Jayapal, other Dems with controversial Israel positions shower fellow Dems with campaign cash https://ift.tt/smQpKSF
Far-left Democrats who voted against condemning Hamas' attacks or downplayed their actions have showered dozens of candidates with thousands of dollars in campaign cash, according to a Fox News Digital review of federal filings.
Several progressive lawmakers have faced heat over their actions following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on innocent Israeli civilians that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage.
Most recently, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made controversial remarks during a CNN interview by declaring people should be "balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians" when asked why progressive groups remained silent over Hamas' use of rape as a weapon of war.
During the interview, Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, claimed she condemned Hamas' treatment of women and quickly pivoted the conversation back to Israel.
"With respect, I was just asking about the women, and you turned it back to Israel," Dana Bash, the host, shot back. "I'm asking you about Hamas."
Jayapal countered by saying she had already answered the question, adding, "We have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians. Fifteen thousand Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, three-quarters of whom are women and children."
Before Jayapal, a group of House Democrats primarily consisting of far-left "Squad" members voted against a resolution condemning Hamas' invasion in October.
The resolution, H.R. 771, which reaffirmed America's support for Israel as it responded to the attack, received overwhelming bipartisan support and passed by a vote of 412-10, with six members voting present.
The 10 members who voted against the resolution included six of the eight "Squad" members: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Cori Bush, D-Mo. They were joined by Reps. André Carson, D-Ind., Al Green, D-Texas, and Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.
Meanwhile, the two remaining "Squad" members – Reps. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. – voted present alongside Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., Jesús "Chuy" Garcia, D-Ill., and Jayapal.
A Fox News Digital review of campaign finance records shows that the Democrats who refused to condemn Hamas' actions have showered dozens of candidates nationwide with thousands in campaign cash, which could become a point of contention in their re-election bids.
The review found that the far-left progressives have poured money from their own committees into the campaigns of at least 33 other Democrats in recent years, with several receiving over $15,000 from the group. Many Democrats who received the contributions are locked in tough election battles.
The candidate who received the most money from the far-left progressives who refused to condemn Hamas is Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., who has hauled in a little over $47,000 from a combination of the campaigns of leadership PACs of Castro, Garcia, Pressley, Carson, Ocasio-Cortez and Jayapal since 2020. Each donation ranged between $250 and $10,000.
The second-highest cash recipient from the group is Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., who received $25,000 from Jayapal and Ocasio-Cortez's leadership PACs in the 2022 and 2024 election cycles, with most of that cash ($20,000) coming from Jayapal's Medicare for All committee.
The third-highest money hauler from the anti-Israel Democrats is Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill. Between 2018 and 2022, Underwood took in $23,000 from committees tied to Garcia, Jayapal, Carson, Ocasio-Cortez and Omar, with each of her donations ranging between $1,000 and $7,000.
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None of the campaigns of the three highest recipients returned Fox News Digital's request for comment.
And at least 30 more Democrats took between $1,000 and $21,000 from the anti-Israel group in recent years.
Those representatives include Greg Landsman ($1,000) and Marcy Kaptur ($3,000) of Ohio; Josh Harder ($16,000) and Mike Levin ($17,800) of California; Sean Casten ($4,000), Nikki Budzinski ($5,000) and Eric Sorensen ($3,000) of Illinois; Hillary Scholten ($8,000) and Elissa Slotkin ($10,000) of Michigan; Dina Titus ($8,000), Susie Lee ($15,000) and Steven Horsford ($17,000) of Nevada; Val Hoyle ($15,000) and McLeod Skinner ($5,000) of Oregon; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez ($5,000) and Kim Schrier ($18,000) of Washington.
The remaining representatives are Mary Peltola ($11,000) of Alaska; Greg Stanton ($5,000) of Arizona; Brittany Petterson ($3,000) of Colorado; Jahana Hayes ($19,300) of Connecticut; Frank Mrvan ($7,000) of Indiana; Sharice Davids ($21,000) of Kansas; Jared Golden ($14,000) of Maine; Chris Pappas ($15,000) of New Hampshire; Angie Craig ($13,250) of Minnesota; Gabriel Vasquez ($1500) of New Mexico; Pat Ryan ($13,500) of New York; Chris Deluzio ($16,000) of Pennsylvania; Seth Magaziner ($5,500) of Rhode Island; and Vincente Gonzalez ($8,000) of Texas.
Meanwhile, many of the members who voted against condemning Israel will face a political onslaught from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during their re-election bids.
AIPAC is gearing up to spend upwards of $100 million targeting "Squad" members in their 2024 elections over their viewpoints on the war between Israel and Hamas.
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