and has been a prominent supporter of Israel and a hawk on Iran.
Sullivan has been a frequent leader on legislation and other efforts to support Israel, including serving as a lead co-sponsor in 2025 of the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act, to expand and increase funding for cooperative defense programs and the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025, targeting parties involved in the Iranian oil trade.
Among other policies, Sullivan has distinguished himself with yearslong calls, in both interviews and hearings with senior military officials, for the U.S. to retaliate against the Iranian military directly for Houthi attacks on American and commercial shipping, dating back at least to mid-2024.
“My view is, at this juncture, the only way to deter the Houthis is to make Iran pay the price. We should sink all their spy ships who probably helped with this attack,” Sullivan told JI at the time. “We should tell them we’ll sink your whole Navy if you continue this. We have the capacity to sink the Iranian Navy [within] two hours, and we just let the Houthis attack us, attack Israel.”
He has traveled to Israel and the Middle East repeatedly, including at least three times since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. He joined a bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia and Israel weeks after the attacks, which aimed to salvage progress toward the Abraham Accords.
Sullivan has proven willing to press Trump administration officials at times, having delivered a particularly tough grilling of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during his 2025 confirmation hearing over Colby’s past accommodationist rhetoric on Iran.
Though he ultimately supported Colby’s confirmation, Sullivan, joining other Senate Republicans, later accused Colby of avoiding the congressional communication and collaboration he had promised during his confirmation proceedings. But he and other senators have said the situation has improved since they aired their concerns publicly.
Sullivan supported the 2024 supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies.
After pushing Henry Ford’s The International Jew, Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington said her ongoing housing dispute is the ‘same thing they’re doing in the West Bank’
Instagram/Screenshot
Brooklyn Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington speaks to Egyptian podcaster Rahma Zein.
A Brooklyn Democratic politician and housing activist with a history of pushing century-old antisemitic conspiracy theories blamed the property dispute that launched her to prominence on “Zionists” in a recent interview with an Egyptian social media personality.
The comments came from Carmella Charrington, who was elected in June to the unpaid but important role of Democratic district leader, a position that helps pick the party’s influential chairperson and judicial nominees — and who last fall shared on Instagram a video promoting Henry Ford’s notorious 1920s pamphlet series The International Jew.
Charrington gained fame amid a legal fight for control of her family’s brownstone home in the fast-gentrifying Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, which she has labeled a case of deed theft but which New York state Attorney General Letitia James’ office determined was simply an inheritance dispute.
Sitting down with Egyptian podcaster Rahma Zein, Charrington raged against the Jewish investors who had acquired the building and suggested a vague but insidious link to the Jewish state.
“They’re Zionists that basically did this. Same thing that they’re doing in the West Bank, it’s the same thing. There’s a connection,” the politician said, name-dropping Joseph and Elliot Ambalo and Daniel Gazal, who acquired stakes in the property from a conservator for Charrington’s elderly father. “But they are connected, the same people that’s doing it in the West Bank. I didn’t believe it at first. I just was like, who? Like, they’re like, it’s the people in Brooklyn, not just anything like in the U.S. It’s the connection straight to Brooklyn. And then they’re so bold, they come here and do it and show it.”
Charrington did not say what the exact “connection” was in the interview, which Zein posted last week to her Instagram and YouTube channels, and did not respond to calls and text messages for this story. Publicly posted biographies indicate that Gazal was born in Israel, but that the Ambalo brothers are natives of New York.
Charrington shared a still from the interview on her own Instagram account, set to the song “Jamaica Love” by the artist Busy Signal.
“It must stop displacement for all!!!!#dad #brooklyn #nyc #lovers #ceo,” she wrote in the caption.
The fight over Charrington’s home earned her the attention of the most prominent members of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — including Councilman Chi Osse, who was arrested protesting in her defense at the property, and the incident inspired Mayor Zohran Mamdani to establish a new office of deed theft prevention. Two other DSA members, State Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assembly candidate Eon Huntley, lent her bid to become district leader ballot access and campaign support.
