As the Minnesota Democratic primary to succeed the retiring Sen. Tina Smith in the United States Senate heats up, Rep. Angie Craig is privately distancing herself from AIPAC. While courting the crucial endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party, Craig’s campaign staffers have told DFL delegates that the pro-Israel lobby is not funding her candidacy, according to messages obtained by Drop Site News. AIPAC has held at least a dozen fundraisers for Craig, however, over the course of the past year.

Craig’s behind-the-scenes communications are an indication of AIPAC’s growing toxicity in primary races as it advocates blanket U.S. support for a state committing an unpopular and brutal genocide in Gaza. In two recent races, AIPAC’s millions in support, once firmly understood as a moniker of credibility with the DC political class and financial protection from grassroots-funded challengers, has proven it can do more harm than good.