The Democratic primary for a key Senate seat in Michigan has become an all-out brawl over dark money and Israel, with control of the US Senate on the line. The race has intensified following news that Representative Haley Stevens, considered the favourite of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, received a $5 million surge in dark money ad spending from a group aiming to boost her image as an opponent of the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The group is strongly suspected to be linked to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to reports. AIPAC, which supports some of the most right-wing, pro-Trump members of Congress and has criticised Democrats who show support for Palestinians as antisemitic, is increasingly unpopular with large portions of the Democratic base.
Both of Stevens' opponents in the primary, state Senator Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, seized on the announcement with scorn. A spokesperson for McMorrow said: 'No amount of dark money will paper over the fact that Haley Stevens voted to thank Trump's ICE agents and proudly took thousands in corporate PAC money from the company that makes ICE's TASERs.' El-Sayed's spokesperson added: 'Michiganders will see through this clear attempt to buy this race for Congresswoman Stevens.'
The news followed a separate AIPAC-related bulletin: a fundraising page featuring Stevens alongside Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, an effort to rally support for 'pro-Israel candidates running for US Senate'. McMorrow wrote on social media: 'Right now, Democrats in Michigan and around the country are organizing to win this seat and flip the Senate. Meanwhile, my opponent Haley Stevens is fundraising with a Republican Senator who could block the Democratic Senate Majority.' A source with knowledge of the arrangement said the page was set up without the campaign's knowledge and was taken down when the Stevens campaign requested it.
Polling shows Israel losing support among Democrats at a record pace following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's deadly onslaught against Gaza. Reports indicate AIPAC is increasingly using tactics such as funnelling money through unrelated groups using messaging unrelated to Israel to boost pro-Israel candidates. Stevens received 44% of her donations in the third quarter of 2025 through a network of pro-Israel groups including AIPAC, according to an analysis of her donor list.
Allies of Stevens contend that support for Israel and AIPAC's track record are not issues of high importance to voters in the primary, though their opponents clearly disagree. Michigan, in 2024, was the birthplace of the 'Uncommitted' movement, which sought to protest President Joe Biden's support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
