With that in mind \u2014 and with control of the U.S. Senate on the line \u2014 Michigan\u2019s Democratic primary has become an all-out brawl over dark money and Israel, one that is central to the debate over the Democratic Party\u2019s identity, but still risks opening old wounds<\/a> at an inopportune time.<\/a><\/p>\n That debate was dialed up to 11 this past week with the news<\/a> that Rep. Haley Stevens, viewed as<\/a> the favorite of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, had become the beneficiary of a $5 million surge in dark money ad spending from<\/a> a group aiming to boost Stevens\u2019 image as an opponent of the Trump administration and ICE. <\/p>\n The group is \u201cstrongly suspected to be linked to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee<\/a> [AIPAC],\u201d HuffPost reported. And it\u2019s no secret that AIPAC, which also supports some of the most right-wing, pro-Trump members of the U.S. Congress \u2014 and has tarred Democrats who show support for Palestinians as antisemitic \u2014 is increasingly a pariah with large portions of the Democratic base. <\/p>\n Naturally, both of Stevens\u2019 opponents in the primary leapt on the announcement<\/a> with scorn: \u201cNo amount of dark money will paper over the fact that Haley Stevens voted to thank Trump\u2019s ICE agents and proudly took thousands in corporate PAC money from the company that makes ICE\u2019s TASERs,\u201d said a spokesperson for state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. <\/p>\n “Michiganders will see through this clear attempt to buy this race for Congresswoman Stevens,\u201d added Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s spokesperson.<\/p>\n That news immediately followed a separate AIPAC-related bulletin:<\/a> A fundraising page, launched by the controversial pro-Israel PAC, featured Stevens right next to Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, an effort to rally support for \u201cpro-Israel candidates [running] for U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, Democrats in Michigan and around the country are organizing to win this seat and flip the Senate. Meanwhile, my opponent Haley Stevens is fundraising with a Republican Senator who could block the Democratic Senate Majority,\u201d wrote McMorrow on X, who went on to argue in a video message that it showed Stevens\u2019 priorities were not with building a Democratic majority. <\/p>\n A source with knowledge of the arrangement told The Independent that the page featuring both Collins and Stevens was set up without the campaign\u2019s knowledge and was taken down when the Stevens campaign requested it.<\/p>\n Polling shows Israel losing support among Democrats at a record pace in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s deadly onslaught against Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crises. Reports indicate<\/a> the group is increasingly using tactics like this<\/a> most recent announcement \u2014 funneling money through unrelated groups using messaging unrelated to Israel, all aimed at boosing pro-Israel candidates. Groups like TrackAIPAC have sought to identify candidates with financial backing from the PAC and its growing network of related organizations.<\/p>\n But the group\u2019s influence threatens to roil the Democratic primary in Michigan in a way it did not in the Texas Senate primary, the first major Democratic contest of the year. Unlike in Texas, AIPAC has made clear which candidate it strongly prefers and has thus kicked off the first real opportunity for Democrats nationally, not just in Michigan, to hash out the debate over Israel\u2019s influence and support within the party that voters and electeds have been having internally since November 2024.<\/p>\n Stevens, whose PAC-funded ad buy will put her on TV at a key moment while many voters are undecided, received 44% of her donations, minus PAC support and unitemized contributions, in the third quarter of 2025 through a network of pro-Israel groups including AIPAC, according to an analysis of her donor list and a list of AIPAC contributors reviewed by The Independent. That figure, not before reported, represents a major show of support from the group that essentially represents a lifeline for her campaign.<\/p>\n The Independent reached out to the Stevens campaign for comment.<\/p>\n Allies of the congresswoman contend that support for Israel and AIPAC\u2019s track records<\/a> are not issues of high importance to voters in the primary, though their opponents clearly disagree. Michigan, in 2024, was the birthplace of the \u201cUncommitted\u201d movement which sought to pressure the Biden and later Harris campaigns into taking a stronger stance against the Israeli war effort and strategy as it related to the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n Polls for months have shown that issues like inflation, high fuel prices and fears about America\u2019s economic future still remain the most pressing issues for voters nationally, especially as the war in Iran has caused gas prices to surge past $4.50 a gallon on average.<\/p>\n Stevens has taken fire on the issue of AIPAC in particular from both of her opponents. McMorrow and El-Sayed, however, have also locked horns over McMorrow\u2019s own past support from corporate PACs including one tied to a major Michigan energy company, DTE, in her previous campaign for state senate. The Detroit Metro Times<\/a> reported on her past comments defending taking money from corporate PACs in March.<\/p>\n And El-Sayed\u2019s supporters have pummeled the state senator\u2019s campaign online over whether her repudiation of AIPAC is genuine, given that her husband previously interned for the group. The same newspaper reported that McMorrow also \u201dreached out to pro-Israel Democratic groups, attended a private pro-Israel leadership event, and traveled to Israel on a trip sponsored by a prominent pro-Israel organization\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our opponents is partnering with AIPAC to fundraise alongside a Republican, while the other has conveniently forgotten that she too met with them earlier in the cycle and reportedly submitted a position paper. Abdul has been consistent on this issue and believes that our tax dollars should be spent here at home, rather than dropping bombs abroad,\u201d Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for El-Sayed\u2019s campaign, told The Independent.<\/p>\n McMorrow and El-Sayed\u2019s own separate duel is playing out for control of the race\u2019s progressive lane, which El-Sayed leads as the Bernie Sanders-endorsed candidate but McMorrow retains a sizable chunk of support as well, having won support from Elizabeth Warren. She and El-Sayed refer to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza as a genocide; Stevens does not.<\/p>\n With three months to go until the primary, a clear frontrunner has failed to emerge. El-Sayed\u2019s campaign is exuding confidence amid a recent polling uptick, while supporters of his opponent believe (or hope) that his support is reaching a ceiling. McMorrow and El-Sayed both remain extremely active on the trail, while Stevens is taking the opposite approach \u2014 she is holding fewer public events including town halls than her opponents, and has been hit by political analysts for an awkward campaigning style that isn\u2019t connecting with voters with the same fervor that El-Sayed or McMorrow can evoke.<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2273432710.jpg\")
Rep. Haley Stevens is seen as Chuck Schumer’s favored candidate in the race (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"AIPAC's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-07T100224Z_1145740286_RC294LALR641_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-AIPAC-DEMOCRATS.jpg\")
AIPAC’s support for Trump-aligned candidates has led to accusations that it uses Republican money to interfere in Democratic primaries (Reuters)![\"Supporters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778527523_24_11559289.jpg\")
Supporters of the Uncommitted movement, pictured outside of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, tried to pressure the party to take a stance against Israel\u2019s war in Gaza (EPA)<\/p>\n![\"Mallory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778526857_721_preview.jpg\")
Mallory McMorrow hit her opponent for appearing alongside Susan Collins on an AIPAC fundraising page, while facing her own criticism for taking money from corporate PACs in past election cycles (AP)<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778527528_33_2273878403.jpg\")
Former Detroit-area health department director Abdul El-Sayed is running with Bernie Sanders’s endorsement (Getty)<\/p>\n