The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) announced that it would no longer issue candidate endorsements or donate money directly to candidates.
The group's PAC, launched in 2021, has become a lightning rod for anti-Israel groups and activists to use as an antisemitic club to beat up pro-Israel candidates. "A growing number of Democratic lawmakers — including some pro-Israel members like Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) — have also said they will reject donations from all outside political action committees, including AIPAC, or rejected AIPAC contributions specifically," reports Jewish Insider.
The United Democracy Project (UDP), AIPAC's super PAC, will continue to donate tens of millions of dollars to individual candidates. These are not direct contributions, meaning they can only be used for certain campaign activities. SuperPAC funds must be spent independently. This means the money is used for specific campaign-related activities, such as independent television ads, digital media, mailers, and other voter education or advocacy efforts supporting or opposing a candidate.
“To win the fight for the future of the country and the U.S.-Israel alliance, we must build a more strategic, consequential, and nimble political operation. We will prioritize increasing direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates — expanding upon our current efforts — and maximizing the emerging political fundraising tools,” a letter sent from AIPAC leadership to its members states. “Endorsements, direct PAC contributions, and earmarking will no longer be part of our approach so we can expand individual giving and utilize new tools to help our friends win.”
The AIPAC leaders added that “staff and local leaders will continue working” with members on fundraising and will recommend contributions to candidates “who are worthy of your support” — an approach reminiscent of how the group operated before it launched its PAC in 2021, even as the group is maintaining its deep-pocketed UDP super PAC, which has played a pivotal role in numerous primaries since its inception.
“Our measurement of success is the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told Jewish Insider. “Our members have always been our greatest strength. … We’re putting more time and resources behind what’s most effective: AIPAC members’ direct contributions to candidates and increasing their impact over the next two years.”
Sousa said that AIPAC members contributed over $90 million to candidates this cycle, including earmarked donations through the AIPAC portal, compared to over $3 million in direct donations from the PAC itself. PACs are capped at providing $10,000 in direct donations per candidate each election cycle, a relatively small amount in the current fundraising environment.
The letter, signed by AIPAC President Bernie Kaminetsky and other leaders, would allow the group to “capitalize on new innovations and deliver even greater political impact to influence policy,” as well as allow AIPAC members to be “most effective” and “adapt quickly.”
The leaders also acknowledged the "headwinds" the group faced as a rising tide of antisemitism in the U.S. is making the 2026 midterms “one of the most challenging environments in recent memory” and assessed that the “challenges we are confronting will continue to grow in the years ahead, and the 2028 cycle will demand an even stronger commitment by our activists to pro-Israel politics.”
“Our measurement of success is the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told Jewish Insider. “Our members have always been our greatest strength. … We’re putting more time and resources behind what’s most effective: AIPAC members’ direct contributions to candidates and increasing their impact over the next two years.”
The impact was evident in the success of the candidates AIPAC endorsed this election cycle.
Sousa emphasized that AIPAC had helped 290 candidates win this cycle and defeated 29 anti-Israel candidates — though the group suffered several high-profile defeats, including in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, where its affiliated super PAC spent over $30 million supporting Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), and in a New Jersey congressional race, where its engagement indirectly helped a far-left anti-Israel Democrat emerge as an unlikely member of Congress.
Though UDP was involved in both races, AIPAC’s PAC did not issue public endorsements in either one.
This move by AIPAC will take the fig leaf away from antisemites who claimed they were only opposing the "Zionists" in AIPAC. "Groups like TrackAIPAC and other anti-Israel activists had already begun targeting individual pro-Israel or Jewish donors — even when they contributed to candidates separately from AIPAC — and labeling their donations as AIPAC money," notes Jewish Insider. "AIPAC’s decision to end earmarking contributions for candidates may put that practice of targeting Jewish donors, which garnered accusations of antisemitism, into sharper relief."
AIPAC will now focus on educating members about candidates who support Israel and ensuring they know where to send direct contributions, while the AIPAC UDP sends millions of dollars in indirect contributions to put meat on a favored candidate's campaign bones.
That's a potent one-two punch that will maximize AIPAC's influence in U.S. elections.
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