By : Filip Kováčik

The United States midterm elections are upon us, arriving at a time when the country is about as divided and politically unstable as it can be. The rising cost of living, gas prices, and the Iran debacle have all played significant roles in mobilizing Americans to the polls. This article focuses on the Senate race in Michigan, which offers a clear example of foreign influence in national politics.

To set the scene: Michigan is classified as a “battleground state”, meaning neither party has clear control over it. The main race is between Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, and Republican nominee Mike Rogers. It is crucial to understand that while foreign agents legally can not fund campaigns, many do so through PACs, or Political Action Committees. The one most relevant here is AIPAC, or American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which focuses on strengthening US-Israel connections. 

Why is Israel featured so prominently in a Michigan Senate race? To answer that, one must go back to the Democratic primary. According to the Associated Press, AIPAC and its affiliated groups spent around $30 million just to try and defeat El-Sayed, instead supporting current U.S. Representative Haley Stevens. 

Stevens is likely best known for her speech at the Detroit Hanukkah menorah lighting in December 2023, where she proclaimed “Israel comes to me in my dreams”. While Israel comes to her in her dreams, AIPAC funding comes to her in reality, with the Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption attributing a staggering $36,305,500.05 to her from pro-Israel lobbies. Compare this to El-Sayed, who has not received a penny.

Despite all that funding she could not win the primary, and Abdul El-Sayed became the Democratic nominee for the Senate. Standard party protocol would suggest that Stevens, still a Democrat, would endorse El-Sayed to help secure the seat for the party. Stevens did initially support the party ticket, but it was clear her support for Israel would eventually clash with El-Sayed’s position, which does not view Israel as a good U.S. ally. 

In an October 19 interview with ABC News, when asked about Israel being an ally to the U.S., El-Sayed responded “An ally that takes your money to push you into wars you should not be fighting is not an ally.”.

Sure enough, this all came to a breaking point just 24 hours before the polls opened, with Stevens endorsing Republican Mike Rogers over El-Sayed. Rogers himself received $31,622,172.90 from pro-Israel lobbies, according to Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption), and allegedly has two Israel foreign agents working on his campaign, per Drop Site News. 

This paints a very concerning picture on the state of US politics, when the interests of a foreign state transcend party loyalty, and align candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum against someone who does not have the foreign state’s interests as their priority. The critical question for voters is : Are you voting for candidates who put America first, or candidates that put Israel first when provided with sufficient funding?

Sources : https://docs.google.com/document/d/18DcgrL2uYDDWVBlrAlzYwB34L9z2At9dw5T6kC4xC-g/edit?usp=sharing