Political leanings: Professional-Israel
2022 Spending: $32.9 million
United Democracy Venture is a nonpartisan tremendous PAC created to advocate for political organizations and candidates that assist america’ partnership with Israel. The tremendous PAC “works to assist elect candidates that share our imaginative and prescient and can be sturdy supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress,” according to its web site.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group established in 1959, traditionally refused to contribute funds to particular person candidates’ campaigns. Nevertheless, AIPAC introduced its plans to launch a political motion committee, or PAC, and a brilliant PAC forward of the 2022 election cycle in December 2021.
AIPAC PAC, which was created Dec. 15, 2021, has grow to be the biggest pro-Israel PAC within the U.S., forward of the Joint Motion Committee for Public Affairs and JStreetPAC. United Democracy Venture, AIPAC’s tremendous PAC, was established on Jan. 3, 2022.
AIPAC PAC is restricted to donating not more than $5,000 per election to a candidate’s marketing campaign committee, according to federal contribution limits for the 2024 election. As a super PAC, United Democracy Venture can’t donate to candidates instantly, however it will probably elevate and spend limitless quantities of cash expressly advocating for or in opposition to federal candidates — spending the Federal Election Fee defines as “unbiased expenditures.” Each the PAC and tremendous PACs are required to reveal their donors in experiences to the FEC.
In March, Politico reported that AIPAC’s organizations are “anticipated to spend $100 million throughout its political entities in 2024.”
By August, United Democracy Venture had raised about $68.4 million throughout the 2024 cycle. The group’s largest contributor, to date, is billionaire Jan Koum, the co-founder and former CEO of WhatsApp, who donated $5 million. Different main donors embody financier Jonathon Jacobson, GreenSky CEO and co-founder David Zalik, and Dwelling Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus. Jacobson gave almost $4.6 million, Marcus donated $3 million, and Zalik contributed $2 million.
United Democracy Venture additionally has spent about $56 million, and, as of Sept. 22, greater than $35.6 million of it was on unbiased expenditures, the ninth most of any tremendous PAC this cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks cash in politics.
United Democracy Venture has focused primarily on Democratic Home major races, spending almost $12.4 million supporting some Democratic candidates, whereas spending greater than $20 million opposing different Democrats. Simply over $3 million of its spending has been in opposition to 4 Republican Home candidates — two of whom, John Hostettler of Indiana and Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, misplaced in GOP primaries.
The group spent closely on the Democratic major election in New York’s 16th Congressional District between incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman and his challenger, Westchester County Govt George Latimer. United Democracy Venture spent nearly $9.9 million to oppose Bowman and almost $4.8 million to assist Latimer. The New York Instances reported that the tremendous PAC’s expenditures on the race “eclipsed what any curiosity group has ever spent on a single Home race.”
On June 25, Latimer defeated Bowman within the major, incomes over 58% of the vote to about 41% for Bowman.
Bowman has sharply criticized Israel, calling the nation an “apartheid state” and falsely referring to experiences of rape perpetrated by Hamas terrorists in opposition to Israeli girls in October as “lies” and “propaganda.” Bowman later walked back his feedback, saying that the United Nations had confirmed situations of sexual violence.
In a United Democracy Venture ad in Might, Elisha Wiesel, son of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, requested voters to “stand as much as Jamaal Bowman’s lies and conspiracy theories.” Later, Bowman told supporters in a June speech that he was being “attacked by the Zionist regime we name AIPAC.”
After Latimer’s victory over Bowman, AIPAC announced that “UDP will proceed to assist leaders who promote our partnership with Israel and oppose detractors, no matter political celebration.”
Along with the New York race, United Democracy Venture spent greater than $5.2 million in opposition to Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who has been a vocal critic of the Israeli authorities’s response to assaults by Hamas final fall. Bush was defeated within the Aug. 6 Democratic major for her 1st Congressional District seat by St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. United Democracy Venture spent a further $3.3 million on unbiased expenditures backing Bell’s candidacy.
Bowman and Bush are both members of a bunch of progressive Home lawmakers collectively often known as “The Squad.”
United Democracy Venture additionally spent about $4.6 million making an attempt to defeat California state Sen. Dave Min within the major for the state’s forty seventh Congressional District. Min, a Democrat, finished within the top two, and can face Republican Scott Baugh within the basic election.
Through the 2022 election cycle, the tremendous PAC raised greater than $35.9 million and spent over $32.9 million, together with $26.1 million on unbiased expenditures both selling or opposing Democratic Home candidates.
Explaining the group’s technique on the time, United Democracy Venture spokesman told the Jewish Telegraphic Company in July 2022: “There was rising concern within the pro-Israel neighborhood about candidates for Congress who held radical anti-Israel views. What we’re making an attempt to do is construct the broadest bipartisan pro-Israel coalition in Congress doable.”
FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellow Ben Cohen contributed to this text.
