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The race to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in California’s 14th District is the latest test of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s campaign to influence the 2026 midterm elections, following a series of interventions that have produced mixed results and sparked backlash amid an ongoing debate over US policy toward Israel.

United Democracy Project, the super PAC arm of AIPAC, has spent more than $2 million on the special election runoff between state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez, the San Francisco public transit director whom the group is backing. Another group that has received funding from UDP, BOLD America, has spent an additional $1.8 million on the contest, according to data from AdImpact.

The groups have run waves of ads boosting Hernandez and criticizing Wahab’s record in the state legislature, making no mention of the contentious debate over US-Israel relations that has animated elections across the country.

Wahab opposes military aid to Israel and has said the country’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, while Hernandez has said that Israel “had a right to defend itself” but also that “the destruction in Gaza has gone too far.”

Though not the focus of the race, the issue has nevertheless become a significant undercurrent. And a liberal group formed to oppose AIPAC’s effort this election cycle, American Priorities, also waded into the contest, spending just over $200,000 on its own advertising, supporting Wahab and calling out the pro-Israel group’s activity.

“AIPAC and Trump donors are lying about Democrat Aisha Wahab because Melissa Hernandez is one of their own,” one of the group’s ads says.