Osse, Brisport and Huntley all denounced Charrington’s sharing of the International Jew Instagram video last November, which blamed Jewish people for everything from slavery to gay rights to the sale of alcohol and drugs. Despite yelling “get your rabbi” repeatedly at a JI reporter over the phone and railing against the house’s Jewish buyers and against the Jewish judge who sent her to Rikers Island on a contempt of court charge, Charrington apologized for the post in a subsequent interview with The New York Times.
Brisport and Huntley did not respond to requests for comment, and have not called for Charrington to renounce her party post. The Brooklyn Democratic Party is in the midst of a power struggle, as left-leaning forces seek to oust the present centrist leader, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte.
Bichotte’s key rival, activist Julio Peña, ran on a slate with Charrington. Peña did not respond to questions about whether he considered Charrington’s views disqualifying, or whether he would accept her support to become chairman.
Days after the original JI story ran, the New York City Sheriff’s Department took custody of Charrington’s father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and returned him to Georgia, where a court had made him a ward of the state.
A clear divide is emerging in the prospective 2028 presidential field over the issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship and dealing with rising antisemitism
Israel Hadari
Rahm Emanuel speaks at Tel Aviv University on July 8, 2026.
A quarter century ago, when the late Sen. Joe Lieberman was tapped by Al Gore, the Democratic nominee for president, to be his running mate on the 2000 ticket, the question around many a Shabbat table was, “Is he too Jewish to be in the White House?”
There’s a different question being asked, largely in Democratic circles, of today’s Jewish presidential candidates: “Is he the ‘right’ kind of Jewish candidate to be president?” — a question that is almost entirely centered around a candidate’s position on Israel and how openly he identifies with his religious faith.
A long list of Jewish candidates are considering a presidential campaign or are being touted as credible contenders, ranging from moderates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to progressives like Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and those who straddle the ideological divide, like Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
In both 2026 and 2028, the debate over Israel is on the ballot: Congressional primaries are pitting pro-Israel candidates against those who don’t acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a
Jewish state, and already a clear divide is emerging in the prospective 2028 presidential field over the issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship and dealing with rising antisemitism.
Even in races where Israel policy is not front-and-center, invoking AIPAC has become something of a catch-all slur for progressives attacking the role of outside money in Democratic primaries. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 hopeful, proudly proclaimed in February that he’d never taken AIPAC money — which of course he hasn’t, given that AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC historically focus on federal, not state, races.
Since soft-launching his presidential campaign last month (in Tel Aviv, no less), former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made the Jewish state — and its relationship with the U.S. — one of his top issues in speeches and interviews. Even when his views are well within the mainstream, his signaling that he’s talking tough against Israel is a sign he recognizes his long-standing pro-Israel record is a vulnerability in a Democratic presidential primary.
A week after his Tel Aviv speech, Emanuel appeared on the Council on Foreign Relations’ “The Spillover” podcast in an episode titled “Rahm Emanuel Talks Israel, Midterm Elections, and the Democratic Party.” Two days later, The New Yorker’s “Radio Hour” podcast aired an interview with Emanuel in conversation with David Remnick titled, “Rahm Emanuel Says Israel’s Path Is ‘Not Sustainable Politically.’” Earlier this week, Emanuel appeared on the podcast of anti-Zionist Peter Beinart for a conversation largely focused on Israel.
The polling reality is that despite his lengthy and impressive resume — a former U.S. ambassador, congressman, Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff — Emanuel’s record is out of step with the ascendant progressivism that’s taken hold within the party. (He is currently polling at 0% in most 2028 Democratic primary polls.)
Emanuel could be using his skill as a straight-talking political operative to push his party to the center on antisemitism and Israel, akin to the way former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his anti-Trump bromides against the MAGA-aligned candidates during the 2024 presidential debates. But Emanuel’s candidacy has thus far been an opportunity to push the party leftward on Israel — in essence, kashering an increasingly unfriendly approach to the U.S.-Israel relationship — and throw jabs at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Emanuel has a long and less-than-amicable history.
