Three days before California’s June 2 primary, reports began to circulate online suggesting that AIPAC and the Democratic Majority for Israel, two prominent pro-Israel lobbying groups, had funneled about half a million dollars to support Connie Chan’s campaign for Congress in San Francisco — allegedly through a chain of intermediaries.
The story originated with Drop Site News, an outlet known for its sharp criticism of Israel, and spread rapidly in part because Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, is a critic of Israel who has accused the country of committing genocide in Gaza. Chan has publicly pledged to refuse campaign money from pro-Israel lobbying groups.
The news gained traction because Chan is running in a high-profile race to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is retiring from Congress after this term. Polls show Chan running neck and neck with Saikat Chakrabarti for second place and a spot in the general election against front-runner Scott Wiener, a state senator. All three leading candidates have condemned Israel over the war in Gaza. Wiener, former co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, is still seen as the most supportive of Israel among them — making it unclear why AIPAC and DMFI would back Chan.
But the two lobbying groups did not spend money to support Chan. They donated to a group that supports female Democratic candidates — a group that happens to also support Chan.
It helps to follow the money trail: Campaign filings show that DMFI and AIPAC donated about $290,000 to a PAC called the Elect Democratic Women Action Fund, which is associated with another PAC called Pro-Choice Majority Action.
Pro-Choice Majority Action then made an independent expenditure — spending legally conducted separately from and without coordination with a campaign — supporting Chan.
The Chan story comes amid broader scrutiny of AIPAC’s political spending tactics. As the group’s brand has grown toxic in some Democratic primaries, the Forward reported, it has moved to obscure its involvement, creating PACs with names that hide their origin and steering donors to candidates through online portals that erase its fingerprints in public data.
Drop Site framed the transfers as hidden intervention by the pro-Israel lobby in an important congressional race. Adding to a social media firestorm that has erupted over the payments, Chakrabarti posted a video on X on Monday, slamming DMFI for allegedly trying to “keep me out of the general election.”
Chan’s campaign and DMFI both reject the Drop Site narrative that has emerged.
Sam Lauter, a DMFI board member, called the claim “100% bogus.”
According to Lauter, who has previously served as chair of AIPAC’s Northern California branch, the Drop Site allegation stems from an April 23 in-kind donation — meaning a contribution of goods or services rather than cash — that DMFI made to provide polling support to the Elect Democratic Women Action Fund. The support amounted to $37,750, covering polling for two races, one in Southern California and one in Nebraska.
Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida, who chairs the PAC aimed at electing Democratic women to Congress who support abortion rights, requested the donation to support those female candidates, Lauter told J.
Frankel did not immediately respond to J.’s request for comment.
AIPAC, through its United Democracy Project super PAC, separately donated $250,000 in cash to the same fund on April 14. AIPAC did not respond to J.’s multiple requests for comment.
In a statement sent Monday to J., Chan’s campaign noted that the donations were not made to her campaign but to independent entities and called on any group supporting her to reject funding from pro-Israel PACs.
“We have not received any contributions from AIPAC or DMFI,” Julie Edwards, a campaign spokesperson for Chan, wrote to J. “PACs act independently of our campaign and we would urge any organization supporting Connie to respect the very clear values she has laid out.”
Chan, a supervisor representing District 1, has a track record of publicly condemning Israel’s military actions in Gaza. She has called for the end of military aid to Israel, condemned Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as genocide against Palestinians and supported the Block the Bombs Act, a 2025 congressional bill seeking to block specific U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.
“The notion that Connie Chan … would somehow be carrying water for AIPAC is absurd and laughable,” Edwards added.