AIPAC plans to stop endorsing candidates. The letter went to members on Oct. 21. In it, the pro-Israel lobbying group said its PAC will stop giving directly to campaigns. Earmarking donations for specific candidates is out, too.
NPR reported the letter first. In it, AIPAC called the 2026 midterm cycle “one of the most challenging environments in recent memory.” The group claimed “achieved important victories” during the cycle. It also acknowledged “suffered hard-fought losses.”
“Endorsements, direct PAC contributions and earmarking will no longer be part of our approach, so we can expand individual giving and utilize new tools to help our friends win.”
“To win the fight for the future of the country and the U.S.-Israel alliance, we must build a more strategic, consequential and nimble political operation,” the letter said.
Instead of PAC checks, the group plans to lean harder on its members’ own giving. “We will prioritize increasing direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates—expanding upon our current efforts—and maximizing the emerging political fundraising tools,” the letter said, according to NPR.
AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told NPR the mission itself has not changed. “Our goal is to build support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. AIPAC members gave more than $90 million directly to candidates this cycle, and that organized, direct giving from our members will continue and increase,” Sousa said.
The group’s super PAC stays in the game. AIPAC confirmed to NPR that the United Democracy Project will continue to operate and can still raise unlimited amounts of money.
The sums are large. NPR, citing Federal Election Commission filings, put AIPAC’s own giving at nearly $25 million. The money went to candidates and political committees in 2026 through Sept. 30. Over the same stretch, the super PAC gave $13 million. Its independent expenditures came to another $53.5 million. USA Today put the group’s fundraising this cycle at about $233 million. It cited federal campaign finance records.
Michigan shows how the spending lands. AIPAC put $33 million toward defeating Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in his primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, according to USA Today, and its super PAC has spent in recent days against El-Sayed in the general election, where he faces Republican Mike Rogers.
The shift follows a rough cycle for the group. Candidates it endorsed faced opposition from the political left and right, and some said they would not accept its money. About 60% of U.S. adults said they hold an unfavorable view of Israel in a Pew Research Center survey released in April, up from 53% last year, according to USA Today.
Sen. Bernie Sanders attacked the group again on Thursday. In a post on X, he said the group is “spending as much as $9 million” to support Rogers. “AIPAC is why we’re at war in Iran,” Sanders said in a post on X. “AIPAC is why the U.S. has supported genocide in Gaza. We must say NO to AIPAC.”
AIPAC answered by accusing Sanders of “obsessive scapegoating.” Its Oct. 22 post mocked the charge: “AIPAC is why your fantasy football team stinks. AIPAC is why the weather is bad. AIPAC is why you need an app to park.”
American Priorities, a group started this year to back candidates opposed to AIPAC, read the move as a concession. Its spokesman, Greg Krieg, said in a statement to USA Today that the change “is a direct response to the success of our efforts in pushing Democrats to listen to their constituents.”
AIPAC, founded in 1954, began its direct involvement in elections five years ago. Its letter told members the 2028 cycle will “demand an even stronger commitment by our activists to pro-Israel politics.”
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