Both Emanuel and Newsom’s approaches reflect what they see as a political reality as the 2028 race comes into view: criticizing Israel might garner some support, while backing it is a losing argument.
Other leading Jewish Democrats who are considering 2028 bids are opting not to make Israel — and the future of its relationship with the U.S. — a cornerstone of their campaigns. Some, such as Shapiro, attempt to pivot when pressed on Israel questions, focusing instead on the domestic impact of the war with Iran or on U.S. national security. And when they do talk about Israel, criticism is largely focused on Israel’s government and not the country as a whole.
Shapiro, whose Israel stance was reportedly one reason former Vice President Kamala Harris opted against selecting him as her running mate in 2024, has frequently criticized Netanyahu while also legitimizing Israeli security concerns.
“I don’t think that if you are critical of Benjamin Netanyahu, you’re an antisemite,” Shapiro said on the “Higher Learning” podcast earlier this year. “By the way, I’m critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. And I have been for years and years and years, even predating Oct. 7. I think his approach has made Israel less safe.”
Pritzker has similarly kept the message — largely — focused on Netanyahu. In an in-depth New York Times interview in March, Pritzker said he felt Israelis had erred in selecting Netanyahu, saying that his leadership has led the country into “additional wars” and caused excess death and destruction in Gaza. On AIPAC, the Illinois Democrat, who previously supported the group, explained to The Times that his efforts to distance himself from the group were because it had become increasingly partisan and “pro-Trump,” rather than because of Israeli policy itself.
And then there’s Ossoff , who has always held positions on Israel that fall to the left of the others. We wrote last month that many Peach State Jews find themselves in a political no-win situation as Ossoff, who has voted to block weapons shipments to Israel, defends his seat against Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who has a history of inflammatory right-wing rhetoric — and a son-in-law who openly espouses white nationalist, antisemitic propaganda.
While all four have tacked left on Israel, they have done so to varying degrees — for example, Shapiro has expressed support for some aid to Israel to be conditioned, while Ossoff has voted to block weapons sales to Israel and Emanuel has called to immediately end all military aid to Israel.
2028 candidates rightfully sense that the party is shifting, not just on Israel but on a range of policies. When Lieberman was on the ticket a quarter century ago, the question was whether Americans were ready to elect a Jewish president (or vice president). Now, the question facing potential Jewish 2028 contenders is different: What do they have to say about Israel to persuade primary voters they are the “right” kind of Jew to become president?
The leading candidate, former state Sen. Matt Little, is calling for a full arms embargo on Israel
(Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Matt Little answers a question during a Congressional Candidate Forum at Minnesota Farmfest in Morgan, Minn., on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
The three major Democratic candidates vying to replace Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) are charting distinct lanes on Israel policy but only one of them, at a recent debate, offered support for Israel. The front-runner, former state Sen. Matt Little, is the Democrat positioning himself as most hostile to Israel in the race.
Little’s views are at odds with Craig, who was one of 98 House Democrats who declined to support an amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) that would have cut off $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel in 2027. (Craig is running for the Senate in a closely contested primary against a left-wing challenger.)
At a July 19 debate, Little called not only for the U.S. to stop sending military aid to Israel but also to impose an arms embargo “on the sale of all weapons to Israel,” preventing Israel from buying U.S. military systems — its primary source of armaments — with its own funds.
He said he would have voted for the Massie amendment and would have offered it himself if he had the opportunity.
“This is an issue I’ve been speaking out about for over a year, ever since we started the campaign. I think that is a big difference in this race,” Little said. “I’m the first person in this race to call it a genocide because that is exactly what it is.”
State Sen. Matt Klein, running as a moderate and seen as most closely aligned with Craig’s own record, was the only one of the three candidates who did not express support for the Massie amendment at the debate. Klein additionally did not name the war in Gaza as a genocide and described Israel as an ally and friend of the United States.
“As a father and as a physician, I know that what is occurring in Gaza is a humanitarian disaster, and it is our obligation as an ally and a friend of the State of Israel to try to end that and come to a peaceful solution, a two-state solution that provides dignity and safety for peoples of that entire region,” Klein said.
