Political leanings: Pro-Israel
2022 Spending: $32.9 million
United Democracy Project is a nonpartisan super PAC created to advocate for political organizations and candidates that support the United States’ partnership with Israel. The super PAC “works to help elect candidates that share our vision and will be strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress,” according to its website.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group established in 1959, historically refused to contribute funds to individual candidates’ campaigns. However, AIPAC announced its plans to launch a political action committee, or PAC, and a super PAC ahead of the 2022 election cycle in December 2021.
AIPAC PAC, which was created Dec. 15, 2021, has become the biggest pro-Israel PAC in the U.S., ahead of the Joint Action Committee for Public Affairs and JStreetPAC. United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, was established on Jan. 3, 2022.
AIPAC PAC is limited to donating no more than $5,000 per election to a candidate’s campaign committee, according to federal contribution limits for the 2024 election. As a super PAC, United Democracy Project cannot donate to candidates directly, but it can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money expressly advocating for or against federal candidates — spending the Federal Election Commission defines as “independent expenditures.” Both the PAC and super PACs are required to disclose their donors in reports to the FEC.
In March, Politico reported that AIPAC’s organizations are “expected to spend $100 million across its political entities in 2024.”
Through August, United Democracy Project had raised about $68.4 million during the 2024 cycle. The group’s largest contributor, so far, is billionaire Jan Koum, the co-founder and former CEO of WhatsApp, who donated $5 million. Other major donors include financier Jonathon Jacobson, GreenSky CEO and co-founder David Zalik, and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus. Jacobson gave nearly $4.6 million, Marcus donated $3 million, and Zalik contributed $2 million.
United Democracy Project also has spent about $56 million, and, as of Sept. 22, more than $35.6 million of it was on independent expenditures, the ninth most of any super PAC this cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.
United Democracy Project has focused primarily on Democratic House primary races, spending nearly $12.4 million supporting some Democratic candidates, while spending more than $20 million opposing other Democrats. Just over $3 million of its spending has been against four Republican House candidates — two of whom, John Hostettler of Indiana and Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, lost in GOP primaries.
The group spent heavily on the Democratic primary election in New York’s 16th Congressional District between incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman and his challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer. United Democracy Project spent almost $9.9 million to oppose Bowman and nearly $4.8 million to support Latimer. The New York Times reported that the super PAC’s expenditures on the race “eclipsed what any interest group has ever spent on a single House race.”
On June 25, Latimer defeated Bowman in the primary, earning over 58% of the vote to about 41% for Bowman.
Bowman has sharply criticized Israel, calling the country an “apartheid state” and falsely referring to reports of rape perpetrated by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women in October as “lies” and “propaganda.” Bowman later walked back his comments, saying that the United Nations had confirmed instances of sexual violence.
In a United Democracy Project ad in May, Elisha Wiesel, son of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, asked voters to “stand up to Jamaal Bowman’s lies and conspiracy theories.” Later, Bowman told supporters in a June speech that he was being “attacked by the Zionist regime we call AIPAC.”
After Latimer’s victory over Bowman, AIPAC announced that “UDP will continue to support leaders who promote our partnership with Israel and oppose detractors, regardless of political party.”
In addition to the New York race, United Democracy Project spent more than $5.2 million against Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government’s response to attacks by Hamas last fall. Bush was defeated in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary for her 1st Congressional District seat by St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. United Democracy Project spent an additional $3.3 million on independent expenditures backing Bell’s candidacy.
Bowman and Bush are both members of a group of progressive House lawmakers collectively known as “The Squad.”
United Democracy Project also spent about $4.6 million trying to defeat California state Sen. Dave Min in the primary for the state’s 47th Congressional District. Min, a Democrat, finished in the top two, and will face Republican Scott Baugh in the general election.
During the 2022 election cycle, the super PAC raised more than $35.9 million and spent over $32.9 million, including $26.1 million on independent expenditures either promoting or opposing Democratic House candidates.
Explaining the group’s strategy at the time, United Democracy Project spokesman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in July 2022: “There was rising concern in the pro-Israel community about candidates for Congress who held radical anti-Israel views. What we’re trying to do is build the broadest bipartisan pro-Israel coalition in Congress possible.”
FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellow Ben Cohen contributed to this article.