AIPAC announced Wednesday that more than 234 pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans had won their midterm elections, even as Democrats seized control of both the House and the Senate. The powerful pro-Israel lobbying group said many additional races remained too close to call, framing the results as a broad victory for candidates it supports across party lines.
According to The National Desk, AIPAC said in a statement that over 234 pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans won their elections in the midterms, with more races still being decided. The group also congratulated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for the Democratic victories in both chambers, according to the same report.
Two High-Profile Targets Fall
Among the races AIPAC highlighted were the ousters of two prominent Republican critics of the group. The organization said it helped defeat Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie earlier this year, backing Ed Gallrein in a primary challenge that ended Massie's tenure. Per the station's report, AIPAC also pointed to Clay Fuller's win in Georgia, a seat previously held by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Gallrein's Kentucky primary win was confirmed separately by AP News, which reported that President Donald Trump's handpicked candidate defeated Massie in the challenge. Fuller's victory in Georgia was likewise confirmed by AP News, which reported that the Trump-endorsed Republican won Marjorie Taylor Greene's former House seat. AIPAC said in its statement that Gallrein's Kentucky win and Fuller's Georgia win positioned two outspoken pro-Israel voices to fill seats once held by vocal detractors of the group, and that its community was proud to help those candidates win, the article notes.
Big Spending, Mixed Results
AIPAC's declared victories came alongside enormous campaign spending, not all of it successful. A report from Responsible Statecraft found that AIPAC poured $84.1 million through its super PAC, United Democracy Project, and other allied PACs into races that have been decided this cycle. Of that total, $55.3 million went to races where the group's preferred candidate ultimately lost, according to the same report.
That spending record stands in contrast to prior cycles. Responsible Statecraft also reported that in the 2022 midterms, 69% of United Democracy Project's expenditures went to races where it got its preferred result, a figure that rose to 87% in 2024. In 2022, the super PAC raised $31 million overall, received $8.5 million directly from AIPAC, and spent $26 million in key races, mostly Democratic primaries, according to OpenSecrets, which noted that backed candidates including Kevin Mullin, Haley Stevens, Valerie Foushee and Glenn Ivey all won their general elections that year.
Tracking Site Flags Incumbent Advantage
An election-tracking page, Who Funds My Rep?, reported that as of Wednesday, the candidate AIPAC and other pro-Israel PACs backed most had won 344 of 376 called races, a 91% win rate. But the site cautioned that incumbents on the ballot also won 91% of called races, meaning most of that record simply reflects safe seats rather than persuasive spending. In races where those PACs spent at least $100,000, backed candidates won 101 of 115, the tracker reported, and 492 of the cycle's 982 candidates had pro-Israel PAC money for or against them.
Not everyone reads the results as a clean win for the lobby. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the number of Israel critics in Congress, especially on the Democratic side of the aisle, has grown despite AIPAC's spending. The outlet also reported that in many races, anti-Israel candidates and AIPAC critics managed to turn the lobby's backing into a liability for the candidates it supported.
What Comes Next
Despite the mixed spending record, AIPAC signaled it isn't backing off. The group said its members are determined to expand their political activism in the cycles ahead, according to The National Desk, and said it will increase support for Democrats and Republicans who view a strong partnership with Israel as beneficial to security, peace, stability, democratic values, trade and innovation. AIPAC has supported candidates across multiple election cycles, and Wednesday's statement suggests the group intends to keep doing so regardless of how individual races break.
