Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR), in a letter to Portland’s Jewish community, apologized for a recent House floor speech in which she appeared to compare the war in Gaza to the Holocaust while explaining her support for a resolution describing the war as a genocide.

According to local reporting, Dexter, who represents a wide swath of Portland, told Jewish leaders in a private meeting she intends to remain a co-sponsor of that resolution.

“I am reaching out with humility and appreciation that intent and impact can sometimes be quite different, and I recognize and take responsibility for the harm I have done to the trust I have with many in our Jewish community,” Dexter said in the letter, first shared by the Jewish Review, a publication affiliated with the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. “I am deeply sorry that my recent statement on the U.S. House floor gave the impression that I was equating the Holocaust with the evolving events in Gaza.”

Dexter said that she “should not have discussed” the war in Gaza and the Holocaust “during the same speech” and acknowledged that the speech “gave many the impression I was comparing them” when she did not intend to do so. She said that the Holocaust “is without comparison.”

“In the aftermath of Hamas’ atrocious attack on October 7th and in the face of rising antisemitism that is pervasive in every corner of the world, I am genuinely sorry to have been the cause of further pain,” Dexter continued. “I am mindful of the remaining living survivors of the Holocaust and certainly many, many family members of victims and survivors who I may have hurt. I want to apologize to them for how my words may have been hurtful toward them or disrespectful of their loved ones’ memories.”

Dexter said that she remains committed to supporting Oregon’s Jewish community and Israel’s right to exist, and pledged to “work to do better in the future” to consider how her words may impact the community.

“Clearly, I could have done better. I will continue to come to the Jewish community, those both in support and in opposition to my views, to expand my understanding and sit in honest discourse with you, to hopefully build greater trust and understanding with time,” Dexter continued. “You have my commitment to standing up against antisemitism and for the needs of our Jewish community today — and every day.”

Dexter also met directly with and apologized to members of the Jewish community, including Jewish Federation of Greater Portland CEO Marc Blattner and Bob Horenstein, chief community relations and public affairs officer, according to the Jewish Review article.

Horenstein told the Jewish Review that the meeting was a “candid and difficult discussion” and said that Dexter offered regret for her “poor choice of words,” but that she said she would not withdraw her support for the resolution accusing Israel of genocide.

“In the meeting, Rep. Dexter reinforced Israel’s right to exist and to self-defense. However, she believed the Netanyahu government went too far and thus would not withdraw her co-sponsorship of the misguided congressional resolution. On the issue of the Holocaust comparison, she listened intently and we believe her apology was heartfelt,” Horenstein said. “We look forward to working with her and being a resource to her moving forward.”

Dexter was first elected in 2024, beating back a far-left challenger with assistance from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project. Though she offered a broadly pro-Israel platform in 2024, she has since swung left, also calling for a halt to offensive weapons transfers to the Jewish state.

Today’s special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — covering parts of Nashville, its conservative suburbs and rural counties in middle Tennessee — was expected to be a sleepy affair, given that the district backed President Donald Trump with 60% of the vote in 2024. The state’s aggressively partisan redistricting in 2021 was intended to guarantee GOP dominance of the state’s congressional delegation, leaving just one Democratic district in Memphis.

But in a sign that Trump’s growing unpopularity is creating unforeseen problems for Republicans in conservative constituencies, the race between Republican military veteran Matt Van Epps, a former state Cabinet secretary, and Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn is highly competitive. 

The fact that polls show the race tightening — with one Emerson College poll showing Van Epps in a statistical tie with Behn — is a sign of just how treacherous the political landscape has become for Republicans. Gallup’s latest survey found Trump with a 36% job approval, close to an all-time low throughout his two terms in office.  

If Republicans are nervous about holding a seat that Trump won by 22 points, there’s a growing likelihood of a blue wave that would give Democrats comfortable control of the House and an outside shot at a Senate majority. (One useful benchmark: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) carried the 7th District by just two points in her 2018 Senate race, the last election year when Democrats rode a wave to win back the House.)

The fact that Republicans are struggling to make the case that the unapologetically progressive Behn holds views out of step with the conservative district on everything from anti-police rhetoric to antipathy towards her home city of Nashville to a record of hostility against Israel is also a sign of how nationalized our politics have become. In today’s tribal world, candidate quality and specific policy views mean a lot less than the overall political mood (vibes) and the popularity of the president.

Once someone wins their party’s nomination, the penalty for holding ideologically extreme views isn’t as costly as it once was. Just look at incoming Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s showings in the November elections. Despite their substantial baggage, both candidates received a level of political legitimacy after winning their primaries.

Getting Trump voters to show up when the president isn’t on the ballot is also looking like an immense challenge that the closer-than-expected Tennessee race is showing — a dynamic that will continue past next year’s midterms. Part of it is the nature of off-year special elections, which less-engaged Republican voters aren’t likely to participate in. But some of the slippage in this race is also a sign of declining enthusiasm for the Republican Party even with more reliably GOP voters. 

The district is anchored by the affluent Nashville suburb of Williamson County, which stuck with Trump even as most other suburban areas swung towards Democrats over the last decade. 

Gallup found Trump dropping to 84% support among Republican voters, a decline of about 10 points in the last couple of months. If Republicans are slipping with their own voters, amid signs of cracks within the MAGA coalition, it would truly be a warning sign that the party’s vaunted unity under Trump could be dissipating as his final term progresses.

Odds still favor Van Epps in tonight’s special election, given the district’s solidly conservative bent. But if a progressive like Behn can make this race close — within single digits — it will serve as a flashing red light about where the political winds are heading for the White House, at least without a course correction. 

In Texas, two Republicans who have faced condemnations from the Jewish community could be making comebacks in this year’s Republican congressional primaries.

Social media influencer and gun activist Brandon Herrera is making a second attempt to take down Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), after losing to the congressman by less than 400 votes in 2024 in the 23rd Congressional District, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Herrera attracted controversy and criticism for videos he posted on YouTube featuring imagery, music and jokes about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, and was active for years in a Sons of Confederate Veterans group in North Carolina. He also pledged to support ending U.S. foreign aid, including to Israel.

The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition launched substantial ad campaigns against Herrera in 2024, highlighting his Nazi-related videos.

Gonzales is currently under scrutiny after a former staffer died by suicide after setting herself on fire. The staffer and Gonzales had allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair, something both Gonzales and the woman’s family deny.

Gonzales has a sizable lead in fundraising with $1.5 million raised and $2.5 million on hand, to Herrera’s $307,000.

Another candidate, rancher Susan Storey Rubio, also announced plans to challenge Gonzales from his right. But it’s unclear if she is still running for the seat — her campaign’s social media pages are unavailable and she refunded campaign donations she had received, as well as repaid much of a loan she made to her campaign. Her campaign account had no money remaining and $163,000 in debt listed as of last month.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist, said that the race is difficult to predict, but that it’s likely “going to be a good tough close race.” Both candidates, he said, have likely spent the time since their last faceoff building up their local bases of support to prepare for this rematch.

For insurgents like Herrera, Steinhauser said, a first race can give them time to build up a local base of support and to show that they have a real shot at winning. He said that Gonzales, too, has also likely been working to address some of the issues that drove voters’ opposition in the past race.

Former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is rumored to be planning a second attempt at a political comeback; he served one term from 1995 to 1997, narrowly beating a Democratic incumbent, before losing reelection. He ran and was elected again in 2013 in a newly created district. In 2015, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a primary against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

After leaving Congress, he was indicted and convicted on felony charges of financial misconduct, money laundering and fraud, using $1.25 million from political donors to pay for personal expenses. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his sentence was commuted after just two years by President Donald Trump at the tail end of his first term in office.