“I am a supporter of our alliance with the State of Israel, just as I am a patriotic American who has deep difficulties with Donald Trump’s leadership,” Klein continued. “I am a supporter of our friendship with Israel, who deeply objects to the way [Prime Minister] Netanyahu has prosecuted this war.”
State Rep. Kaela Berg charted out something of a middle position, but she is still calling for a complete halt to U.S. taxpayer funding to Israel.
“That was an ill-written piece of legislation. It was political gamesmanship from the Republicans meant to divide, and it did,” Berg said of the Massie amendment. “We shouldn’t send one more tax dollar to Israel. We cannot be responsible for funding the genocide in Gaza. … Benjamin Netanyahu’s government should not be funded by the United States.”
She also described Netanyahu as “largely responsible” for the U.S. war in Iran.
Little repeatedly accused both Klein and Berg during the debate of being funded or supported by AIPAC, which both candidates denied. The group has not been involved in the race.
Little has been endorsed by the anti-Israel group A New Policy, and the anti-Israel super PAC American Priorities has spent $64,000 supporting him. Berg has been “primary approved” by J Street, and Klein is supported by Democratic Majority for Israel.
The little publicly available polling in the race has shown Little in the lead. A mid-May poll by Little’s campaign showed him with a wide lead at 41%, followed by Berg at 13% and Klein at 11%. A late May poll by Klein’s campaign showed Little with a narrower lead at 26%, followed by Klein at 19% and Berg at 16%.
Little also won the state party endorsement at a convention in May and is supported by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and former Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
Little and Berg have both been leaning into appealing to the progressive party base, while Klein has argued that he’s more electable in a potentially competitive general election against GOP state Sen. Eric Pratt. The district was competitive in the past and was long held by Republicans prior to Craig, but is rated by the Cook Political Report as likely Democratic.
Klein’s campaign holds the lead in fundraising at $1.2 million, followed by Little at $923,000, with Berg trailing well behind at $391,000. The super PAC 314 Action Fund, which supports Democratic doctors and scientists running for office, has intervened aggressively to support Klein, spending nearly $2.5 million in the district.
Berg has been backed by EMILYs List and Our Revolution, a progressive campaign group founded by alumni of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign.
Klein’s campaign has come under scrutiny, and he was required to pay a $540 fine, after having been found to have bet on the outcome of the primary election on the prediction market Kalshi. Klein said he’d bet $50 that he would win the race.
Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign
(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan participate in a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn.
The outcome of Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary last week, where Abdul El-Sayed claimed a narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in an upset championed by the anti-Israel left, is looming over the next intraparty showdown being held in Minnesota on Tuesday — the latest in a series of proxy battles between the party’s mainstream and left-wing flanks.
In an echo of Michigan, the bitter Democratic primary for an open Senate seat in battleground Minnesota this week is pitting a moderate House member with a long-standing pro-Israel record, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), against an outspoken progressive, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose attack lines have frequently centered on AIPAC, which spent over $30 million in its unsuccessful effort to help Stevens.
The Minnesota primary is, in the closing stretch, likewise revolving around questions of electability for Democrats in the must-win November contest. Craig has pointed to controversies amid Flanagan’s tenure in government as vulnerabilities Republicans are eager to exploit — most notably including the welfare fraud scandal that prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his reelection campaign for a third term earlier this year.
Flanagan, in addition to her anti-AIPAC messaging, has hammered Craig over what she has described as a “disqualifying” vote approving the Laken Riley Act — legislation requiring the detention of unauthorized migrants charged with certain crimes — the optics of which have been damaging in the wake of President Donald Trump’s protracted immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Craig has expressed regret for her vote.
But unlike Michigan, where El-Sayed claimed the nomination by less than one point after polls had suggested a double-digit blowout, the Minnesota matchup has been seen as neck-and-neck, the outcome of which is hard to predict, experts say. Recent independent surveys have shown a statistical dead heat in the final weeks of the primary, with each candidate garnering around 40% of the vote.
