https://cdn.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/Factcheck_2022_player_guide.png”>Political leanings: Nonpartisan
2020 total spending: N/A
https://www.uniteddemocracyproject.org”>United Democracy Project is a nonpartisan super PAC created to advocate for political organizations and candidates that support the United States’ partnership with Israel. The super PAC “works to help elect candidates that share our vision and will be strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress,” according to its website.
https://www.aipac.org”>The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group, announced its https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/16/aipac-launches-super-pac-525092″>plans to launch a political action committee and a super PAC ahead of the 2022 election cycle in December 2021. The PAC would later be named https://www.aipacpac.org”>AIPAC PAC, which has become the https://www.timesofisrael.com/aipacs-new-pac-is-now-the-uss-biggest-pro-israel-pac/”>biggest pro-Israel PAC in the United States, and the super PAC would become the https://jewishinsider.com/2022/05/steve-irwin-summer-lee-united-democracy-project-rob-bassin/”>United Democracy Project. https://web.archive.org/web/20220328180921/https://www.uniteddemocracyproject.org/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Initially, the super PAC’s “About Us” statement https://forward.com/fast-forward/484324/aipac-s-pro-democracy-super-pac-does-not-mention-israel-in-its-mission/”>did not include any mention of Israel or anything about pro-Israel lobbying, but it has since been changed.
As of June 30, https://twitter.com/uniteddemocproj?lang=en”>United Democracy Project has raised almost https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00799031/?tab=raising”>$27.6 million.
The group’s largest contributor is its creator, AIPAC, which https://www.fec.gov/data/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00799031&contributor_name=AMERICAN+ISRAEL+PUBLIC+AFFAIRS+COMMITTEE&two_year_transaction_period=2022″>donated $8.5 million. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jan-koum/?sh=24b972ca370f”>Jan Koum, the co-founder and former CEO of https://www.whatsapp.com”>WhatsApp, donated https://www.fec.gov/data/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00799031&contributor_name=Koum%2C+Jan&two_year_transaction_period=2022″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>$2 million. These UDP donors https://www.fec.gov/data/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00799031&two_year_transaction_period=2022&min_amount=900%2C000.00&max_amount=1%2C100%2C000.00″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>contributed $1 million each: https://highsage.com/team/jonathon-s-jacobson/#:~:text=Jacobson-,Jonathon%20S.,Mr.”>Jonathon S. Jacobson, the non-executive chairman and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-s-jacobson#:~:text=Jonathon%20S.,Officer%20and%20Chief%20Executive%20Officer.”>founding member of https://highsage.com”>HighSage Ventures; https://www.forbes.com/profile/paul-singer/?sh=1e8c8bb7795e”>Paul Singer, the founder of https://www.elliottmgmt.com”>Elliott Management; https://www.forbes.com/profile/bernard-marcus/?sh=273ef9577de6″>Bernard Marcus, the co-founder of https://www.homedepot.com”>The Home Depot; and https://www.forbes.com/profile/haim-saban/?sh=19fff5e48b00″>Haim Saban, the co-founder of Fox Family Worldwide who established https://www.sabanfilms.com/about/”>Saban Films and https://www.saban.com/history/”>Saban Capital Group. As a https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/super-pacs/2022″>super PAC, UDP can accept unlimited donations, but it must disclose its donors. It cannot fund candidates directly, but it can spend unlimited amounts expressly advocating for or against federal candidates — spending the Federal Election Commission https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements-pac/independent-expenditures-nonconnected-pac/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>defines as “independent expenditures.”
United Democracy Project has https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00799031&cycle=2022″>spent nearly $24.3 million, as of Aug. 2, on independent expenditures during the 2022 election cycle, with all of it being https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00799031&cycle=2022″>spent for or against targeted Democratic candidates. As of early August, UDP was the https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?cycle=2022&chrt=P&disp=O&type=A”>second-highest spender among outside groups in the primary elections, behind the https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/club-for-growth-action/”>conservative https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/club-for-growth-action-6/”>Club for Growth Action. UDP has been the https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/25/israel-divide-democratic-primaries-00047625″>highest spender in the Democratic primaries.