During his first term in Congress, Stockman faced condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League for appearing on a radio show run by a Holocaust-denying conspiracy group, the Liberty Lobby. In an interview, Stockman denied that the show was antisemitic.

“They said that because they talk against ‘international bankers’ that means they’re against Jewish folks,” he said at the time. “The largest banks today are not American. I know that most of them are Japanese now.” 

He also defended himself by saying that he had “a Christian Jewish person” working in his office. Stockman asked staff in his congressional office to participate in a daily Christian prayer service.

Stockman, who at the time was known as a generally bizarre and fringe figure, also pushed conspiracy theories about the 1993 Waco siege and maintained ties to militia groups.

Stockman did cast himself as a supporter of Israel during his time in Congress — at one point memorably vanishing for weeks on what was later revealed to be a delegation trip to Israel and Egypt — sponsoring legislation cutting off support for organizations that exclude Israeli organizations in the West Bank and speaking at pro-Israel events in support of the Jewish state. He also condemned antisemitic activity in Armenia.

Stockman has yet to declare his candidacy, but was reportedly interested in pursuing the Houston-area 9th Congressional District that was revamped as a result of the GOP’s partisan redistricting push to become a solidly conservative seat.

But after a federal court ruled this month that Texas cannot use its new maps, ordering the state to stick with the congressional lines it has had since 2021, Stockman’s fate is uncertain. The redistricting ruling was appealed, with the Supreme Court temporarily ordering the state to use its 2025 map for now. adding uncertainty to what the Texas map will look like for the 2026 midterms. 

Stockman could not be reached for comment.

Steinhauser said he hasn’t heard any particular chatter about Stockman’s plans.

“Given the district [was] going to be … a very conservative area, it certainly would look attractive to him or anyone else looking to run,” Steinhauser said. He said Stockman could point to the prosecution and Trump’s pardon to frame himself as a victim of a weaponized political prosecution, as Trump has done, telling voters, “they came after me just like they came after the president.”

But Steinhauser also said it’s still a relatively open race and that various others could still join.

Congressional lawmakers met Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a day after a summit between the Saudi leader and President Donald Trump at the White House, where the administration announced a slew of new military and civilian deals with Riyadh.

Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met separately with the crown prince midday Wednesday. Risch described the meeting to Jewish Insider as “very good.”

“We talked about the president’s 20-point plan for Gaza, obviously the normalization process with Israel and the things that are related to that — it was a very good meeting,” Risch said.

Bin Salman said publicly on Tuesday that he’s interested in joining the Abraham Accords but only after a clear pathway to a Palestinian state has been implemented.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) organized a separate meeting with Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim Banks (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rep. French Hill (R-AR). Ernst, Lankford and Rosen co-chair the Abraham Accords Caucus.

“It was a great meeting, great discussion,” Banks said. “Our relationship has never been stronger. … His visit to the U.S. has been incredibly successful, not just in Washington but throughout the rest of the country. America is very pro-MBS and pro-Saudi Arabia, and the relationship is only going to grow further from here.”

He noted that his state’s national guard is a partner of the Saudi Arabian military, so the state has a special relationship with Riyadh.

“We discussed everything. MBS is focused on the future, artificial intelligence, data centers, the relationship with the United States, we talked about all of it,” Banks continued. “It was a candid discussion. I have a sense — I’m a young senator, he’s a young world leader — that he’s going to be around for a long time and our relationship’s only going to improve and grow from here.”

Sheehy said the meeting was “great.”

“They are our strongest ally — obviously besides Israel — in the region so we’ve got to stay close to them and make sure we’re aligned,” Sheehy said.

Lankford declined to delve into the specifics of what was discussed. Still, he described it as “positive” and “a good meeting.”

Rosen said, “Saudi Arabia plays a critical role with the US and other Middle Eastern partners to combat Iranian aggression in the region, and I believe Saudi-Israel normalization is key to long term peace in the region. I attended the meeting today to learn about the Saudi vision for a future Middle East and conditions for joining the Abraham Accords.”Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said he asked bin Salman about a two-state solution.

“My question was direct—I believe in the two-state solution. I believe the only way to bring real peace to the Middle East is to give both the Palestinian and Israeli people a safe homeland. We need to work towards that goal,” Durbin said in a statement.

An individual familiar with the discussion described it as “a very cordial and productive discussion that included all different topics, including Israel and Hamas, how to work together to box out Iran, and economic development between our nations.”

But Rosen said she emerged with lingering questions about some of the deals announced this week.

“However, I still have questions about several of the White House announcements this week, including the sale of F-35s to the Kingdom and how we will maintain Israel’s QME and protect our own technology,” she said. “I urge the Administration to provide Congress with more specifics on all of these agreements as soon as possible.”

On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), Jim Himes (D-CT), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Adam Smith (D-WA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) reportedly participated in a separate meeting with bin Salman.

Rogers, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, described bin Salman as “very impressive.” 

“He did a great job, he’s been a great ally in that region … he was very impressive today,” Rogers said.

He said that the issue of Saudi normalization with Israel was not discussed, and that the conversation focused more on “stabilizing the region from threats.”

Johnson, in a podcast interview with Katie Miller after the meeting, said that bin Salman was “very engaging” and praised his “sense of humor.”

“It was encouraging, we need that partnership between the two nations,” Johnson said

“He just wowed [the attendees],” Johnson said. “My Democrat colleagues were leaving and Greg Meeks … said, ‘He’s really good.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, he is’’

The withdrawal of nonprofit executive Jessica Reinmann from the Democratic primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District — a top-targeted swing seat currently held by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) — is bringing the top contenders in the wide field into focus.

Reinmann, who endorsed military veteran Cait Conley upon her exit from the race, was one of eight — now seven — challengers aiming to take on Lawler in next year’s midterms.

A Democratic strategist in the district said he believes Conley, along with Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and potentially former Briarcliff Manor Mayor Peter Chatzky, comprise the top rung of candidates in the crowded race.

Those three candidates also led the field by a wide margin in fundraising as of the end of September. Conley had raised $1.3 million, Davidson $1.2 million and Chatzky $1 million. However, the vast majority of Chatzky’s war chest — $750,000 — comprises a personal loan to his campaign.

Davidson and Conley were invited to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Candidate Week event in Washington earlier this month, where they received additional training and media preparation — a sign the national party sees the two women as the strongest contenders to take on Lawler. 

Conley’s campaign has taken on a distinct national dimension, as she has touted her military background alongside a series of other female national security alumni in swing races. The so-called Hell Cats, a group that formally launched this week, is explicitly modeling itself after Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), each of whom flipped House seats in the 2018 midterms.

In her endorsement, Reinmann said she believes Conley is “by far the strongest candidate in this race” and that she has “seen her commitment to our nation and our shared values.”

Jake Dilemani, a New York political consultant, said that Conley’s profile — a woman with a national security and military background — is “unique and compelling” and one that voters seem receptive to at the moment. But he also cautioned against drawing too many one-to-one conclusions about Conley’s candidacy based on Spanberger and Sherrill’s victories in their recent off-year gubernatorial elections alone.

Davidson, meanwhile, has been racking up local Democratic endorsements, particularly in Rockland County, and she is the only Democratic candidate who hails from that part of the district, where Democrats have struggled against Lawler in previous cycles. Rockland Democrats’ backing for Davidson has not been without some internal controversy, however.

The strategist said that Davidson’s Jewish faith and family could give her a boost in a district where Jewish voters make up a significant and highly engaged portion of the voting population, and have been a strong base of support for Lawler. The Republican congressman has seen particularly strong support in Rockland County’s ultra-Orthodox community.

