Bernie Sanders and AIPAC Clash in High-Stakes Michigan Senate Race
The Michigan Senate race turns into a high-stakes financial battle as Bernie Sanders clashes with AIPAC over support for Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, drawing in national progressive figures and foreign policy debates.
The U.S. Senate race in Michigan has escalated into a major financial and ideological battleground centered on Israel. According to a report by The New York Times, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders reacted with outrage upon learning that the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC plans to invest up to $9 million to defeat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate in the race. El-Sayed could potentially become the first Muslim senator in United States history.
Eighty-five-year-old Sanders from Vermont did not limit himself to a personal contribution from his campaign fund, which stood at $22.4 million at the beginning of October. He mobilized a coalition of progressive allies to counter the move. Within a single day, Sanders' campaign secured commitments totaling $300,000 from a dozen Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Martin Heinrich, Tina Smith, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley. These sums add to the quarter of a million dollars Sanders transferred earlier this month to a joint fund for El-Sayed, as well as a $1 million contribution from New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who joined his campaign last week.
According to The New York Times report, AIPAC made an unusual decision to support a Republican candidate in the general election and channel up to $9 million into a political action committee supporting former Congressman Mike Rogers. Rogers stated during an October 8 debate that he would gladly accept the assistance, while AIPAC declined to officially comment on the scale of the expenditures. In contrast, Sanders acknowledged in an interview that the fundraising does not match the resources of AIPAC and billionaire-backed corporate entities, but emphasized that this stand is necessary to defend democracy.
Clash on Social Media Over Foreign Policy
The financial confrontation quickly spilled over into social media exchanges. After Sanders wrote that AIPAC is the reason the United States is at war with Iran, the lobby responded with a public jab on the platform X, writing cynically that AIPAC is also to blame for poor football teams, severe weather, and the need for parking apps, while calling for an end to Sanders' obsessive search for a scapegoat. The senator dismissed the mockery, arguing that the American public has no desire to continue spending billions of dollars on the radical government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the same time, El-Sayed reached out to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Progressive Caucus, who previously contributed $350,000 during the primaries and is considering additional aid. Jayapal called on retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who holds between $7 million and $1 million in his war chest, to contribute $1 million of his own and prove that the moderate establishment stands behind the party's nominee. Peters' office did not issue an immediate response.
