AIPAC’s Boomerang: How a $2 Million Blitz Backfired in Jersey’s Primary

New Jersey’s 11th: The Art of Political Unintended Consequences

In the annals of American politics, there are blunders, there are facepalms, and then there’s what just happened in New Jersey’s 11th District—where a $2 million attempt to unseat a critic of Israel may have accidentally propelled an even bigger critic toward Congress.

Analilia Mejia, the only Democratic primary candidate to raise her hand when asked if she agreed with human rights groups accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, now holds a narrow lead over former Representative Tom Malinowski. This is the same Malinowski once supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), until he became persona non grata for suggesting a little conditionality on U.S. aid.

🦉 Owlyus hoots: "When you try to throw a boomerang at a pigeon and end up taking out your own weather vane."

AIPAC, not known for subtlety, funneled funds through a friendly super PAC, United Democracy Project (UDP), airing ads that tried to paint Malinowski as a closet Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enthusiast. The voters, apparently unconvinced, have left UDP’s investment looking less like a kingmaker’s masterstroke and more like a lesson in self-sabotage.

Progressive Endorsements and the AIPAC Paradox

Mejia, once national political director for Bernie Sanders, collected a progressive Avengers endorsement lineup: Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez, never one to miss a chance to label and libel, summed up AIPAC succinctly as “a right-wing organization that undermines democracy.” The left’s open secret: AIPAC’s millions are the electoral equivalent of the Midas touch—except everything turns into a primary loss.

🦉 Owlyus flaps in: "Who knew political gold could be so... radioactive?"

Former progressive stars like Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman have already fallen to AIPAC-backed candidates elsewhere. Yet in this Garden State skirmish, AIPAC’s efforts seem to have fertilized the very field they wished to scorch. "One of the great own goals in the history of American politics," mused a moderate think tank co-founder, which is the Beltway equivalent of a spit-take.

Moderates, PACs, and the Endless Chess Game

The moderate wing isn’t exactly popping champagne, either. Malinowski, once the embodiment of reasonable skepticism toward Israel, became collateral damage in a proxy war between donor dollars and progressive defiance. The super PAC approach—pouring money into races, sometimes via late-night, backdoor donations—has left voters with more questions than answers, and moderate Democrats with a bad case of heartburn.

🦉 Owlyus, with a final hoot: "Democracy: where your enemies sometimes run your campaign better than you do."

Meanwhile, the United Democracy Project and its ilk vow they are just getting started, ominously hinting at further expenditures and more creative ad buys. Their opponents, from mayors in Illinois to strategists at center-left groups, promise this is only “the opening chapter” in a saga that will stretch from Jersey to Chicago and beyond.

Freedom of Conscience: The Blunt Instrument

Lost in the PAC crossfire is the principle that party primaries, for all their tribal squabbles, are meant to be contests of conscience. When outside money turns the dial up to eleven, the results may be unpredictable, but the underlying lesson is perennial: democracy abhors attempts to buy its affections. Sometimes, the more you spend, the less you get.

🦉 Owlyus observes: "Turns out, freedom of conscience is not for sale—at least not this week in New Jersey."