Dilemani also noted that Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, who is running as the “de facto lefty” in the field, could rally a base of support with that approach and “pick up some of the enthusiasm that the left has from [Mayor-elect] Zohran [Mamdani]’s win,” but also emphasized that the Democratic voting base in NY-17 is much less progressive than that of New York City.

He said that the field will likely consolidate further in the coming months after the next fundraising deadline at the end of the quarter.

“Whoever is the nominee is going to have a tough challenge going up against Mike Lawler because he has proven himself to be a savvy politician, a good retail campaigner, a good fundraiser, and he has a pretty responsive constituent services team, so the party is going to have to produce a very, very solid candidate to run against him,” Dilemani said.

Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime New York Democratic consultant, also emphasized that Lawler has been popular and has a strong reputation for constituent services, which will make him a formidable incumbent. But he also said that Lawler and Republicans are likely to face backlash over the lengthy government shutdown, and that both Davidson and Conley could give him a strong challenge.

On Israel policy, both Davidson and Conley have expressed support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Davidson has highlighted that her daughter stayed in some of the kibbutzim that were attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, and said in a position paper that, “For me and for my family, championing the sanctity and safety of Israel is not an abstract political stance or foreign policy issue. It is deeply personal — woven into the fabric of our identity and survival as Jews.” She has expressed support for continued U.S. aid to Israel.

Conley, an Army veteran who spent time in the Middle East and North Africa in counterterrorism operations, said that, “As someone who has spent my career fighting for democracy, I deeply value Israel as America’s strongest ally in the region, the only democracy in the Middle East and a safe haven for the Jewish people” and that the U.S. should be “firmly committed to the safety and security of Israel.”

During the war between Israel and Iran, Conley expressed hope for a negotiated nuclear agreement but said that “Iran’s unwillingness to abandon the pursuit of nuclear weapons has left the world with few choices” and said that she knows firsthand the necessity of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But she also warned about “being drawn into another Middle East conflict.”

Davidson told JI on Thursday that last week’s election results show that voters are looking for change from the Trump administration, but distanced herself from Mamdani.

“What was clear across the country on election day was that voters were motivated to the polls by a strong disagreement with the Trump agenda and a desire for more affordability,” Davidson said. “I bring a very different record than Mayor-Elect Mamdani does, having cut taxes, fully funded our police force, and vocally stood up against antisemitism as a well-known Jewish leader in my community. That’s a record I’m ready to take to Mike Lawler from now through next November.”

Conley told Jewish Insider earlier this year, after Mamdani’s primary win, that she did not agree with his approach. “We need to address affordability but not by raising already exorbitant taxes on New Yorkers that will just drive more people out of the state. We need to stand up for the NY Jewish community and stand against anti-semitism in all forms,” Conley told JI.

But she said that Mamdani’s victory showed that voters are looking for alternatives to career politicians — like herself.

Chatzky has distinguished himself from many in the field with a significantly more critical stance toward Israel — he has accused Israel of violating U.S. arms sales laws, requiring the suspension of arms transfers, and said he did not believe that Mamdani is antisemitic.

In her congressional comeback attempt against Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO), former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) is continuing to lean into extreme rhetoric and stances.

Speaking at an anti-Trump “No Kings” rally in St. Louis shortly after launching her campaign, Bush dedicated extensive time to eulogizing murderer and escaped convict Assata Shakur, an activist who killed a police officer in 1977 and later escaped from prison. Shakur died in Cuba in September.

Bush, in her remarks, described Shakur as “an activist that we recently lost” who “gave us a mantra that we live by. She said it is our duty to fight for our freedom.”

During those remarks, Bush — who has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism — made passing reference to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.

She finished other remarks about the Trump administration — seemingly unrelated to Israel policy — with a shout of “Free Palestine.”

On X, Bush continues to attack Israel and its supporters as a central message of her campaign, including reposting unfounded claims accusing Israel of violating its ceasefire agreement with Hamas — a subject she has otherwise not addressed on her account, including when the agreement was initially announced.

Bush reposted a response on X to her announcement video that explicitly framed her campaign around her opposition to AIPAC, reading, “Rematch in St. Louis, Cori Bush taking on AIPAC again.”

In that video, Bush continued to implicitly blame her 2024 loss to Bell on AIPAC. Discussing that loss, she said she faced attacks for the fact that she “spoke truth,” accusing her opponents of spreading “lies and hate” about her, while flashing up a series of headlines relating to AIPAC spending in the race.

Responding on X to a video of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) discussing plans to jointly nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli and other international lawmakers, Bush said, “You should probably tell him [Trump] this won’t get him into heaven.”

Since launching her campaign, Bush has also reposted X posts accusing Israel of genocide, supporting International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice efforts targeting Israel, attacking American supporters of Israel and attacking CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and the publication she founded, The Free Press, for their Israel coverage.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a swing-district Democrat representing parts of the Hudson Valley, announced his endorsement on Wednesday of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. 

With the endorsement, Ryan becomes the first New York Democratic lawmaker outside of New York City to support the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman.

“Public service is all about one thing: who do you fight for?” Ryan said in a social media post. “Zohran Mamdani fights for the PEOPLE.”

He also took a swipe at former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was soundly defeated by Mamdani in the June Democratic primary and is now running as an independent, calling him “a selfish POS who only fights for himself and other corrupt elites.”

“I know whose side I’m on,” Ryan added. “I’m with the people. I’m with Zohran.”

Mamdani, who is leading all polls in the divided race, returned the compliment in a social media post, saying Ryan “fights for the people, too: he’s stood up to the utilities ripping off his constituents and taken on monopoly power in Congress.”

He called it “a true honor to earn” Ryan’s support.

The two-term congressman, who had initially been reluctant to comment publicly on Mamdani’s candidacy, joins a handful of Democratic House colleagues in New York who have endorsed the nominee since the primary, including Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), whom Ryan has also praised, had endorsed Mamdani before the primary.

Even as pressure has recently been mounting for Democrats to get behind Mamdani as the November election nears, the party’s leaders — including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) —  have all so far withheld endorsements.

Other holdouts include Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who have raised concerns about Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric. 

Shortly after Ryan publicized his endorsement Wednesday, the House Republican campaign arm, which is targeting the congressman in the election next year, quickly pounced on the news, providing an early glimpse of how the GOP is seeking to link Mamdani’s far-left views to the broader Democratic brand.

“Pat Ryan made it official: His agenda and Zohran Mamdani’s are one and the same,” Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “Together, they want to destroy New York City, making it unsafe and unaffordable for anyone to live, work or travel there. Let that sink in.”

A spokesperson for Ryan did not immediately return a request for comment.      

Maura Sullivan, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and later worked as a senior Defense Department official, is aiming to leverage that experience to win the New Hampshire congressional seat currently held by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), who is running for the Senate. She’s also leaning on that background as she stakes out her positions on the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to Jewish Insider, Sullivan strongly criticized Israel for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying it must take action to ensure more aid to the Palestinian people, but at the same time said that she would not support efforts to cut off U.S. aid to the Jewish state and affirmed her commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship and the need to eliminate Hamas.

As a Pentagon official, Sullivan said she spent time in the Middle East on “allied reassurance tours,” visiting allies and meeting with top officials, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Moshe Ya’alon, then Israel’s defense minister, to learn about Israel’s challenges and capabilities and “talking about the incredibly important relationship between the United States and Israel and strongly reaffirming the United States commitment to our ally Israel.”

“I’ll bring that perspective to the work I do in Congress and will greatly inform because I have that firsthand perspective, experience and knowledge,” Sullivan said, adding that she’d be seeking a spot on the House Armed Services Committee if elected.

