Of the 11 Democrats running in the special election for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district, which do national pro-Israel groups like the best? That’s been a key question ever since the American Israel Public Affairs Committee began spending millions of dollars to attack former Rep. Tom Malinowski, without saying which of his opponents they’d prefer to see win.
AIPAC still hasn’t expressed a public preference in the race, but today another key pro-Israel group – Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, which supports pro-Israel Democrats around the country – is weighing in on behalf of former Lieutenant Gov. and Secretary of State Tahesha Way. Way, DMFI PAC chairman Brian Romick said, can be trusted to support the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way has demonstrated principled leadership and moral clarity in New Jersey at a time when the Jewish community is facing a disturbing rise in antisemitism, and we are proud to endorse her campaign for Congress” Romick said in a statement.
When the attack ads against Malinowski began – AIPAC has spent $1.8 million so far – the former congressman said his understanding was that Way was the intended beneficiary of the spending. Today’s endorsement doesn’t explicitly confirm Malinowski’s assertion, since DMFI PAC and AIPAC are separate entities, but it does certainly suggest that Way has made inroads in the national pro-Israel community.
As New Jersey’s former top elections administrator who previously held a county office in Passaic County, Way does not have much of a background in international relations (unlike Malinowski, who worked in the State Department before his first stint in Congress). But during her 11th district campaign, Way has made a point of visiting synagogues, meeting with local Jewish groups, and supporting a contentious legislative effort to codify a state definition of antisemitism, efforts that evidently did not go unnoticed.
“She has been clear and consistent in her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship and for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, making clear she understands the importance of confronting antisemitism in all its forms, without equivocation,” Romick said today.
Though DMFI PAC has spent millions of dollars in past election cycles, it has yet to report any expenditures on behalf of Way, with the February 5 primary just six days away. The ex-lieutenant governor has, however, benefited from $1.6 million in spending from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association and another $350,000 from Article One Inc. PAC, a mysterious group that has not disclosed its donors or its purpose.