DEMOCRATIC TAKEDOWNS
The Democratic primary contest between Reps. Andy Levin and Haley Stevens has gotten downright nasty with two months still to go before the August primary. And while his campaign asserted way back in February they had no intention of going down that road, Levin’s peeps have been throwing most of the poison darts. A lot of it stems to Stevens receipt of a $300,000 donation from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, a bipartisan American organization that advocates for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. Levin, a progressive, has railed against the donation to Stevens, stating, “Special interests like AIPAC have made Andy Levin their number one target and are funding his opponent. Yes, the same AIPAC who has doubled down on Trumpism and endorsed 109 insurrectionists is supporting our Democratic opponent here in Michigan.” AIPAC has historically backed both Republicans and Democrats, which it has done again this election cycle. Adding another stake to Levin’s heart, it seems, are endorsements for Stevens, not a Jew, from the Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), over Levin, who is Jewish and a former synagogue president. But, as Abraham Foxman, former director of ADL said, “It is my belief that Stevens and her like-minded colleagues promote a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and meaningfully combat anti-Semitism while Levin and his fellow travelers do not,” asserting that Levin and some of his fellow colleagues offer “a paternalistic and sometimes hostile view.” Levin has been a frequent critic of Israeli policy and has the endorsement of the liberal Jewish organization J Street. There’s also a matter of fundraising. According to the latest reports on file, Stevens is flat out beating the pants off Levin in money she has raised so far in every category – from total contributions, where she has collected $3.6 million this election cycle to his $2 million, with $2.8 million cash-on-hand to his $1.5 million cash-on-hand. Stevens has received $2.64 million from individual contributions, while Levin received $1.42 million; and she received $952,100 from committees, to his $408,562. Levin has tried to grab headlines by now claiming he will not be taking corporate PAC money but many observers are writing that move off as too little coming too late in this race. If you are losing the contributions race, big time, then you better have more boots on the ground, one observer noted.