AIPAC Tracker Endorses Kshama Sawant Over Incumbent Backed By More Than $1 Million For Pro-Israel And Defense Industry PACs

Socialist congressional candidate Kshama Sawant just earned the endorsement of AIPAC Tracker, an advocacy group set on exposing and countering the influence of pro-Israel lobbies in U.S. politics. And considering she’s running against Rep. Adam Smith, the support comes as no surprise. 

“We need representatives who will fight for their constituents, not a foreign apartheid state!” The group wrote of Sawant in a recent tweet. 

Sawant, who served a decade on the Seattle City Council, launched her “working-class, antiwar, anti-genocide” campaign against Smith in June. She drew a sharp contrast between her and Smith over the genocide in Gaza — she would advocate for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, he has proudly bankrolled Israel’s blanket “right to defend itself” and only recently conceded that the U.S. should withhold some offensive weapons. 

Smith’s lagging. As early as June 2024, polling suggested most Americans supported withholding weapons from Israel — 61% of Americans and, perhaps more important, 77% of Democrats. Smith’s critics argue public opinion doesn’t matter, he supports the unpopular violence in Gaza because of his donors. 

Over the course of his nearly three decade career in congress, Smith has received $346,000 from AIPAC, about 95% of that money coming since 2023, according to OpenSecrets. He’s also received $915,000 from the aerospace defense industry, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX Corporation, the very industry and companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza. 

In a statement to AIPAC tracker, Sawant called Smith “a darling of AIPAC and the Zionist lobby, the weapons industry, and the billionaire class.”

Smith's relationship with AIPAC has attracted pro-Palestine, anti-war challengers before. Sawant is Melissa Chaudhry ran against Smith in 2024 and she's also filed to run against him again in 2026. On her campaign website, she called Smith, "AAA" for "Arrogant AIPAC Adam."

"He’s consistently voted for ruinous, illegal wars and military actions at our expense since he's been in office," Chaudhry's website reads. "He's financially accountable to the lobbyists of Washington DC, not his constituents here in Washington State."

Sawant joins a class of 26 candidates endorsed by AIPAC Tracker, including New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, and Saikat Chakrabarti, who is challenging Rep. Nancy Pelosi. 

If elected, Sawant would join Seattle Rep. Pramila Jayapal as the only two Washington congress members not bought by AIPAC or pro-Israel lobby groups. According to Track AIPAC, Sen. Patty Murray has received $680,000 Sen. Maria Cantwell has received $560,000, Rep. Kim Shrier has received $288,000, Rep. Marilyn Strickland has received $283,000, Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez has received $240,000, Rep. Suzan Del Bene has received $203,000, Rep. Dan Newhouse has received $147,000, Rep. Rick Larsen has received $106,000, Rep. Emily Randall has received $25,000, and Rep. Michael Baumgartner has received $10,000 from pro-Israel lobby groups.