AIPAC makes first big 2026 move

[Mr. Sparkle]

AIPAC is making its first major midterm play with its super PAC dropping $1.5 million and counting to defeat former Rep. Tom Malinowski’s (D-N.J.) comeback bid in a special election next week. The move has sent shockwaves through New Jersey political circles ahead of the Feb. 5 primary, mostly because AIPAC backed Malinowski in past campaigns. Now it’s running attack ads against him.

United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, said it turned on Malinowski because “he talks about conditioning aid” to Israel. “That’s not a pro-Israel position, and he knows it. There are other candidates in the race who are far more pro-Israel than Tom Malinowski,” said Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for the group. This is a significant highlighting of a 2026 red line for AIPAC, as well as a warning to others who might take a similar stance on aid to Israel. Malinowski’s position has become much more widespread among Democrats as the death toll in Gaza rises.

“It’s a mainstream position in the pro-Israel Jewish community,” Malinowski said of conditions on aid. “But AIPAC is sending a message to the party here that it’s not enough to be pro-Israel. You have to toe the line 100%.” The special election, triggered by now New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s resignation from the House, has drawn a wave of Democratic candidates.

The winner of next week’s primary is likely to become the next member of Congress from the blue-leaning district in northern New Jersey. Malinowski is considered the frontrunner, having held a neighboring seat from 2019 to 2023. Other top contenders: Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way and Analilia Mejia, a former aide on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid. Way has spent the most on TV ads of any candidate and has received $1.3 million in favorable ads from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association PAC. Malinowski said he was in talks with AIPAC until late 2025 . Malinowski said an official told him the group would be opposing his candidacy and that they preferred Way.“We were having constructive conversations. I’d had a relationship with them,” Malinowski said. “This came as a surprise.” The group’s super PAC declined to say if it prefers one candidate, only that it opposes Malinowski. The ads have focused solely on Malinowski, attacking him on immigration and stock trading.

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