“I’ve been very clear since the devastating, absolutely deplorable Oct. 7 attacks that Hamas perpetrated that Israel has the right to defend itself,” Sullivan continued. “I also want to be clear that the conditions in Gaza are inhumane, they’re deplorable and they must be improved immediately. … Hamas can be destroyed and significant aid can be let in at the same time. It’s a false choice to think that those two objectives cannot occur simultaneously.”

She said she has firsthand experience with humanitarian supply issues in a war zone, having served as a logistics and operations officer in Fallujah, Iraq, to move food and other supplies through what was at times an urban combat zone.

Doing so, she said, is “logistically complex” but also “doable” and “necessary.” She said the U.S. should apply “maximum pressure” on Netanyahu to increase aid, or provide aid directly if that fails.

Unlike growing numbers of Democrats in Congress, though, Sullivan said that she does not support efforts to cut off the U.S. supply of arms to Israel in response to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“I do not think that the answer in this conflict is to make Israeli civilians less secure due to the actions of their government,” Sullivan said. “In an effort to solve this conflict, the Israeli people need to have the ability to defend themselves against not only Hamas, but also other nefarious actors, [like] Hezbollah and … Iran.”

Sullivan added that she wanted to be clear that Hamas is a terrorist organization, its attack on Oct. 7, 2023, was the “catalyst behind all of this” and that it must return the hostages.

The pathway to a lasting peace, through a two-state solution, requires “eradicating Hamas,” she continued. “The Palestinians need to be able to live in a demilitarized state that they control, not Hamas, and the Israelis need to be able to live beside them in peace.”

Sullivan has visited Israel three times, including visiting extended family of her husband, who is Jewish, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. She described a visit to Yad Vashem, while she was a Pentagon official, as particularly “powerful and unforgettable.”

Sullivan said she saw during her time in Iraq that “leadership in Washington was totally out of touch” — on both sides of the aisle — with the actual situation on the ground, “and we were sent to a war we never should have been in without a plan to win and without the resources to succeed, in what was arguably the biggest foreign policy debacle this country has seen since the Vietnam War.”

That experience, she said, showed her firsthand the real consequences of decisions made in Washington. She expressed strong support for long-running efforts in Congress to repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force for Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Congress has to go on the record if we are going to declare war,” Sullivan said, asked about the U.S. military strikes on Iran. She urged the administration to prioritize the safety of U.S. troops and “resist any effort to drive the U.S. into another costly and deadly war in the Middle East.”

But, Sullivan continued, “Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, relentlessly driving violence and chaos against the United States, Israel and our allies. A nuclear armed Iran would represent a direct and unacceptable threat to America’s national security, regional stability, as well as Israel’s very existence.”

Given Iran’s recent violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, she said that “Israel is absolutely justified in taking action to dismantle Iran’s dangerous nuclear ambitions. No nation should be forced to stand by while its survival is threatened.”

Sullivan also served on the American Battle Monuments Commission, visiting gravesites of fallen soldiers around the world, which “greatly heightened my sense of the role of America in the world” and what the U.S. means to its allies.

The Marine veteran described the antisemitism crisis in the United States as particularly personal for her, given that her husband is Jewish and they are raising their children, ages 3 and 5, in an interfaith home.

“I understand these issues at a deep and personal level. Judaism was a first-date conversation for my husband and I,” Sullivan said. “My children are not yet old enough to talk to them about it, but it is something that we will need to address as a family.”

She said that she would be a “strong voice in Washington” against antisemitism and noted that it had recently hit close to home when a group of neo-Nazis marched on the state Capitol in Concord.

Sullivan leads the primary field in fundraising, having pulled in nearly $800,000 as of the end of the last quarter. Her leading Democratic primary challenge is Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a former Portsmouth city councilor, who raised $532,000 in the last quarter.

Carleigh Beriont, a Harvard professor and Hampton, N.H., selectwoman, entered the race in June, raising $162,000 that month. Multiple Republicans have filed to run for the seat, but none have reported raising any funds thus far.

Sullivan ran in the 2018 primary against Pappas, who is leaving the seat to run for the Senate. Sullivan won 30% of the vote in 2018 to Pappas’ 42%, before Pappas went on to win his first term in Congress.

The Marine veteran said that she believes that the Democratic Party and the country “needs new and different leadership,” and argued that her military background will make her more effective in holding the administration accountable.

Sullivan drew explicit comparisons between herself, and other female veterans running in swing districts, and the class of female national security leaders — including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) — who helped Democrats win back the House in 2018.

She’s part of a group calling itself the Hellcats, which also includes New Jersey congressional candidate and Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett, that is trying to emulate their model.

If elected, Sullivan said she’d be the first female Marine ever elected to Congress.

She said she’s heard from voters in the 1st District, particularly veterans and small business owners who typically vote Republican, that they’re supporting her in part because of her military background.

She said her interest in public office was spurred by a family commitment to service as well — her grandfathers fought in World War II and her grandmothers were both involved in Jesuit education, as well as her own military service.

Coming back from Iraq, Sullivan felt a “very deep-seated obligation to commit my life to public service,” particularly because some of those she served with would not have that chance. “To live your life in a way that matters for something and for people way beyond yourself, something so much bigger than yourself — it was a transformational experience.”

Mike Sacks was taught as a child to fight antisemitism — literally — with left jabs and left hooks and right crosses.

His father, he said, taught him to box as an elementary schooler “because [my father] had to fight back against Jew hatred as a kid and as a young man,” having been subjected to antisemitic taunts.

Now, the former political journalist turned Democratic candidate in New York’s 17th Congressional District told Jewish Insider, rising antisemitism is a factor in his bid to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). But he also accused Republicans of cynically weaponizing the issue with no intent to actually address the problem.

Sacks told JI in an interview earlier this month that local and nationwide antisemitism was a major reason he decided to run, saying “I’m running for my community, my congregation and my country.”

“As a Jewish father raising my kids in the Jewish faith, this is my community. It’s not a political issue for me. It’s personal,” Sacks said. “When I go to Congress, this is not an issue I’ll take on to score political points, but for the rights of my community and my faith.”

“I was raised with an understanding that what is good for the Jews is what’s also good for the community and for the country, and to seek out and vindicate those universal values from which this country is founded,” Sacks continued, “that has helped make it a haven for Jews since we first started arriving in this country.”

“Under the guise of addressing antisemitism, [President Donald] Trump is attacking American values and violating our Constitution in the Jewish people’s name,” Sacks said. “These are values — free speech, due process — that we’ve learned from history, when turned on other people will be turned on us too. It’s un-American, and that’s not how we overcome antisemitism.”

He said that his patriotism and his sense of civic pride is deeply entwined with his Jewish identity, and said he wants to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, can share that sense of pride.

Sacks called antisemitism on college campuses a real problem that must be addressed, but argued that the Trump administration’s policies stripping research funding from universities and rescinding visas from anti-Israel demonstrators are not serious efforts to combat antisemitism.

“Under the guise of addressing antisemitism, [President Donald] Trump is attacking American values and violating our Constitution in the Jewish people’s name,” Sacks said. “These are values — free speech, due process — that we’ve learned from history, when turned on other people will be turned on us too. It’s un-American, and that’s not how we overcome antisemitism.”

If elected, he said he’d speak out against antisemitism, work to facilitate dialogue and support Nonprofit Security Grant Funding. And he said he’d support any legislation to combat antisemitism that he believed was sincere and would be effective, and was not aimed at scoring “political points off our people’s plight and peril.”

He didn’t speak specifically on whether he would support Lawler’s Antisemitism Awareness Act, but accused Republicans of trying to protect those making antisemitic accusations that Jews killed Jesus in amendments to the legislation.

