{"id":49557,"date":"2026-08-05T12:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49557"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:11:18","slug":"progressives-aim-to-defeat-aipac-cash-democratic-establishment-in-michigan-and-missouri-primaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/05\/progressives-aim-to-defeat-aipac-cash-democratic-establishment-in-michigan-and-missouri-primaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressives Aim to Defeat AIPAC Cash, Democratic Establishment in Michigan and Missouri Primaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Michigan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michigan Democratic candidate for Congress Donavan McKinney speaks at The People V. The Powerful rally at the Detroit Opera House on July 18, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan, along with Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Sarah Rice\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Democratic establishment threw everything it had at Abdul El-Sayed,\u201d said one podcaster. \u201cIf he wins, the reverberations will be felt far outside of Michigan.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aug 04, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voters in five states are going to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots for US House<\/a> and Senate candidates, including several who aim to continue a recent streak of progressive victories that\u2014as Colorado democratic socialist Melat Kiros said<\/a> after she won her own primary race last month\u2014will send a message to \u201cboth parties, to Donald Trump<\/a>, and to the entire country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major races in which progressives<\/a> are hoping to beat corporate-backed, centrist Democrats are set to be decided in Missouri and Michigan, and observers have pointed to unprecedented outside spending<\/a> on the primaries\u2014including more than $100 million<\/a> that\u2019s been poured into races by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC<\/a>) as public support<\/a> for Israel plummets\u2014as clear evidence that the political establishment views left-wing challengers as formidable opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Abdul<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

El-Sayed on Track to Win US Senate Primary, Overcoming AIPAC\u2019s $30 Million Onslaught<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"US<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC\u2019s 2026 Spending Tops $100 Million\u2014Including $30 Million Against El-Sayed in Michigan<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With AIPAC<\/a> taking an outsized role in funding a number of centrist primary campaigns this election cycle, the results Tuesday night are expected to reveal whether the lobby group can continue to influence elections and US policy regarding Israel, while a growing number of Americans view Israel negatively following nearly three years of its US-backed assault on Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama administration<\/a> staffer who co-hosts the podcast \u201cPod Save America,\u201d said<\/a> that with the Democratic establishment particularly throwing its weight behind pro-Israel US Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the race between her and progressive former public health<\/a> official Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan\u2019s US Senate<\/a> race, Tuesday will be \u201cthe culmination of one of the most heated and expensive Democratic Senate primaries in history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Democratic establishment threw everything it had at Abdul El-Sayed,\u201d said Pfeiffer. \u201cIf he wins, the reverberations will be felt far outside of Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Michigan Senate race is arguably the most high-profile race taking place Tuesday, but in a number of House districts in the state and elsewhere, progressives are vying for seats in Congress in hopes of increasing the number of Democrats who would use their power to advocate for programs like Medicare for All<\/a> and universal childcare and against massive Pentagon<\/a> budgets and US aid to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key races include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-11) vs. US Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.)<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

McKinney<\/a>, a former labor organizer, is running to unseat Thanedar in the state\u2019s 13th District, and recently notched endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America and Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.). Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib<\/a> (D-Mich.) have also thrown their support behind McKinney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state lawmaker\u2019s website states<\/a> that he is running \u201cbecause I\u2019ve lived through the same bull**** as you my whole life, right here at home in Detroit.\u201d He calls his city \u201cthe poster child for communities in need of the Green New Deal<\/a>,\u201d pointing to lead-polluted water<\/a> and \u201csome of the most polluted air in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also pushed to ban utility monopolies and government contractors, calling Thanedar \u201cour multimillionaire congressman who bought this seat with his own money,\u201d and had pledged to defeat \u201cthe corporate and right-wing<\/a> super PACs<\/a> that will spend millions to support\u201d Thanedar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to<\/a> Punchbowl News, Thanedar is \u201cheavily self-funding\u201d his campaign and, along with the pro-cryptocurrency group Protect Progress, has spent $4.6 million on TV ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKinney has also pointed to Thanedar\u2019s campaign funding from Detroit\u2019s unpopular energy utility company, DTE, and from AIPAC. According to<\/a> The Intercept, \u201ctwo-thirds of the money Thanedar raised in the last quarter came from AIPAC, which collects money from multiple donors and funnels it to the pro-Israel group\u2019s preferred candidates… Less than a quarter of those donors listed Michigan as their state of residence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanedar \u201cwas in the minority of House Democrats<\/a> who voted against cutting $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel from a State Department spending bill\u201d last month, The Intercept added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his \u201cclosing message\u201d on Tuesday, McKinney told radio show host Dean Obeidallah that he doesn\u2019t \u201chave any special interests pulling the strings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy special interest is the people of the mighty 13th District, and instead of continuing to send our taxpayer money to fund\u00a0genocide<\/a>\u00a0and send it for bombs and weapons to kill families and\u00a0children<\/a>, or to start wars in Iran and spend over $1 billion a day on average, my focus is going to be taking those resources, our taxpayer money, and bringing it back home for people who need it the most,\u201d said McKinney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As Michigan heads to the polls, @DonavanMI13<\/a> gave @DeanObeidallah<\/a> his closing message, that he'll be a fighter for his district. pic.twitter.com\/7VofIpa6tz<\/a><\/p>— SiriusXMProg.bsky.social (@SiriusXMProg) August 4, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>