United Democracy Project has spent the most https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/9c07957d-079f-4f49-b80b-12cacccd8162″>to help defeat former Rep. https://ballotpedia.org/Donna_Edwards”>Donna Edwards in the July 19 Democratic primary in https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2022″>Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. UDP https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00799031&cycle=2022″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>spent $4.26 million against Edwards and $1.7 million for the https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/19/edwards-maryland-primary-elections-congress/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>winning candidate, https://ballotpedia.org/Glenn_Ivey”>Glenn Ivey, a former county prosecutor.
The group also spent heavily in two House primaries in Michigan. In the state’shttps://ballotpedia.org/Michigan%27s_11th_Congressional_District_election,_2022″> 11th Congressional District, UDP https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00799031&cycle=2022″>spent $3.88 million supporting https://ballotpedia.org/Haley_Stevens”>Haley Stevens and $342,000 against https://ballotpedia.org/Andy_Levin”>Andy Levin, and in the https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan%27s_13th_Congressional_District_election,_2022″>13th Congressional District, UDP spent $2.74 million in support of https://ballotpedia.org/Adam_Hollier”>Adam Hollier and $1.43 million opposing https://ballotpedia.org/Shri_Thanedar”>Shri Thanedar. Stevens https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/02/us/elections/results-michigan-us-house-district-11.html”>won the primary, but Hollier https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-primary-election-results-house-district-13″>lost his race to Thanedar.
UDP was active in two Democratic primaries in North Carolina, spending $2.13 million supporting Valerie Foushee in the state’s https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2022″>4th District, and $2.1 million backing https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Davis”>Donald Davis and $335,000 against https://ballotpedia.org/Erica_Smith”>Erica Smith in the state’s https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina%27s_1st_Congressional_District_election,_2022″>1st District. UDP’s https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2022/05/city-us-house-of-representatives-district-4-primary-results” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>candidates https://news.ballotpedia.org/2022/05/19/davis-wins-democratic-primary-for-north-carolinas-1st-congressional-district/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>won those primaries.
In Pennsylvania’s https://ballotpedia.org/Pennsylvania%27s_12th_Congressional_District_election,_2022_(May_17_Democratic_primary)”>12th District, UDP’s preferred candidate, https://ballotpedia.org/Steve_Irwin”>Steve Irwin, lost the May 17 Democratic primary. The group had spent $2 million against https://ballotpedia.org/Summer_Lee”>Summer Lee, who https://web.archive.org/web/20220805165338/https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/05/20/summer-lee-steve-irwin-lead-vote-count-allegheny-county-election-vote-update-congress-house/stories/202205200090″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>won, and $660,000 for Irwin.
In Texas, UDP spent $423,000 for https://ballotpedia.org/Henry_Cuellar”>Henry Cuellar and $1.43 million against https://ballotpedia.org/Jessica_Cisneros”>Jessica Cisneros in the Democratic primary in the state’s https://ballotpedia.org/Texas’_28th_Congressional_District_election,_2022″>28th Congressional District. Cuellar https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/19/henry-cuellar-jessica-cisneros-runoff-texas/”>won the Democratic nomination in a run-off election on May 24.
“There was rising concern in the pro-Israel community about candidates for Congress who held radical anti-Israel views,” UDP spokesman Patrick Dorton https://www.jta.org/2022/07/28/politics/aipacs-huge-investment-in-primary-campaigns-is-paying-off-but-at-what-price-down-the-road” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in July. “What we’re trying to do is build the broadest bipartisan pro-Israel coalition in Congress possible.”
The news organization reported that “Dorton did not commit UDP to backing its Democratic primary winners in the general election against Republicans who might be equally or even more aligned with AIPAC’s agenda.”
We reached out to UDP but have not received a response.
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