AIPAC Spent Millions to Keep Her Out of Congress. Now, She Sees an Opening. 

A progressive North Carolina official who lost her congressional race after the pro-Israel lobby spent almost million against her sees a fresh opening this midterm cycle as a citizens disturbed by the genocide in Gaza has turned pro-Israel spending into an increasing liability Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam is preparing for a rematch against Rep Valerie Foushee D-N C for the th Congressional District seat she lost by nine points in This time the Israel lobby s anticipated influence has shifted Feeling the pressure from activists and constituents Foushee has declared she won t accept money from the American Israel Populace Affairs Committee Allam who launched her campaign Thursday with the backing of the progressive group Justice Democrats notified The Intercept that wouldn t be a shift for her I ve never accepted corporate PAC or dark money special interest group money or pro Israel lobby group money announced Allam whose electoral process to the county commission made her the first Muslim woman elected to population office in North Carolina The country s top pro-Israel lobbying groups and the crypto industry spent heavily to help Foushee beat Allam in when they competed in the race for the seat vacated by former Rep David Price D-N C AIPAC s super PAC United Democracy Project and DMFI PAC another pro-Israel group with ties to AIPAC spent just under million backing Foushee that year The PAC funded by convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried also spent more than million backing Foushee Related Facing Voter Pressure Swing-State Democrat Swears Off AIPAC Cash After nearly two years of pressure from activists in North Carolina enraged by Israel s genocide in Gaza Foushee publicized in August that she would not accept AIPAC money in joining a growing list of candidates swearing off AIPAC money in the face of a new wave of progressive challengers This time if pro-Israel and crypto groups spend in the race it s on Foushee to respond Allam disclosed If they decide to spend in this then it comes down to Valerie Foushee to answer is she going to stand by the promise and commitment she made to not accept accept AIPAC and pro-Israel lobby money Allam noted This district deserves someone who is going to be a champion for working families and you can t be that when you re taking the money from the same corporate PAC donors that are funding Republicans who are killing Medicare for all who are killing an increased minimum wage Foushee s campaign did not this instant respond to a request for comment Allam who helped lead Bernie Sanders s presidential campaign in North Carolina is the seventh candidate Justice Democrats are backing so far this cycle The group which previously recruited progressive stars including Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N Y and Ilhan Omar D-Minn is endorsing candidates challenging incumbents next year in Michigan California New York Tennessee Missouri and Colorado Justice Democrats is taking a more aggressive approach to primaries this cycle after only endorsing its incumbents last year and losing two major seats to pro-Israel spending The group plans to launch at least nine more candidates by January The Intercept released Related She Lost Her Job for Speaking Out About Gaza Can It Power Her to Congress Allam unveiled her campaign with other endorsements from independent Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders Sunrise Movement the Working Families Party and Leaders We Deserve a PAC launched by progressive organizers David Hogg and Kevin Lata in to back congressional candidates under the age of She mentioned she sees the local impacts of the Trump administration on working families every day in her work as a Durham County commissioner What I m hearing from our residents every single day is that they don t feel that they have a champion or someone who is standing up and fighting for them at the federal level and someone who is advocating for working families she mentioned This is the safest blue district in North Carolina and this is an opportunity for us as a Democratic Party to have someone elected who is going to be championing the issues for working families like Medicare for All a Green New Deal and has a track record of getting things done at the local level Allam is rejecting corporate PAC money and running on taking on billionaires and fighting Immigration and Customs Enforcement which has been carrying out raids and arresting residents in the district She s also supporting a Green New Deal Medicare for All and ending military aid to Israel She began considering a run for office after a man murdered her friends in the Chapel Hill shootings Small dollar donors powered Allam s campaign when she raised million with an average donation of She s aiming to replicate that strategy this cycle she noted Trump is testing the waters in every way workable Allam declared The only way that we re going to be able to effectively fight back against Trump is by passing the Voting Rights Act is by taking big corporate money out of our elections by ending Citizens United Because they re the same ones who are fighting against our democracy In its release announcing Allam s campaign on Thursday Justice Democrats criticized Foushee for taking money from corporate interests including defense contractors who have profited from the genocides in Gaza and Sudan In the face of rising healthcare costs creeping authoritarianism and ICE raids and the highest number of federal funding cuts of any district in the country leadership that only shows up to make excuses won t cut it anymore the group wrote Foushee served in the North Carolina state legislature for more than two decades before being elected to Congress in She first campaigned for Congress on expanding the Affordable Care Act and moving toward Medicare for All passing general campaign financing and the Voting Rights Act and a minimum wage Since entering Congress in Foushee has sponsored bills to conduct research on gun violence prevention to expand diversity in research for artificial intelligence establish a rebate for environmental roof installations and promotion historically Black colleges and universities Foushee s evolving stance on particular Israel issues reflects a broader shift among Democrats under pressure from organizers and constituents Amid rising community outrage over the influence of AIPAC in congressional elections in latest years Foushee faced growing criticism and protests in the district over her refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and her help from the lobbying group After organizers tried to meet with her and held a demonstration blocking traffic on a freeway in the district she signed onto a letter calling for a ceasefire but did not publicize her help for the letter or comment on it publicly The News Observer revealed Related Trying to Block Arms to Israel Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC s Massive Vote Spending At a town hall in August an attendee questioned Foushee if she regretted taking AIPAC money In response she explained she would no longer accept money from the group Three days later she co-sponsored Illinois Rep Delia Ramirez s Block the Bombs to Israel Act to limit the transfer of defensive weapons to Israel We cannot allow AIPAC and these corporate billionaires to scare us into silence Allam announced It s really our mandate to take them on directly especially now as they re losing their sway in the Democratic Party The post AIPAC Spent Millions to Keep Her Out of Congress Now She Sees an Opening appeared first on The Intercept