// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did American Priorities say to its therapist? It had a lot on its plate.
 | |
| Formation | February 12, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Type | Super PAC |
| Registration no. | C00932723 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware[1] |
Region served | United States |
Treasurer | Mark Hanna[2] |
| Revenue | $3.85 million USD (January to March 2026) |
| Website | www |
American Priorities is an American pro-Palestine super PAC.[2] The group was founded in 2026 with the goal of countering the influence of the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC and supporting pro-Palestine candidates for Congress.[3] The organization planned to spend over $10 million to support its preferred candidates during the 2026 election cycle.[4]
History and activities
American Priorities filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission on February 12, 2026.[1][2] The PAC pledged to spend over $10 million during the 2026 midterms.[3] The PAC aims to counter the influence of AIPAC, a major pro-Israel lobbying group, and to make it safer for candidates to criticize Israel without fear of an AIPAC-backed challenger.[3] Hannah Fertig, a former director of the group, stated that the group's goal was "to make sure that someone's there to protect candidates who question these [pro-Israel] policies."[5][6]
2026 election cycle
The first races the PAC involved itself in were two Democratic primaries for seats in the United States House of Representatives.[7] One, in North Carolina, was a primary between incumbent representative Valerie Foushee, who had previously received support from AIPAC (although she disavowed AIPAC in 2025), and challenger Nida Allam.[4] The PAC spent about $1 million in support of Allam, who went on to lose to the incumbent by less than 1% in the election in her district.[3] The other was the open primary for Texas's 30th congressional district, which was vacated by Jasmine Crockett, who was running in the 2026 Senate election in Texas.[2] American Priorities spent $100,000 in support of Frederick Haynes III, who won his primary without any major opposition.[3]
The PAC considered spending in support of pro-Palestine candidates in Illinois house races, but opted not to.[4][3] Some candidates that American Priorities could have supported, like Junaid Ahmed in Illinois's 8th congressional district, lost their primaries.[3] This led to criticism from pro-Palestine journalist Ryan Grim, who said that spending from the deep-pocketed group could have led to Ahmed (who lost to Melissa Bean, an AIPAC-backed candidate) winning the primary.[3]
The PAC decided to spend around $2 million supporting Democrat Adam Hamawy in his primary campaign to win New Jersey's 12th congressional district, an open and heavily Democratic seat.[6][8] The spending included $600,000 to air an ad highlighting Hamawy's time as a doctor during the Iraq War and Gaza War.[6] Hamawy was also endorsed by other progressive organizations, including Justice Democrats, which had at one point donated to American Priorities.[9][10] Hamawy outraised his opponents and won the Democratic primary to succeed the retiring representative, Bonnie Watson Coleman.[8][11] The New Jersey Globe credited the spending from American Priorities with raising Hamawy's profile and establishing him as the frontrunner in the race.[12] After Hamawy's victory, a senior strategist for Hamawy described the group's spending as "extremely helpful".[13]
American Priorities spent over $400,000 supporting the campaign of Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district.[14] Rabb won the primary by over 10% over his closest rival.[14]
In California, the group spent heavily in support of progressive Democrat Randy Villegas in his campaign to take on incumbent Republican representative David Valadao.[15][16] Villegas was opposed in the nonpartisan primary by moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains, who received support from the lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel.[15] Villegas won second place in the primary as Valadao placed first, earning a spot in the November general election and defeating Bains, who placed third.[16]
In June, the group devoted $2 million to support a trio of Democratic candidates running in House of Representatives elections in New York. Primaries in New York were less than a month away.[17] The New York candidates the group supported were all endorsed by New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and included Brad Lander, who was mounting a primary challenge against incumbent representative Dan Goldman in the election in district 10; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was mounting a primary challenge against incumbent representative Adriano Espaillat in the election in district 13; and Claire Valdez, running in the election in district 7, a seat which was open following the retirement of incumbent representative Nydia Velázquez.[17] Goldman and Espaillat were both endorsed by AIPAC.[17] The three candidates supported by American Priorities received criticism from their opponents for receiving support from the PAC, although all three claimed not to have any involvement with the group.[18]
All three New York candidates supported by American Priorities won their primaries, including two who defeated AIPAC-backed incumbents.[19] The group's aggressive spending in support of Avila Chevalier was described by some political operatives and by Justice Democrats with being a crucial component in her victory against Espaillat, the incumbent.[13]
