The pro-Israel organization spent $32 million in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. It might try again in the general election.
AIPAC’s super PAC spent $32 million in an unsuccessful effort to boost Representative Haley Stevens over Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a relentless critic of Israel, during the state’s Democratic primary.
After Dr. El-Sayed’s victory, the group is unbowed and now appears willing to put what is expected to be tens of millions of dollars behind Mike Rogers, the Republican, as some of AIPAC’s major backers are urging, according to a half dozen people who have spoken with the group’s leaders.
In a statement, AIPAC suggested its supporters would be involved in the general election without laying out specific plans. “Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” said Deryn Sousa, a spokeswoman for AIPAC.
In an interview, Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s main super PAC, said no official decision had been made about spending in the race. The organization had about $80 million on hand at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Backing a Republican in a competitive general election — especially in a crucial swing state — would be an extraordinary shift for AIPAC. The organization has long considered itself bipartisan and began spending in federal elections only in 2022.
Still, many AIPAC supporters consider Dr. El-Sayed to be a threat: He made opposition to Israel a centerpiece of his campaign and has repeatedly said that he would vote to cut off funding for the Jewish state.
“The days when we are told to shut up and be nice are over — that’s not what is going to happen here,” said Sam Markstein, the political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a national organization with several AIPAC donors on its board. “We are not going to be bullied, we are not going to be slandered. We are going to double down and we are going to do what we need to win.”
“We’d rather be respected and alive than loved and dead,” he added.
In his victory speech on Wednesday, Dr. El-Sayed sought to reach out to Jewish voters even as he continued to criticize AIPAC’s involvement in the primary. “To all of my sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith, or any faith at all, or no faith at all, I want you to know that my commitment to your safety — to Jewish safety — is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters,” he said.
Mr. Rogers has repeatedly called himself a steadfast supporter of Israel.
Many political professionals saw AIPAC’s spending during the Democratic primary as counterproductive. Dr. El-Sayed appeared to be gaining in the polls and was using AIPAC’s involvement as a cudgel with which to attack Ms. Stevens.
But AIPAC leaders were unrepentant in private conversations about their expensive bet against Dr. El-Sayed, according to several people in touch with the organization, seeing the race as always likely to be close.