Sacks also accused Republicans of weaponizing antisemitism in the 17th District race, referring to an incident in which a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson called out Sacks and the other 17th District candidates over the vandalism of an Albany GOP headquarters building with the word “Nazis.” The spokesperson demanded the candidates condemn the vandalism, which occurred more than 100 miles away, in another part of the state.

“What will guide my response to any threat to Israel is … where to find that solution that can lead us back to a path of peace and a path of coexistence where it all might seem bleak and dark and gone in those moments of greatest peril,” Sacks said.

Sacks called the move “cynical” and in “bad faith,” adding, “we need to confront these efforts to use our own identities against us head-on.”

He hinted toward his family’s Jewish background in his campaign launch video, which includes a shot of Sacks working on a Hebrew workbook with one of his sons at their dinner table, a scene that a campaign spokesperson described as a weekly occurrence.

Sacks described himself as a “proud Zionist guided by my belief in our need for a Jewish democratic state,” adding that he associates himself with “the 69% of Israelis who want to bring all the hostages home and have a ceasefire.”

He said he “stand[s] against those on the far left who deny the necessity of a Jewish state” as well as those on the far right who would “sacrifice Israel’s democracy to extend control over all the Palestinian territories.” Sacks said he would oppose any efforts to block weapons shipments to Israel.

Sacks associated himself with those protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and Yair Golan, the leader of a left-leaning opposition party in Israel. (This interview took place before recent comments by Golan sparked widespread backlash.)  He described Israeli figures like Yitzhak Rabin and author Amos Oz as his “heroes,” condemning the “racist extremism” of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and blasting Lawler for meeting with Ben-Gvir during his trip to the U.S. last month.

He said that a two-state solution is the best path to ensure Israel’s security and existence as a Jewish state, which he emphasized must include removing Hamas from leadership in Gaza and fighting for a pathway to Palestinian statehood. “I do not believe [the two-state solution] is dead. I do not believe that it can’t be resurrected if it is dead. I believe that is the only way forward,” he said.

“What will guide my response to any threat to Israel is … where to find that solution that can lead us back to a path of peace and a path of coexistence where it all might seem bleak and dark and gone in those moments of greatest peril,” Sacks said.

Sacks argued that new leadership is needed in the U.S. to help move back toward a two-state solution, arguing “the U.S. needs to be led by a government that does not sympathize with those in Israel who would follow in the footsteps of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin,” referring to Ben-Gvir.

Sacks traveled to Israel in December 2008, as Israel was launching Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. He said that his takeaway from those operations, after which attacks from Gaza on Israel resumed, is that “the answer is not whether to respond, but how. And the solution is political, not military.”

“What will guide my response to any threat to Israel is … where to find that solution that can lead us back to a path of peace and a path of coexistence where it all might seem bleak and dark and gone in those moments of greatest peril,” Sacks said.

Addressing the ongoing nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, Sacks emphasized that Tehran has “never been weaker” and described the Islamic Republic as a decaying and “sclerotic” regime. He said the U.S.’ path forward should be calibrated to protect Israel from “any rash decision by a wounded Iranian regime looking to stay relevant in the region.”

He expressed skepticism that Trump would be able to achieve an effective deal that would ensure peace and security, pointing to the president’s decision to pull out of the original 2015 nuclear deal during his first term, adding that Trump now appears to be renegotiating something along the same lines.

Sacks said that the original nuclear deal was “a great deal for the time,” but said that the state of affairs now and when he would be in Congress would be very different, and his support for any potential deal would “depend on the details of the deal in context with that geopolitical moment and the security demands of our allies in the region.”

Addressing his candidacy more broadly, Sacks said that his prior career as a reporter gave him a “front row seat to the deterioration of our democracy and billionaires profiting at our expense” and the deep issues in U.S. politics. He said rising costs and the “tepid” response from Democrats to Republican policies were other contributing factors to his run.

He framed himself as fighting to restore American democracy against a “would-be king seizing power for himself from the people to enrich his billionaire best friends at our expense.”

Former Arizona state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, who is running for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who died last month after 22 years in office, grew up in a working-class home in Tucson, a child of the desert Southwest. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) was raised 2,500 miles away in a public housing complex in the southeast Bronx, a child of that borough’s notoriously mean streets.

As different as their sense of place might seem, the two are tied together in a tricky political project that spans their hometowns: trying to carve out a space in the progressive movement for pro-Israel voices in a changing Democratic Party. It’s a narrow needle to thread. 

But Hernandez, an outspoken supporter of Israel who was recently named the board chair of the Zionist LGBTQ organization A Wider Bridge, is betting that running as a fiercely pro-Israel progressive — in the mold of Torres, who endorsed Hernandez and called him “the embodiment of the American dream” — is both the right thing to do, as well as good politics.

At the same time, Hernandez knows that the issues of antisemitism and the war between Israel and Hamas are not top of mind for the voters he is trying to woo. He hopes to reach them with an anti-Trump message, pointing out how the president’s policies, such as shuttering large parts of the Education Department, will impact constituents who rely on federal resources.

“When we’re looking at what the needs of this district are, it’s going to be a high focus on cost of living,” Hernandez, 35, said in an interview with Jewish Insider this week. “When we’re looking at this district, it’s one where it’s predominantly working class and it’s predominantly Latino, and that’s my background.”

Yet as he goes door-to-door in the vast district that spans much of Arizona’s southern border with Mexico, pitching himself to voters as a champion for the working class, Hernandez is not shy about the fact that he is also making a play to win over pro-Israel supporters who could have the financial firepower to make a difference in a close primary.

“It is a lot easier to invest in a champion right now, in an open seat and special election in July, where we will have a strong, consistent champion, than having to go after and unseat an incumbent who has been anti-Israel,” Hernandez told JI. “We spent tens of millions of dollars going after anti-Israel voices in the last election. We don’t need to do that here.”

“I keep hearing folks referring to it as this progressive district. It’s a Democratic district where, for many years, it had a progressive member of Congress,” said Hernandez. “But the reality is, the voters in [this congressional district] are asking and needing representation that’s going to work on these kitchen-table issues.”

The strongest opponent Hernandez faces in an already crowded field is Adelita Grijalva, a Pima County supervisor and one of three daughters of Rep. Grijalva. Like her late father, Adelita Grijalva is casting herself as a true-blue progressive, appearing at a March rally with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). 

Grijalva has not previously spoken much about Israel or the war in Gaza, but she called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas 10 days after the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023. Her father was one of eight Democrats to vote against additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system in 2021.

Hernandez isn’t concerned that his pro-Israel views diverge from those held by his predecessor. He considers himself a progressive — and he also argues that Grijalva’s brand of progressivism isn’t necessarily what’s desired by local constituents.

“I keep hearing folks referring to it as this progressive district. It’s a Democratic district where, for many years, it had a progressive member of Congress,” said Hernandez. “But the reality is, the voters in [this congressional district] are asking and needing representation that’s going to work on these kitchen-table issues.”

“We are going to meet with all of the candidates to learn their positions, but we know that Daniel would be a strong champion if elected,” Rachel Rosen, chief communications officer at Democratic Majority for Israel, said. 

When he was 20 years old, Hernandez interned for former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), and he is credited with helping save her life after a gunman attempted to assassinate her at a political event, killing six people and wounding Giffords with a bullet to the head. He later went on to lead Everytown for Gun Safety’s Arizona branch and worked at Planned Parenthood. Hernandez also served on his local school board and spent six years in the state Legislature, which he left in 2023 after losing a congressional bid in a nearby district in 2022. 

“The biggest thing that I learned is: Run in a district where people know you. That’s the biggest benefit,” said Hernandez. His campaign raised $300,000 in its first eight days, Hernandez shared with JI, a figure he intends to tout to donors and outside groups.