In Colorado, American Priorities supported Melat Kiros in her primary challenge against incumbent representative Diana DeGette.[20] The group spent around $140,000 on TV ads.[20] Drop Site News reported that the incumbent received outside support from a super PAC which received funding from the United Democracy Project, an AIPAC affiliate.[21] Kiros won her primary, unseating the incumbent.[22]
Leadership
Hannah Fertig, a political strategist, formerly served as a director of American Priorities. Fertig previously worked on the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign and for the progressive organization Justice Democrats.[3][4] Fertig is also a leader of Fighting for Michigan PAC, which supports Abdul El-Sayed's candidacy for U.S. Senate.[23] The treasurer of the group is Mark Hanna, a district leader in the Brooklyn Democratic Party who had previously supported the mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani and served on the board of Yalla Brooklyn, another progressive organization.[2][10]
Fundraising
American Priorities has raised significantly more money than other comparable pro-Palestine lobbying groups, like PAL PAC and Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption.[3][13] Jewish Insider reported that the group's donors included former AppLovin executives, the founder of Outschool, and other wealthy businesspeople who generally made their money in the technology sector.[10][8] Many donors to American Priorities had previously financially supported Zohran Mamdani.[10] The progressive organization Justice Democrats also donated to the PAC.[10] American Priorities planned to spend over $10 million during the 2026 election cycle.[2]
References
- 1 2 "AMERICAN PRIORITIES (AP)". Federal Election Commission.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wimbish, Whitney Curry (February 20, 2026). "Pro-Palestine Super PAC Brings Multimillion-Dollar War Chest to Midterms". The American Prospect. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Strauss, Joseph (March 25, 2026). "These pro-Palestinian PACs are trying to beat AIPAC at its own game". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Kamisar, Ben (February 20, 2026). "New super PAC launches to counter AIPAC spending in Democratic primaries". NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Weigel, David (March 11, 2026). "The anti-AIPAC PAC talks about its 2026 strategy". Semafor. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Fox, Joey (April 24, 2026). "Pro-Palestine super PAC plans to spend $2 million supporting Hamawy". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Lapin, Andrew (March 2, 2026). "Iran, Israel and Hitler's gun are all on the ballot in key primaries in Texas and NC on Tuesday". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kane, Alex (May 14, 2026). "A Test Run for the Anti-AIPAC Super PAC". Jewish Currents. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- ↑ Wimbish, Whitney Curry (April 30, 2026). "Pro-Palestine Super PAC Spending $2 Million to Back Doctor in NJ-12". The American Prospect. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Bredderman, Will (March 3, 2026). "Mamdani allies, deep-pocketed donors mobilize millions for anti-AIPAC effort". Jewish Insider. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Tully, Tracy; Wilson, Davaughnia (June 2, 2026). "Adam Hamawy, a Progressive Democrat, Wins House Primary in New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- ↑ Fox, Joey (May 11, 2026). "After super PAC's ad blitz, Hamawy internal poll puts him in the lead". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Svitek, Patrick (July 1, 2026). "How a new super PAC formed to counter AIPAC is fueling democratic socialists' wins". CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
- 1 2 Strauss, Joseph (May 19, 2026). "With AOC backing and anti-Israel message, Chris Rabb wins primary in Philadelphia". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- 1 2 Dayen, David (June 2, 2026). "Your June 2 Primary Election Guide". The American Prospect. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- 1 2 Kassel, Matthew (June 9, 2026). "Anti-Israel Democrat Villegas declares victory in California House primary". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- 1 2 3 King, Maya; Fandos, Nicholas (June 2, 2026). "Group Pledges $2 Million to Fight AIPAC in House Races". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ↑ Campbell, Jon (June 11, 2026). "The super PAC complicating the narrative for NYC progressives in Democratic primaries". Gothamist. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ Izaguirre, Anthony; Peoples, Steve (June 23, 2026). "Mamdani slate sweeps Democratic primaries in New York, ousts 2 incumbents from Congress". Boston.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
- 1 2 Slevin, Colleen; Paul, Jesse (June 26, 2026). "Melat Kiros may be on the verge of unseating Diana DeGette. Here's how that came to be". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
- ↑ Baratta, James; Jaffe, Toby (June 30, 2026). "Pop-Up Super PAC Plays Dirty in Colorado's First Congressional District". The American Prospect. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
- ↑ Moore, Elena (July 1, 2026). "Democratic socialist Melat Kiros poised to become the first Gen Z woman in Congress". NPR. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
- ↑ Otterbein, Holly (June 9, 2026). "Michigan drenched in super PAC spending for Abdul El-Sayed". Axios. Retrieved June 24, 2026.