AIPAC Spent $30 Million and Abdul Still Won. Who's 'Fringe' Now?

In the wake of Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan primary win, Rania Khalek and guest host Amanda Yee discuss the latest proof that the anti-war, anti-genocide position — long dismissed as "fringe" and electorally toxic, especially in Midwest swing states — actually wins. Crushing over $60 million in outside spending against him, roughly $30 million of that from AIPAC alone, El-Sayed's paradigm-shifting win is about more than one candidate: It's the culmination of years of movement organizing around Palestinian liberation (accelerated by a livestreamed genocide in Gaza) and against ICE violence, and proves US politics is undeniably shifting at the grassroots level. So who’s really “fringe” now?

But it's not a clean sweep: Rania and Amanda break down Missouri, where AIPAC-backed Wesley Bell defeated progressive Cori Bush using a nearly identical playbook to the one that failed Haley Stevens against El-Sayed. And expect it to get ugly heading into November's general election: Rania and Amanda parse the racist primary attacks on El-Sayed, from Mike Pompeo calling him a "Hamas supporter" and Mike Rogers' "terrorist communist" jab; and they preview what's to come from the Democratic establishment – "a corporate party where movements have historically gone to die" – if it remains unable or unwilling to move on the issues its voters care about most.

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