“It showed that I am a strong and viable candidate. So I’m going to be talking to everybody and continuing to engage with different groups and stakeholders,” he stated. “But I think for me, it’s important to show people that I’m able to run a strong and winning campaign in a district that I have lived in my whole life and that I’ve represented for a large part of my life.” 

Less than two weeks into the race and with time until the July 15 primary, major pro-Israel organizations are so far holding their endorsements. AIPAC’s political arm has not yet decided whether to enter the race, a spokesperson told JI. Rachel Rosen, chief communications officer at Democratic Majority for Israel, said the group is also undecided.

“We are going to meet with all of the candidates to learn their positions, but we know that Daniel would be a strong champion if elected,” Rosen said. 

“It shouldn’t just be on the few members of the Congress that are Jewish to be the ones standing up for Israel and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to support this relationship,” Hernandez said.

The Mexican-American activist has two sisters, Conseulo and Alma, who are both Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature. Conseulo and Alma converted to Judaism after learning their maternal grandfather was Jewish. All three have emerged as rising stars in the world of pro-Israel Democratic politics. 

While Hernandez did not follow his sisters’ path to Judaism, he said Jewish elected officials cannot and should not be the only ones who care about antisemitism and the Jewish state.

“It shouldn’t just be on the few members of the Congress that are Jewish to be the ones standing up for Israel and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to support this relationship,” he explained.

Republicans had high hopes that the party would be able to take back South Carolina’s first congressional district this election. They had a candidate with an impressive resume and solid financial support, a district that President Donald Trump won by 12 points and a first-term incumbent who had been elected by just 1.4 points.

But three weeks out from Election Day, Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) appears to have secured a solid lead over Republican state Rep. Nancy Mace.

A new poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee found Cunningham leading Mace by 13 points, and race handicappers including the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have moved the race from “Tossup” to “Lean Democratic” in recent weeks.

Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston, credited Cunningham’s fundraising and “really effective commercials” for his success in widening the polling gap between himself and Mace.

“[He’s] somebody who’s really about not being super ideological,” Knotts told Jewish Insider. “That message has been able to get out, and he’s been able to tell that story a bit more.”

State Rep. Nancy Mace

Cunningham’s advertising has emphasized bipartisanship, Knotts continued, and highlighted votes in which he has bucked the party line. Several of Cunningham’s ads point to the freshman legislator’s fight against a congressional pay raise proposed by Democratic leaders. “There’s nothing I won’t do in D.C. to put the Lowcountry first,” Cunningham says in one ad. 

Cunningham even received praise from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for his position on coronavirus-related unemployment benefits in a recent senatorial debate.

Nevertheless, Knotts cautioned that the DCCC-commissioned poll may somewhat overstate Cunningham’s lead. “It’s going to be close even with a strong candidate like Joe Cunningham,” he said. “I expect it to remain in the single digits.”

Mace’s campaign disputed the results of the DCCC’s poll.

“Right on cue, after blockbuster Q3 fundraising that breaks national records for amount raised over D incumbents, the DCCC comes out with a polling memo that defies science,” Mace campaign manager Mara Mellstrom told JI. “This race is a toss-up and all interested parties are acting accordingly… Believe your eyes — not a selectively leaked hack poll designed to scare money away at the close.”

Mace raised $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2020, while Cunningham raised $1.8 million. This gives Mace a cash on hand advantage going into the final month of the election — Mace has $1.7 million on hand compared to Cunningham’s $1.2 million, The State reported.

Knotts characterized Mace as having failed to “articulate her clear vision,” according to Knotts.

“She did not have a breakout moment in the debates,” Knotts said. “She had some bright spots… [but] I think Cunningham certainly held his own.”

Knotts also noted that Cunningham has solidified his support among college-educated suburbanites in the district, who are proving to be a key constituency for Democrats nationwide this cycle.

This support also “bodes well” for Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison and Vice President Joe Biden in this year’s surprisingly competitive statewide races, Knotts said.

Controversial congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to be headed for Washington following her victory on Tuesday in the Republican runoff in Georgia’s 14th congressional district. Her win raises concerns among Jewish organizations who have sounded the alarm over her candidacy for months. The district’s overwhelmingly Republican make-up all but ensures that Greene will win the general election in November.

Greene has been a vocal promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory — which alleges that President Donald Trump is working to take down a network of Democratic politicians and celebrities who practice satanism, pedophilia and cannibalism — and has posted Facebook videos expressing antisemitic, racist and Islamophobic views.

Even after launching her campaign, Greene continued to unapologetically propagate antisemitic conspiracy theories, including falsely accusing Democratic megadonor and Holocaust survivor George Soros of “turning people over to Nazis where they were burned in offices” in a recent television interview. She also dismissed questions about a photo she took with a former Ku Klux Klan leader who described her as a “friend.”

“Ms. Greene has a history of propagating antisemitic disinformation,” Allison Padilla-Goodman, Southern division vice president of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “ADL previously called on Ms. Greene to disavow her relationship with a prominent white supremacist leader and retract past antisemitic statements. ADL said that ‘failure to do so is a moral failure and unbecoming of someone seeking elected office.’ Ms. Greene’s continued insistence on propagating such antisemitism shows she has decided to double down on hate, which, to say the least, is deeply problematic.”

Republican leaders spoke out against Greene after her Facebook videos surfaced, but only House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) actively worked to boost her opponent, physician John Cowan, frustrating some House Republicans, according to Politico. Scalise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the National Republican Campaign Committee did not respond to requests for comment.

The Republican Jewish Coalition opposed Greene during the runoff and endorsed Cowan.

“We are really proud to have endorsed John Cowan. We do not endorse Greene and we think she is the antithesis of what our party stands for,” RJC communications director Neil Strauss said in a statement to JI. “We can hold our heads up high tonight for standing up to Greene, just like we did when we stood up to [Rep.] Steve King by supporting Randy Feenstra.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said he was hopeful that Republican leaders would continue to distance themselves from Greene.

“During the primary campaign, top national Republican leaders in Congress, led by the House Minority Leader, denounced her bigotry with good reason. Some even endorsed her opponent. Yet she will likely be elected to Congress this fall,” Cooper said in a statement to JI.

Cooper called on Republican leaders to marginalize Greene within the Republican caucus as they did with King after he questioned why white supremacy was considered offensive.

“If Ms. Green[e] doesn’t change course,” Cooper said, GOP leaders “may have to apply [the] same standards to her.” 

In Georgia’s deep red 9th district, State Rep. Matt Gurtler, who also refused to apologize for taking a photo with the same former KKK leader, lost his runoff race against gun store owner and Navy veteran Andrew Clyde.

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s congressional bid hid a snag on Saturday when she came in fifth with just 5.2% of delegates at the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s pre-primary convention. She needed at least 20% of delegates to automatically qualify for the primary ballot.

Down but not out: Plame, who was famously outed as a covert CIA officer in 2003, could still appear on the ballot, but needs to submit a larger number of voter petition signatures within 10 days of the convention.

Background: Plame is running in New Mexico’s third congressional district, in the northern portion of the state, which includes Santa Fe. The seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Luján. Luján is running for the Senate seat held by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), who is not running for reelection.

Overpowered by less-funded competitors: Two candidates, attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez and Sandoval County treasurer Laura Montoya, made the delegate cutoff, with Fernandez picking up 41.9% of delegates and Montoya claiming 20.47%. Plame’s disappointing showing comes despite her national media profile and her fundraising haul of more than $1 million — more than 1.5 times what Fernandez has raised. Montoya trailed even further behind, with just over $28,000 raised.

Race will likely remain crowded: There are seven Democratic candidates hoping to make the June 2 primary ballot. Most of them, including Plame, said that they already have the signatures to make the ballot, despite failing to qualify at the convention.

