The Consultants Cashing In on Pro-Israel Campaign Spending

In Kentucky’s recent Republican primary election, pro-Israel groups and a super PAC funded by major pro-Israel donors spent more than $15.5 million to successfully unseat Rep. Thomas Massie, a vocal critic of unconditional U.S. aid to Israel—a sum equal to roughly three times what the candidate himself raised.

The money was spent largely on ads, but it did not simply flow to television stations and digital platforms. Federal Election Commission filings reveal a bipartisan network of political consultants, media buyers, pollsters, and campaign operatives who are collecting millions of dollars from the surge of pro-Israel spending reshaping congressional elections.

Already this midterm cycle, four major pro-Israel committees—AIPAC’s PAC, its outside spending arm United Democracy Project (UDP), the closely aligned Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) super PAC, and the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Victory Fund—have poured nearly $50 million into congressional races nationwide. It is the third straight election cycle in which the groups have operated as a dominant financial force, swamping candidate fundraising in some contests and generating a windfall for firms staffed by former White House aides, national party strategists, and senior congressional campaign operatives.

The consultants benefiting from the spending include alumni of the Reagan White House and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, veterans of Obama and Clinton presidential campaigns, former Biden advisers, and longtime media firms tied to both political parties.