Group shifts focus from challenging ‘Squad’ to targeting ex-Capitol police officer

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is spending a significant sum targeting former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, after previously spending most of its time targeting the progressive members of the House known as the “Squad.”

The AIPAC affiliate group United Democracy Project is spending over $500,000 on TV ads boosting the rival of Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who announced his Democratic candidacy to replace the retiring Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) in January. The UDP’s favored candidate is Maryland State Sen. Sarah Elfreth (D).

In a post on X, Dunn alluded to the donation, avoiding referencing AIPAC by name but characterizing it in relation to its relationship with Republicans.

“A SuperPAC funded by MAGA extremist donors who also gave to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Lauren Boebert just dropped $500k in our race,” he said. “They want to buy this election. They will fail.”

He also denounced AIPAC as a “dark money” group that felt threatened by his “democracy plan.”

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So far, the ads haven’t explicitly mentioned Dunn, instead focusing on boosting Elfreth. Despite the pro-Israel focus of the group, the first ad put out by UDP made no mention of Israel or the war in Gaza, instead hailing her record on abortion and protecting “our democracy.”

Domestic politics of the Israel-Hamas war hasn’t played a notable role in the Maryland race, with Dunn focusing instead on alleged threats to democracy and combating conservative Republicans. Israel and the war in Gaza are not mentioned on the campaign websites of Elfreth or Dunn.