PONTIAC, Mich. — A Jewish political dynasty’s four-decade run in Congress has come to an end after Rep. Andy Levin conceded to Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s 11th congressional district on Aug. 2.
Rep. Andy Levin, with his family, concedes in his reelection campaign in Pontiac, Mich., Aug. 2, 2022.
Stevens’ decisive win concluded a bank-busting primary that attracted more than $4 million in pro-Israel outside spending to a face-off between two incumbents in the Detroit suburbs.
“She ran a strong campaign,” Levin told his supporters. “My hat’s off to her.” He pledged to support Stevens in the general election.
In his concession speech, Levin did not name the source of the spending by the political action committee founded this year by AIPAC that played in his loss. He did mention that Stevens’ supporters outspent his own by a factor of five to one, thanks to “outside money.”
Stevens drew significant support from a PAC founded to support women candidates and was seen as favored from the beginning because of the new district’s map.
But with nearly half of the outside spending coming from AIPAC’s PAC, United Democracy Project, the race also emerged as a battleground over US-Israel politics — made more poignant as AIPAC backed the non-Jewish candidate over the Jewish one.
In addition to ending a Michigan Jewish political dynasty that has lasted since Levin’s uncle Carl was elected to the Senate in 1979, Levin’s loss means the wing of the Democratic party that is most critical of Israel is losing its most outspoken Jewish ally in the House of Representatives.
For AIPAC, that result is something to celebrate. Despite drawing criticism for its spending in this year’s primaries, the first time the pro-Israel lobby has supported candidates directly, AIPAC has unapologetically stood behind the candidates it believes to be most beneficial to the US-Israel relationship — even, as in Michigan’s 11th District, if it means opposing a Jewish incumbent.
Levin, who was backed by J Street, is vocally critical of Israel and authored a “Two-State Solution Act” this session that would restrict how Israel could use US aid.
AIPAC’s former director David Victor, a Detroit resident, called Levin “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the US-Israel relationship.”
He also said in a letter to prospective donors in January that “less engaged Democratic colleagues may take [Levin] at his word” on Israel because of his Jewish credentials.
In the waning days of his campaign, Levin held a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib and did a virtual event with Peter Beinart of Jewish Currents, three figures who are highly critical of Israel.
“I’m really Jewish,” Levin said on MSNBC last month. “But AIPAC can’t stand the idea that I am the clearest strongest Jewish voice in Congress standing for a simple proposition: that there’s no way to have a secure Democratic homeland for the Jewish people unless we achieve the political and human rights for the Palestinian people.”
On Aug. 2 at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, volunteers and young campaign staffers wearing “Jews For Levin” shirts commiserated with Levin supporters.
Though Levin was fighting a variety of uphill factors in the race, including a redrawn district that covered much of Stevens’ territory, his Jewish supporters laid the blame for his loss on AIPAC’s spending.
Matt Nosanchuk, the president and executive director of the progressive Jewish group New York Jewish Agenda, is Levin’s brother-in-law and flew into Michigan to campaign for him. Nosanchuk said he was there as an individual, not on behalf of his group.
“Ultimately AIPAC may enjoy a victory in the short term, but I think they need to think hard about the political space they’re shutting down through their efforts and their money,” Nosanchuk said.
For its part, AIPAC was eager to claim victory last week, tweeting that Stevens was “the 10th AIPAC-backed Democrat to defeat a challenger who sought to undermine America’s partnership with our ally Israel.” (So far this year, two out of 10 AIPAC-backed candidates have lost.)
“Being pro-Israel is both good policy and good politics!”
J Street, whose own PAC spent around $229,000 on Levin’s campaign, criticized AIPAC’s role in the race.
“Instead of building sustainable bipartisan support for Israel, AIPAC has harmfully turned Israel into one of the sharpest wedge issues in American politics.”
“Especially for young Jews, Andy was our candidate,” said Levi Teitel, a local organizer with the Jewish pro-Palestinian group IfNotNow.
