PONTIAC, Mich. — Rep. Haley Stevens defeated Rep. Andy Levin in the Michigan Democratic primary that had become a referendum on the internal American-Jewish conversation on Israel, how the Democratic Party handles debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the spending power of pro-Israel SuperPACs aimed at swaying elections.
"My friends, it's not a mystery why we beat the odds. We stayed in Congress because we listened. I listened," Stevens said in a victory speech.
The two faced off in the 11th district, where AIPAC's United Democracy Project SuperPAC has spent $4.2 million in hopes of defeating progressive Jewish candidate Levin, while J Street has spent $700,000 against Stevens over AIPAC's support.
On the recent success, J Street said that AIPAC “With their overwhelming spending, hopes to send an intimidating message to others: Cross our red lines, and you could be next.”
"This political battle was bigger than just the candidates on the ballot. It was an opportunity to defeat a detractor of the U.S.-Israel relationship and to strengthen support for Israel – both within the Democratic Party and in Congress overall," AIPAC President Betsy Berns Korn said.
The contentious race has become a de facto proxy war over the candidates' positions on Israel — to the lament of Levin's Jewish supporters and key local political power players such as Rep. Debbie Dingell.
Despite AIPAC's overwhelming spending, key Stevens supporters stressed that she is the right person for the job due to her record and positions on issues local voters care about. Levin's supporters, meanwhile, highlighted his status as a champion for progressive causes.
During his concession speech Levin alluded to efforts made to defeat him, saying: "Unfortunately, I was the target of a largely Republican-funded campaign set on defeating the movement I represent no matter where I ran."
While local voters did not place Israel among key issues, it was catapulted to the forefront of the race after Levin's positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict attracted significant opposition from the pro-Israel establishment, consolidating support behind the non-Jewish Stevens and positioning Levin's faith at the center of its attacks.
"The choice in this race was clear: Congresswoman Stevens is a solid, consistent champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship while her opponent is not. The pro-Israel community united behind Congresswoman Stevens while her opponent embraced support from the most persistent and hostile critics of Israel," AIPAC said in a statement.
AIPAC has additionally spent over $4.1 million on Michigan's 13th district, where it hoped to elevate state senator Adam Hollier over state Rep. Shri Thanedar. The 36-year-old army veteran told Haaretz he was as surprised as anyone that AIPAC was bolstering his campaign, largely in hopes of keeping the entrepreneur out of office due to past positions critical of Israel. This race has not yet been called.
AIPAC, meanwhile, hadn't spent on Rep. Rashida Tlaib's primary, yet her campaign had similarly been targeted by SuperPACs bankrolled by pro-Israel Republican donors. She is projected to defeat her challenger Janice Winfrey soundly.
AIPAC's foray into SuperPACs has proven wildly successful, winning seven of the races it has involved itself in Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, California and Maryland and only losing one race in Pennsylvania. It has spent a total of $26.3 million — exclusively on Democratic primaries — with $10.5 million funding attack ads.