Accusations of antisemitism: Plame faced accusations of antisemitism in 2017 after she shared an article on Twitter entitled “America’s Jews are Driving America’s Wars” from the Unz Review, which defends conspiracy theories. Plame initially defended sharing the article, telling critics to “calm down,” claiming she didn’t endorse the post and encouraging people to “put aside your biases and think clearly.” She later apologized, saying she didn’t carefully read or consider the article before sharing it. But Twitter users found she’d shared other Unz articles over the course of several years, including “The Dancing Israelis,” which recounted an antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theory, and “Why I Still Dislike Israel,” which Plame praised as “well put.”

Plame’s defense: Plame told The New York Times that she is “of Jewish descent,” although she was raised Lutheran, and said she’d started attending services at Temple Beth Shalom, a synagogue in Santa Fe in the “aftermath” of her controversial tweet. The synagogue’s principal rabbi said she’d been coming to services for several years, but a synagogue board member told the New York Times she’s not on the membership list.

Demographics not on her side: New Mexico’s third district is 41% Hispanic and 19% Native American, leading many to see Plame — who is white and moved to New Mexico in 2007 — as an outsider, according to the NYTimes. Voters also told the NYTimes she doesn’t speak Spanish and struggles to properly pronounce Spanish words and surnames. Her perceived outsider status is likely to hurt her in some regions, where ethnic and regional divides shape voting patterns, pollster Brian Sanderoff told The Washington Post. “I reject the notion that you have to be born in a place to love it or to want to serve,” Plame told the Post. “But if people aren’t going to vote for me because of that, then I’m never going to change their mind.”

Gina Ortiz Jones is hoping that two years will make all the difference. The former Air Force intelligence officer and former advisor to the Executive Office of the President on economic and national security issues is aiming to win the chance in today’s Democratic primary to try and flip Texas’s 23rd Congressional District come November. 

Flashback: In 2018, Ortiz Jones narrowly lost 49.2% to 48.7% — a margin of 926 votes — to incumbent GOP Rep. Will Hurd. This time, Hurd is not seeking re-election in the district, which includes much of southwest Texas.

The incumbent: Hurd, a moderate Republican and the only black Republican in the House of Representatives, has held the seat since 2015. He has frequently voted against his party on key issues like LGBT rights, gun control and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “I think Will Hurd would agree I have the stronger chance this time, that’s why we scared him out of this race,” Ortiz Jones told Jewish Insider.

Money lead: In terms of fundraising, Ortiz Jones holds a towering lead over her four Democratic primary competitors. She’s raised nearly $2.7 million so far, compared to just over $16,000 by the next largest Democratic fundraiser. 

Healthcare focus: Ortiz Jones said that healthcare is “by far the number one issue” in her district, because of rising costs, fear in the Hispanic community about seeking out healthcare services, poor infrastructure and lack of medical personnel. She said she supports a public option for health insurance.

Looking south: Ortiz Jones — whose district includes a significant stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border — lambasted President Donald Trump’s border wall. “His policies have frankly made us less secure,” she said. “This president finds it okay to declare a fake national emergency so he can steal from the military to build a wasteful wall — it’s abhorrent and it’s a waste of resources.”

On immigration: “I look forward to making sure that we’ve got national security and foreign policies that reflect our values and actually keep us safe,” she said. While it’s important to secure the border, “we can also treat people with humanity and with respect, she added. Ortiz Jones also characterized immigration as “an opportunity… [and] an economic imperative,” which could help address issues like the dearth of medical workers in her district, and she said foreign policy programs could help address the economic and security issues in the countries from which immigrants are fleeing.

Israel: Ortiz Jones said she supports a two-state solution, and expressed support for the U.S.-Israel alliance. “They’re a key partner — will always be. I think, though, a two-state solution does the most to respect both sides’ rights to self-determination and security.”

Trump’s intelligence community: Ortiz Jones was particularly critical of Trump’s decision to appoint Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting director of National Intelligence, and of the perceived politicization of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. “The fact that you would appoint a partisan hack part-time to lead the world’s most powerful intelligence community, most capable intelligence community, suggests that there’s not nearly sufficient respect for the sacrifice that those men and women make, to be able to ensure that our national security leaders have the information they need to keep our country safe,” she said. She added that she’s concerned that allies may become wary of trusting the U.S. and sharing their intelligence.

General election: Politico and the Cook Political Report have predicted that, with Hurd’s retirement, the district now leans Democratic, meaning that Ortiz Jones has a shot at winning in November if she emerges victorious from today’s Democratic primary.

On Tuesday, 16 candidates will battle to appear on the November ballot to fill an open seat in California’s 53rd congressional district. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), who has represented the San Diego-area district since 2001, announced in September that she would not seek reelection.

The candidates: Frontrunners include San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez and Sara Jacobs — a former Hillary Clinton campaign aide and State Department contractor. Jacobs, who ran in the nearby 49th district in 2018, is the granddaughter of billionaire Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs. California’s “jungle primary” means that only the top two candidates — regardless of party — will advance to the general election.

What to expect on Tuesday: It’s “really a two-way race” between Jacobs and Gomez, Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego, told Jewish Insider. “But right now [Gomez] looks like the underdog” to Jacobs, who has benefited from a large budget and name recognition from her previous run. A strong Republican challenger could capitalize on a split Democratic field to snag a general election spot, but the party has not united around one candidate, Kousser said, adding that Tuesday’s results will likely be a strong predictor of the general election.

Fundraising: Jacobs has raised more than $2 million — over $500,000 of it self-funded. Gomez comes in second, with over $660,000, followed by Marine veteran, activist and public policy consultant Janessa Goldbeck, who has raised approximately $248,500 — more than double what the next competitor has pulled in.

Jacobs’ Foggy Bottom experience: “I felt like it was important we had someone who’d had the experience that I’ve had making and implementing public policy at the federal level representing us,” Jacobs said in an interview with Jewish Insider. In Congress, Jacobs, a supporter of Medicare for All, said she would prioritize gun violence and lowering the high cost of living in San Diego.

Learning tikkun olam: “I was taught from a young age that it was my personal responsibility to do everything that I could to repair the world, and that’s really something that has informed and guided my career decisions,” Jacobs said.

When it comes to Israel: “I understand from a very personal level, the need for a safe and secure Israel and, personally, I think that the biggest threat to Israel’s security long term is the lack of a negotiated settlement,” Jacobs, who has family in the country and has visited on multiple occasions, told JI.

Gomez’s priorities: Gomez hopes to “go to D.C. to bring more money to our region so we can address some of the inequalities we’re facing,” she said at a recent candidate forum, listing housing and the climate crisis among her core issues.

Working toward peace: “Achieving a two-state solution, something I strongly support, means the U.S. playing a central role in working towards peace, safety, and self-determination for both peoples,” Gomez wrote in an op-ed for the San Diego Jewish World, which also addressed conditioning aid to the Jewish state. “Threatening to withold aid from Israel, or the Palestinian Authority… jeopardizes Israel’s ability to defend its security, promotes instability and extremism, and undermines U.S. credibility,” she said, adding that she opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Goldbeck’s candidacy: “I believe that San Diego deserves a representative in Washington who has a proven track record of getting things done on Capitol Hill, and has the courage to stand up to corruption and special interests in Washington,” Goldbeck told Jewish Insider. She’s prioritizing the climate, gun violence and healthcare — she prefers a “Medicare for All Who Want It” public option.

Shared values: In a statement to JI, Goldbeck praised Israel’s standing as a U.S. ally. “Israel is a beacon of shared interests and values in a critically strategic region,” Goldbeck said. “She embodies the American values of democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law.”

