Campaign Finance and AIPAC

At the Democratic National Committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans, the DNC Resolutions Committee held test votes Thursday on contentious measures to recognize a Palestinian state, place conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel, and formally criticize the 'growing influence' of AIPAC and other dark-money groups in Democratic primaries. The two resolutions dealing with conditioning aid and recognizing a Palestinian state were punted to the party’s Middle East Working Group, while the anti-AIPAC resolution was voted down after members instead passed a broader resolution against all dark-money spending. The clash highlights a widening rift between DNC leaders generally supportive of Israel and a growing progressive base sharply critical of Israel’s Gaza campaign and the recent U.S.–Israeli war with Iran, with one DNC member calling the resolutions 'problematic' and warning of divisive debates. The meeting comes as new Pew and NBC polling show Democratic views of Israel have turned overwhelmingly negative since 2022, with roughly 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now holding unfavorable views. Those numbers, amplified heavily on social media by pro-Palestinian activists and critics of AIPAC, are intensifying pressure on party leadership to revisit long-standing positions on military aid and the role of pro-Israel money in primaries ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential race.