The candidates’ equivocations over AIPAC and individual ties to the group have also emerged as fault lines in recent weeks, complicating the ideological divisions that have shaped other primaries in which Israel and Middle East policy have featured prominently.
In a reflection of the extent to which AIPAC is now viewed as a liability in Democratic primaries, Craig has distanced herself from the group, which has not officially made an endorsement in the race even as its donor network has contributed to her campaign. The congresswoman, who is backed by several pro-Israel lawmakers including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), has said she is not accepting contributions from AIPAC’s political arm in her current campaign.
During a recent debate, Flanagan said AIPAC had been Craig’s “biggest funder throughout her entire political career,” while claiming her own “values do not align with” the group. Flanagan has cast AIPAC as part of “a band of super villains” in the race now trying to “buy this election,” language some Jewish leaders say they have found unsettling amid rising antisemitism.
Flanagan, however, acknowledged last month she had met privately with AIPAC after The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained a video recording of remarks to Jewish community members — also reviewed by Jewish Insider — in which she said the outreach was “important” for her “to make sure that we’re building that relationship.”
Flanagan claims that AIPAC turned against her and came to regard her as a “threat” when she confirmed her support last year for Senate resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. She has since endorsed a House amendment to end aid to Israel, which Craig rejected, further illustrating her policy disagreements with the group.
Craig, for her part, has sharply dismissed the lieutenant governor as “completely disingenuous about her soliciting support from AIPAC,” claiming that she “has been very hypocritical” because of her efforts to demonize the group.
While Flanagan has insisted she was not seeking an endorsement in her outreach to AIPAC officials, she did write an Israel position paper that she submitted to the group as part of their discussions, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Manny Houle, a pro-Israel Democratic consultant in Minnesota, confirmed to JI that Flanagan presented a Middle East policy paper to AIPAC and said that he had personally reviewed the document. He said he no longer had a copy, which JI was unable to obtain, but he recalled that she “was open to conditioning aid” to Israel and said she “put a lot of pressure and fault on Israel and occupation,” among other “key factors” he characterized as distinguishing Flanagan from Craig.
Houle, a former director of progressive outreach for AIPAC in the Midwest, said his impression had been that Flanagan wrote the paper and sought the group’s feedback early in her campaign last year because she viewed it as part of a broader process. The lieutenant governor “would have been open to engaging within the network of donors” affiliated with AIPAC, Houle claimed, “but when she realized that wasn’t going to be the case,” she pivoted to a more hostile position.
“Many key advisors to Peggy are anti-AIPAC, so it’s hard for me to think she’d ever honestly in good faith engage with the organization,” Houle explained to JI. “I’ve had conversations with her throughout the race trying to get her to tone down her rhetoric” on Israel issues, he added, “but to no avail.”
A spokesperson for AIPAC did not return a request for comment.
Alexandra Fetisoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan’s campaign, did not directly address the AIPAC paper in a statement responding to a request for comment. “Flanagan disagrees with AIPAC’s deeply unpopular political agenda and the catastrophic actions of” the government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fetisoff told JI on Friday.
“Flanagan believes what has happened in Gaza is genocide, a position in line with the United Nations,” Fetisoff said. “Flanagan has consistently condemned antisemitism, and will continue standing with Jewish Minnesotans against hate.”
Last week, American Priorities, a new super PAC created to counter AIPAC’s influence in Democratic primaries, began spending in the race to help boost Flanagan, spending over $50,000 on an ad calling her a “fighter” who would “stand up to Trump” while touting her support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Flanagan also claims backing from the state Democratic Party and retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), whom she is vying to succeed, along with leading progressive critics of Israel such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Doug Rossinow, a professor of history at Metro State University in St. Paul, who has tracked divisions over Israel in the state Democratic Party, said the “AIPAC issue flew under the radar until pretty recently” in the election. “The Flanagan-Craig contest is, compared to Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary race, a classic case of Minnesota understatement and even passive aggression,” he told JI.
