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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 193

The Magnificent Seven

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 193: The Magnificent Seven

Could AIPAC Faceplant in Illinois?

March 17, 2026 · 6:11 am ET · Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “AIPAC faces a reckoning in Democratic primaries on Tuesday. The nation’s largest pro-Israel organization is scrambling to regain its footing with a bloc of voters that has grown wary of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s actions in Gaza.”

“This is the high-profile group’s first chance to pivot after its botched strategy in the special election in New Jersey’s 11th District. In that case, AIPAC’s super PAC opened up a path to victory for a candidate strongly critical of Israel.”

“In Illinois, AIPAC formed new outside groups with anodyne names to temper any potential backlash and obscure their intentions from rivals.”

“Yet AIPAC could very well end up electing just one of its four preferred candidates today. Plus, it’s had to be willing to course correct. When AIPAC and its allies couldn’t propel a preferred candidate to victory in an Illinois race, it changed strategy and settled for blocking the candidates it preferred least.”

Politico: AIPAC faces its biggest test this year in Illinois.

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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