Longtime Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) announced on Thursday that she will not seek re-election for a 17th term next year.

Lowey, who represents New York’s Westchester and Rockland counties, is chairwoman of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations and head of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee. In her role, Lowey recently secured funding to protect Jewish non-profits against terrorist attacks.

Lowey has been a staunch supporter of Israel in her 31 years in Congress and is a frequent speaker at AIPAC’s annual gatherings. In her most recent appearance at AIPAC Policy Conference in March, speaking alongside Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Lowey stated, “It is our honor to lead the committees that write nearly every piece of legislation that advances the strong U.S.-Israel relationship, which benefits the United States in meaningful and immediate ways.” 

The New York representative opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, maintaining that the JCPOA “lacks a crystal clear statement” that the international community reserves the right to take all measures to deter Iran from ever developing nuclear capabilities. Over the summer, Lowey joined her colleagues in criticizing Israel’s decision to deny Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from entering the country. 

Reaction: Ann Lewis, who served as White House director of communications for President Bill Clinton and is currently co-chair of the Democratic Majority for Israel, tells JI, “Lowey has been an inspiring leader ever since I met her. She was one of the first women to run successfully for Congress. While leading one of the most important committees in Congress, she established bipartisan partnership with her Republican colleagues and was an eloquent force for the U.S.-Israel relationship.” 

Cheryl Fishbein, President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York said in a statement that Lowey “has been a true friend and a leader in every issue of importance to the Jewish community.” and has left “big shoes to fill.” Fishbein said that ,in her leadership position on the appropriations committee, Lowey “could do more to influence and advance a piece legislation than almost any other member, except for the Speaker.” 

William Daroff, the incoming CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, tweeted, “Congress is losing one of its most impactful members and greatest supporters of a strong US-Israel relationship. There is no doubt that Nita Lowey will be missed.” 

Halie Soifer, executive director of the jewish Democratic Council of America said in a statement that Lowey’s “wisdom and experience will be deeply missed in Congress when she retires.” 

Aaron Keyak, former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, tells JI that Lowey’s decision “is a great loss” for the pro-Israel community. “She has been a true champion and one of the strongest to ever hold the gavel for the House Appropriations Committee,” he said. 

Top five: Mondaire Jones, who worked in President Barack Obama’s Justice Department, announced a primary challenge against Lowey earlier this year. Other candidates currently being discussed in Democratic circles are Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia, Assemblyman David Buchwald, State Senator David Carlucci, and Stephanie Hausner, a former Clarkstown councilwoman and the current deputy director at the Israel Action Network. 

Rumor mill: Chelsea Clinton has been floated in the past as a possible candidate for the seat, but has never publicly expressed interest in running. 

Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf tells JI that any replacement would lack Lowey’s influence in the Democratic party. As an “unabashedly pro-Israel member of Congress with the power generated by seniority,” Lowey is “an irreplaceable defender of the Israel” and there’s “no guarantee” that a newly elected Democrat will be as strong of a supporter of Israel, Sheinkopf explained. 

Next in line: Lowey’s possible replacements on the line on the Appropriations committee are Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Pete Visclosky (D-IN) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who is an ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-TX) is a senior member on the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee.

Congressmen Brad Schneider (D-IL) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) have asked the Trump administration to explain why Israel has not been granted a waiver on new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. 

In a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday and obtained by Jewish Insider, the two lawmakers — both members of the House Ways and Means Committee — noted that while the administration has granted exemptions to a number of key allies, including South Korea, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, the tariffs remain on imports from Israel, an ally and reliable strategic partner. 

Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly failed to secure an exemption from the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in 2017. 

“The United States and Israel have long enjoyed cooperation on a wide range of issues that enhance, not threaten, U.S. national security, such as development of the Iron Dome missile defense system and countering subterranean terrorist tunnels. This cooperation demonstrates the deep trust and mutual respect that encompasses this vital relationship,” the congressmen wrote. 

The letter concluded, “We do not believe imports of steel and aluminum from Israel are a threat to U.S. national security and are asking you to explain why Israel has not been granted an exemption.”

Congressman Max Rose (D-NY) returned from Israel this week with a renewed commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship and an unflagging belief in the possibility of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. 

“I will never lose hope on the potential for a peace resolution in the region, whether that is [with] Mahmoud Abbas or down the road, whoever replaces him,” Rose told Jewish Insider in a phone interview this week, just a day after he arrived back in the United States. 

Similarly, on the Israeli side, Rose said that “irrespective of who leads Israel, whether it is Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, whether it is Mr. [Benny] Gantz, or whether it is someone else down the road… I am especially hopeful after this trip that America’s firm alliance, strategic support for Israel as a Jewish, democratic nation will continue. This has got to be something that rises above politics. And that’s also the case for [whomever] is in political power in Washington DC.”

Rose was one of 41 Democrats — the majority of whom are, like him, freshman members of Congress — who took part in a weeklong visit to Israel led by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of AIPAC. The group met with Netanyahu, Gantz and Abbas, as well as Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs, business leaders and IDF troops. 

But unlike the majority of the freshmen on the trip, this was not Rose’s first visit to Israel. The Jewish war veteran said he had traveled to Israel 10 years ago, though his experience this month was wildly different. 

“The most memorable part was certainly the opportunity to see firsthand the incredible security conundrum that Israel finds itself in — and has found itself in since its inception,” Rose said. “To see that firsthand, to go to the border with Syria, to go to the border with Lebanon, to go near the border with Gaza, to travel through the West Bank, you can really see the incredibly tenuous situation that it’s in.” 

Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) meets with active IDF soldiers.

Rose, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, said he was particularly excited to meet with IDF soldiers during his time in Israel.

“Anytime that I get the opportunity to meet with and speak to soldiers… there’s such a shared bond and shared culture,” he said. Rose said he views the Israeli model as something that could “speak potentially to the need for a national service model in the United States. It brings people together from all different parts of the country, it establishes a common bond that rises above other divisions.”

Rose told JI that taking part in the AIPAC trip was a no-brainer for him, despite criticism that lawmakers should be remaining in their district or that the trip is a biased look at the region. 

“In my district, many people of Jewish faith know that I have personally been to Israel as a member and witnessed firsthand the tenuous security situation that they’re in — as well as the economic and diplomatic and historical miracle… that’s very important to many people in my district,” Rose said. “It’s important to Jews and to Christians… as well as people who are concerned with issues of national security, both global and domestic.”

Rose said the AIPAC-affiliated trip was “very valuable and informative” but it was not a “silver bullet. This trip is representative of just the beginning of our work.” 

Rose and his wife, Leigh, visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The New York Democrat also pushed back against the media firestorm surrounding Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who are expected to visit Israel on a separate trip later this month. 

“This is representative of a trend in media generally, because media enjoys this type of story,” he said. “The narrative that I was focused on throughout my time there, was the fact that this was the largest congressional delegation to Israel in history. That is monumental.”

Rose said he believes that “those who did not make this trip, they need to make some type of trip to Israel, and there are plenty of opportunities for them to do this.” The freshman Democrat said while “there are plenty of people who enjoy speaking about… drama, reality TV politics. I’m not one of them.” 

He also addressed the reports of increased violent antisemitic attacks on Jews in New York, including in his district. 

“We’re not seeing a revival of antisemitism,” he said. “We know antisemitism never went away, but it has certainly been increasing, and I do believe that — as it has been throughout history — it is often tied to culturally divisive rhetoric and economic anxiety.”

“We have got to invest in educating our youth about the history of antisemitism,” he continued. “We have to support our law enforcement as they show that there are consequences for engaging in acts like this. And we cannot be nuanced with our response either. This is wrong, and there’s no place for these types of actions in the United States of America.”