“Flanagan lately has made an issue of Craig’s history of support from AIPAC,” he noted, “but Craig, unlike Haley Stevens, doesn’t want to own that or talk about Israel.” Meanwhile, Flanagan has stated “little about her own position on Israel” and the region, he added, “unlike El-Sayed in Michigan,” a fierce critic of Israel who has refused to acknowledge its right to exist as a Jewish state.
One state party activist described the race as “a little bit less black and white than Michigan,” while noting the contrasts between Craig and Flanagan are not as drastic. “I see it as a toss-up,” he said of the primary.
Joe Radinovich, a Democratic consultant based in Minneapolis, added that while the national political mood has favored populist progressives, he believes there is reason to interpret the closer-than-expected finish in Michigan as a relatively promising omen for Craig, who flipped a GOP-held swing district in 2018.
“The dominant narrative has belonged to the further left wing of the party, populist candidates and people decrying AIPAC and Israel,” Radinovich, who said he is supporting Craig but is not involved in the primary, told JI in an interview on Friday. “But if I’m on the Craig campaign and looking at the results of the election in Michigan, I’m feeling some wind in my sails.”
Mara Kunin, Craig’s campaign manager, projected confidence in a statement on Friday. “National and state Republicans are making a serious play for this Senate seat and primary voters understand that we can’t risk putting up a weak candidate in the general election,” she said, adding Craig “is positioned to win this race on Tuesday and seal the deal in November.”
The Democratic nominee is expected to face Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter who is heavily favored to win the Republican primary, in November. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm has indicated that it views Minnesota among four pickup opportunities as the party seeks to retain its majority in the chamber.
“It is very saturated, very ugly and very negative,” another state party activist said about the primary, which has otherwise seen a flood of outside spending from opposing groups. “I think that AIPAC will have an impact in the race, but social services fraud could be more important,” he told JI. “Whoever wins, it will sort of say which issue” carries the most weight.
The Texas Democratic Senate nominee said on 'The Breakfast Club' that he ‘would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government’
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 09, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.
James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, said he would not vote to send further military aid to an Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that aid beyond that should be conditioned on Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
He also condemned AIPAC, saying it silences criticisms of Netanyahu and Israel.
“I would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government,” Talarico said in an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” podcast last week, adding later in the interview that he wants to stop weapons sales as well.
Pressed on military aid to Israel in general, Talarico said, “I think all of that needs to be conditioned on ending the death and the destruction in Gaza and the West Bank.”
But he continued to decline to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide, citing the ongoing legal case on the subject at the International Court of Justice. He said, however, that there is “certainly evidence to bring those charges” and that the U.S. should “abide by whatever ruling that the court comes to.”
“As a U.S. senator, my job would be to take action,” he continued. “My job would not be to litigate what terms are used. My job would be to stop what’s happening. And that’s why I’ve said I would use every bit of our nation’s diplomatic and financial leverage to protect the lives of Palestinians.”
Talarico has made similar comments regarding aid to Israel earlier in the race, which prompted some Jewish Texans to turn away from him in the primary.
He suggested in the interview that politicians face pressure from AIPAC to not criticize Netanyahu — though even AIPAC-supported Democrats have been highly critical of the Israeli leader.
“The influence of AIPAC in our elections has a chilling effect and people don’t feel like they can speak their minds because they’re worried AIPAC is going to drop hundreds of millions of dollars of money in their race — usually not even talking about the issue of Israel or issues that Jewish Americans face,” he said, referring to AIPAC’s strategy of highlighting issues other than Israel in ads in Democratic districts.
In a statement, Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said, “James believes every human life is sacred. His longstanding record combating antisemitism, defending Jewish students on the floor of the Texas House, and supporting Israel’s right to exist demonstrate his steadfast commitment to Jewish safety.”
“He will continue to speak out against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unacceptable actions that threaten civilians in Gaza — this moral clarity should never be misconstrued as opposition to the safety and security of Israeli civilians and Jewish people around the world,” Krasne continued. “In the coming months, James looks forward to working with Jewish leaders to continue the important work of eradicating hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”
A 42-year-old progressive state senator has quietly closed the gap on the 73-year-old pro-Israel incumbent, with internal polls showing a tightening race before Saturday's vote
Alex Brandon/AP
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a House Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington.
