Listed below are the tech trade founders, Republican megadonors and others funding AIPAC and its closely-tied allies this election cycle.
For many years after its founding within the Fifties, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, declined to spend cash immediately on elections. However that has modified dramatically in recent times, and this yr the group is planning to spend an enormous amount of cash to help pro-Israel candidates and defeat those that have questioned the Israeli navy’s killing of greater than 30,000 folks in Gaza following the lethal October 7 Hamas assaults. Politico and different shops have reported that it’s ready to spend $100 million on advertisements and different political advocacy efforts forward of the November elections to defeat progressive Democratic candidates.
Already, the group and its closely-tied allies and associates have spent about $30 million within the 2024 cycle, with the majority of the spending coming from AIPAC PAC, which operates as a conduit for AIPAC supporters to earmark funds to candidates’ campaigns. AIPAC’s tremendous PAC, the United Democracy Challenge (UDP), has been spending hundreds of thousands on a California Democratic major lately and is sitting on practically $42 million in money. An allied tremendous PAC known as Democratic Majority for Israel PAC (DMFI PAC) has been spending on pro-President Biden textual content messages and has practically $3 million available. DMFI PAC, which functioned as AIPAC’s major exterior spending operation till it based its personal tremendous PAC in January 2022, is run by former AIPAC marketing consultant Mark Mellman, and AIPAC has allowed its supporters to credit score their contributions to DMFI in the direction of their AIPAC contributions. The hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in exterior spending unleashed by DMFI PAC in Democratic primaries within the 2022 cycle was broadly seen as working in parallel with AIPAC’s electoral goals.
Sludge analyzed the teams’ Federal Election Fee filings to disclose the highest donors to AIPAC and its closely-tied political spending teams to date this election cycle. The chart beneath totals cash donated to AIPAC PAC, DMFI PAC, and UDP from January 1, 2023 by way of January 31, 2024.
The biggest donor has been Jan Koum, the billionaire founding father of WhatsApp, and the biggest donor to the pro-Nikki Haley tremendous PAC SFA Fund. Koum donated a complete of $5 million to UDP in September and October of final yr.
One other massive donor, David Zalik, has additionally been a Haley supporter. Zalik donated greater than $80,000 to Haley’s marketing campaign, tremendous PAC, and joint fundraising committee final yr, in keeping with FEC data. He has additionally donated this yr to the campaigns of Texas Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul and Sen. Ted Cruz. Zalik, the founding father of Goldman Sachs affiliate GreenSky, earmarked $453,800 in political contributions by way of AIPAC PAC this cycle to dozens of Democratic and Republican candidates and donated $2 million to UDP. His partner, Helen, additionally made $453,800 in contributions by way of AIPAC PAC.
