MI-SEN: Pro-Israel PAC uses 'loophole' to quietly fund Stevens in Dem primary

Washington — A prominent pro-Israel political group is responsible for a significant share of the donor base for Haley Stevens’ Democratic U.S. Senate bid, despite not showing up by name in public disclosures, a Detroit News analysis of campaign finance records shows.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, previously spent openly and bundled donations for Stevens during her successful U.S. House campaigns. That included more than $5 million between campaign donations and independent expenditures by an affiliated group in 2022, the last time Stevens faced a competitive primary.

That number — officially — is $0 so far in Stevens' bruising three-way Senate primary against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor, but not because AIPAC has wavered in its support for the reliably pro-Israel

The group has instead found less detectable ways to back Stevens at a time when support for Israel and AIPAC's role as a powerful campaign bankroller are among the most divisive issues in both Michigan and national Democratic politics. AIPAC’s brand among Democrats has suffered as progressives have slammed the group over its support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza against Hamas and for right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.




https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/27/aipac-loophole-back-haley-stevens-michigan-democratic-senate-primary/90251902007/