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat in Hawaii who was first elected to the House in 2002, has not drawn a serious primary threat in several years.
Now, as he prepares to defend his seat in a primary on Saturday that has largely flown under the radar, some Democrats are warning that Case, 73, could be at risk of losing to a younger challenger capitalizing on a national political environment that has proven unfavorable to Democratic incumbents amid broader calls for generational change from the party’s activist base.
“It’s one of those sleeper races where there’s definitely an upset brewing,” said a Democratic operative who worked on the Case campaign until a few months ago, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals. “Ed is running a poor race,” the former staffer told Jewish Insider, echoing other observers who described a sluggish approach in which Case has largely foregone campaign events and avoided debates with his opposition.
While the contest has not centered around Israel or AIPAC, which has officially endorsed Case but is not involved in the race, it reflects a trend seen in several recent Democratic primaries, where well-established pro-Israel incumbents were unseated by increasingly competitive challenges from an emboldened far left.
Jarrett Keohokalole, a 42-year-old progressive state senator, has instead argued that his opponent is not meeting “the urgency of the moment,” to which Case has countered that “seniority matters” in Congress — where he sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Keohokalole’s message is resonating, experts in the state and recent polling suggest, particularly after a separate challenger dropped out of the race in May, effectively narrowing the contest to what is viewed as a one-on-one matchup in Hawaii’s safely Democratic 1st District, anchored by the state capital of Honolulu on Oahu.
One Democratic strategist in Honolulu who is not involved in the primary told JI that Keohokalole “is making this closer than” Case “would like to see” in the final stretch of the race. “There’s really not much of any excitement around him,” he said of the veteran lawmaker.
“I think it’s going to be closer than anyone would have predicted back in the beginning and may come down to a single-digit difference,” another Honolulu strategist who is not working in the primary told JI.
“Jarrett has closed the gap” and run a “very effective campaign,” the strategist added, noting that Case had stepped up his digital advertising and texting, “which he hasn’t ever done before.”
Polling from Keohokalole’s campaign conducted in early July and obtained by JI had Case leading by eight points, 33-25%, with 42% undecided. A more recent internal tracking poll from July 24 showed Keohokalole leading Case by seven points.
Martin Hamburger, a veteran Democratic ad maker who is serving as a media consultant to Keohokalole, said he was feeling optimistic. “Our first poll showed us that there was a big name ID gap, but Case wasn’t breaking 50 percent,” he told JI, noting that he cut an introductory ad with a jingle about how to pronounce Keohokalole’s name based on a tune preschoolers in Hawaii learn.
“I think we have a very, very good shot, as good a shot as all the work I’ve done in Hawaii,” Hamburger told JI this week. “There are a lot of trade winds that are blowing in a ‘throw the bums out’ sort of mood.”
Hamburger’s firm has also been working for Future Progress, a new super PAC that recently entered the primary to boost Keohokalole and whose donors have yet to be disclosed. But he said he was not personally involved in the effort and that his firm had instituted a firewall between the campaign and the super PAC.
In contrast with other races where Middle East policy had featured prominently, “Israel has barely come up at all,” Hamburger told JI. He described Keohokalole as more closely aligned with J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy organization. Hamburger, who called himself pro-Israel and an AIPAC supporter, said that he wrote Keohokalole’s Israel position paper but was unable to share the final draft with JI.
Keohokalole, backed by groups critical of Israel such as Our Revolution and Peace Action, has appeared to avoid more divisive rhetoric on Israel used by the far left, including claims of genocide. But he has still positioned himself well to the left of Case on Middle East policy, recently confirming he would have voted in favor of an amendment to end aid to Israel that drew support from more than 100 House Democrats. Case opposed the measure.
To the extent Middle East policy has emerged as a salient issue in the primary, it has come in relation to the Iran war and rising gas prices that have provoked broader debates about affordability.
