Washington ― A pro-Israel group made $2.33 million worth of airtime reservations across Michigan markets on Monday for an advertisement that aims to boost Haley Stevens in the contentious U.S. Senate Democratic primary, marking the group’s first ad spending in the Michigan race this cycle.
The United Democracy Project, the super political action committee started by the lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, purchased $2.21 million in the Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Traverse City markets, and another $87,000 on CNN and MNOW networks and $37,000 for the satellite market, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
The reservations for the TV ad start Tuesday and run through June 15.
Stevens, a four-term congresswoman from Birmingham, is endorsed by AIPAC in her bid to represent Michigan in the Senate. She is facing state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor, a vocal critic of Israel who wants to end all foreign U.S. military aid.
The ad itself makes no mention of Israel or foreign policy, instead focusing on Stevens’ past work as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto industry rescue task force during the Great Recession and her efforts to cap the price of insulin and “fighting back against Trump’s Medicare cuts.”
El-Sayed on Monday blasted the move by UDP, even though it was long expected.
“A super PAC focused on sending our taxpayer dollars abroad is coming in to try and buy the race for a candidate who is going to do their bidding,” El-Sayed told The Detroit News.
“If you want your money spent on your health care in Michigan, your schools in Michigan, your roads and bridges in Michigan, then it’d be worth rethinking whether or not you’re going to pay attention to what ‘United Democratic Project’/AIPAC thinks you should do.”
With eight weeks until the Aug. 4 primary, this is the fourth group to begin spending in support of Stevens in the Senate race, including others whose sponsors and funders aren’t as clear, such as a group called A Stronger Michigan.
mburke@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pro-Israel group begins spending to help Haley Stevens in Senate bid
Reporting by Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
