Aipac-backed Sarah Elfreth Wins Primary For Open Maryland Congressional Seat
Sarah Elfreth, a state senator backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, won the crowded Democratic primary for an open congressional seat in Maryland on Tuesday.
Elfreth defeated 21 other candidates, including former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, in a race to replace retiring Rep. John Sarbanes in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District. She was the beneficiary of more than $4 million in spending from United Democracy Project, a super PAC funded by AIPAC. Sarbanes’ seat, which includes the state capital of Annapolis, is safely Democratic. Elfreth is expected to cruise to victory in the fall.
Elfreth’s win is a boon to AIPAC, which has spent millions playing in both Democratic and Republican primaries this cycle. The race for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District was one of UDP’s biggest investments to date, after the $5 million it spent in California trying unsuccessfully to block state Sen. Dave Min from securing the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Katie Porter.
The group initially focused on boosting Elfreth and didn’t specifically get in the Maryland race to block Dunn, who had vowed to be a supporter of Israel and Jewish people in a position paper he previously provided to AIPAC. But as Dunn took issue with AIPAC’s involvement, centering criticisms of the group’s Republican donors in his campaign message, it turned contentious. UDP slammed Dunn, saying he should be “ashamed of himself” for running attack ads against Elfreth.
Dunn’s campaign sought to leverage anti-AIPAC sentiment that some Democratic candidates are seizing on this year, particularly in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In response to AIPAC’s threat that it will drop $100 million to support pro-Israel candidates, a coalition of progressive groups called “Reject AIPAC” launched this cycle to counteract the anticipated barrage.
Dunn raised millions of dollars more than Elfreth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome her and UDP.
AIPAC is targeting Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Cori Bush (Mo.) and backing their primary challengers. UDP is also spending against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the rare Republican opposing Israel aid.
Elfreth’s campaign mostly stayed out of the UDP-Dunn battle, and instead primarily focused on her achievements in the state legislature. She didn’t have the high-profile national support of Dunn — who was backed, for example, by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi — but in the leadup to the primary, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who formerly represented the district, stumped with her.