“I haven’t read or heard Ed Case say ‘I opposed the war in Iran and we need to stop the fighting now,’” Keohokalole said recently. “I haven’t heard him say, ‘Not one more taxpayer dollar’ toward extending this conflict. It needs to end now.”
He has also criticized Case for taking contributions from AIPAC and defense contractors, but the group has not been a major source of attention in the race, even as it has grown increasingly toxic in other Democratic primaries. Keohokalole has not actively sought to draw attention to Israel during the race, observers say.
A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to comment on the primary.
While experts say that Case is likely vulnerable, a low-turnout election combined with Keohokalole’s relative lack of name ID remain as obstacles in a state where it is notoriously difficult to unseat incumbents.
John Hart, a professor of communications at Hawaii Pacific University, called speculation that Case is in trouble “wishful thinking,” while also acknowledging that “the progressive end of the party and some of the Hawaii party leadership” is “not happy with some of his votes.”
“However, it is incredibly difficult if not impossible to take out an incumbent Democrat at the federal level in this state,” Hart told JI, adding that Case “simply hasn’t made the major kind of mistake either in his personal, financial or policy choices that would result in this stunning of an upset.”
Neither campaign returned requests for comment from JI.
Whatever the outcome, the former Case campaign staffer said the race more broadly demonstrates how progressive challengers to AIPAC-backed incumbents can mount an opposition without fixating on Israel.
“While Israel is obviously playing a large factor nationally,” the former campaign staffer told JI this week, the Hawaii contest “shows there is a pathway for progressives to win without making the whole race about AIPAC.”
Other centrist Senate Democrats also sounded reticent about embracing their Michigan Senate nominee
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), a moderate Michigan lawmaker representing a swing district, broke with most other Democratic members of the Michigan congressional delegation in declining to offer an explicit endorsement of Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as of Wednesday afternoon, after offering strident criticism of him during the primary campaign.
“Congratulations to everyone who participated in Michigan’s hard-fought primary elections last night, and thank you to every voter who made your voice heard. In these close elections, we want you to know — you are HEARD,” Scholten said in a statement that did not mention El-Sayed. “Now our focus turns forward. I’ve always said I’ll work with anyone committed to lowering costs, expanding affordable health care, creating more opportunity, and fighting corruption. I mean that.”
A Scholten spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification on whether this constituted an endorsement of El-Sayed.
Scholten said that she is a “proud, commonsense Democrat” and said that she’s focused on helping to elect “similar candidates around the country.”
During the campaign, as a vocal supporter of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Scholten suggested she might struggle to support El-Sayed in the general election.
“I will not stand beside someone who has allowed distinctly anti-American sentiment to enter our public dialogue,” she said in one interview.
In another, she criticized El-Sayed for campaigning with antisemitic and anti-Israel influencer Hasan Piker.
“To campaign with Hasan Piker, who said America deserved Sept. 11 — sure, he went on to disavow those comments, but I’m telling you, nobody on my team would ever, you know, come even close to making a comment like that,” she said. “I think that condoning behavior like this from candidates like Abdul El-Sayed is taking us in a direction that we don’t want to go as a party.”
Other Democratic moderates, with the exception of maverick Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), are largely keeping their heads down following the election, with several contacted by JI declining to comment or not responding to requests.
Other Democrats are backing El-Sayed.
“He worked hard. People in Michigan had their word last night, and I imagine he’s going to work really hard over the next 90 days to win this race, and it’s obviously a critical one,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said. “If we’re going to fix some of the problems created by this president, we’ve got to win back the Senate.”
Asked whether he believes the narrow margin of victory for El-Sayed might imperil his chances in November, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who had supported Stevens in the primary, offered a short response: “Yeah, he could win. Definitely.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he hasn’t met El-Sayed but noted that Stevens had endorsed him and “my sense is that whatever divisiveness there might have been because of the primary, they’re … past it.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) declined to comment on El-Sayed’s history or his decision to campaign with Piker, and said that he doesn’t think “generalizations are possible from one race” about the direction of the party, “whether it’s in Brooklyn or Michigan.”
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