Michigan Democratic Senate Candidate Privately Drafted “Outstanding” AIPAC Position Paper, Supporter ClaimsThe Michigan Senate race is a three-way contest between Rep. Haley Stevens, whose last campaign was boosted by millions of dollars from AIPAC; Abdul El-Sayed, a leading advocate of the “Uncommitted Movement” who’s known as Michigan’s Mamdani; and a third candidate, state legislator Mallory McMorrow, who sits between the two. Today’s story is based on leaked audio from a recent McMorrow campaign call. As always, we’re grateful for reader support, which makes our journalism possible. If you can, make a tax-deductible donation today. If you are a free subscriber and you support our work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription or gifting one to a friend or family member.
Mallory McMorrow, a leading Michigan Senate candidate, has privately produced an “AIPAC position paper” that is “outstanding,” but has not made it public, according to her supporter Rob Kalman, who spoke on a recent McMorrow donor call. The position paper he describes has not been made public. Kalman is former mayor of Neego Harbor, Michigan, and said on the call he has been in close touch with local and national AIPAC leadership. A recording of the August 20 call was obtained by Drop Site. AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, asks candidates to privately share position papers before winning an endorsement. According to candidates and campaign managers who’ve gone through the process, the group has a series of litmus tests that candidates must meet, including support for the Taylor Force Act, a willingness to say that “all options are on the table” when it comes to Iran (which is code for a nuclear strike), support for laws against boycotting Israel, and opposition to any conditions on aid to Israel, among others. McMorrow is running against Rep. Haley Stevens, who was AIPAC’s vehicle in 2022 for one of their more controversial power plays, when they organized against incumbent Rep. Andy Levin, a former synagogue president and self-described Zionist. Levin’s sin, from AIPAC’s perspective, was his willingness to defend his Michigan colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib and to level criticism at the Israeli government. Also running is Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a critic of Israel who is running as a Michigan Mamdani. Stevens is presumed to be the favorite to win AIPAC support, but McMorrow has argued publicly that the organization should stay out of the race. In a call with high-level donors, her campaign and some of its key supporters divulged further details when it comes to their AIPAC strategy.  On the call, McMorrow campaign manager Wellesley Daniels is speaking with Rob Kalman, the supporter and former mayor of Neego Harbor. The wife of donor Scott Loney, Sarah Loney Marks, asked the campaign if they would be willing to talk to AIPAC, telling her that AIPAC tends to come in late with a large infusion of cash. Daniels, the campaign manager, responds vaguely, saying that the campaign is aware of the dynamic and has been in discussion with relevant organizations. Pushed again, Daniels tells her, “We have been talking to every organization that wants to talk about this issue, and that's sort of our policy. So we've had conversations with them.” It seems as if Daniels would have preferred to leave it there, but former Mayor Kalman then chimed in. “I can tell you that I've talked with them directly, because I know leadership locally and nationally. They know very clearly that I'm supporting Mallory and why I'm supporting her, and I have read her AIPAC position paper. It's outstanding. I don't know if it's public or not,” Kalman said. A spokesperson for the McMorrow campaign, in a statement, said that no questionnaire has been filled out. “Rob Kalman is not a part of the Mallory campaign. Our campaign does not speak ‘through’ him,” the statement read. Kalman’s offer to take additional questions, however, gives the impression he was a lead part of the call, rather than a supporter asking the campaign manager questions. Indeed, he answered questions on the call rather than asked them. “Mallory has not received nor filled out a questionnaire from AIPAC. Mallory has expressed her position on the war in Gaza publicly and to many groups representing Jewish and Muslim Michiganders, which is already publicly reported and on her website. She also answered two questions on the issue of weapons and meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu on MSNBC earlier this evening.” Asked in a follow-up if the campaign had produced a position paper, the campaign didn’t respond. The news outlet Jewish Insider reported that McMorrow, according to a source familiar, had produced a position paper for “at least one Democratic pro-Israel group.” That is likely a reference to an AIPAC offshoot known as DMFI, or Democratic Majority for Israel. Kalman, on the call, went on to argue that Mallory is well-positioned in the three-way race because El-Sayed will be aiming his criticism most loudly at AIPAC’s top candidate. El-Sayed, a former Michigan public health official, was an outspoken leader of Mighigan’s “uncommitted” movement. “Mallory will benefit, I believe, because Abdul's gonna hit Haley really hard over it, and so there might be that spend [by AIPAC], but Abdul's gonna provide some cover on that,” he said. Kalman acknowledged that he has his own concerns with McMorrow’s record when it comes to Israel, citing her recent comments in a D.C. politics newsletter, which said McMorrow questioned a “reflexively pro-Israel stance.” “I'll tell you that I was concerned with the Bernie vote and some of the public comments that were made – especially like a Punch Bowl article this morning – but Mallory gets it. She understands it. And this is somebody who supports Israel and understands reality on the ground in Gaza. I'm very comfortable with where she's at,” he said. In Punch Bowl, she had said she was urging AIPAC not to weigh in to the campaign, warning that voters are frustrated at the influence of outside money. (It’s unclear what he means about “the Bernie vote.” Sanders has endorsed El-Sayed in the race and Mallory endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president back in 2020.) “And I think a lot of young people and some, quite frankly, some of the older people within the Jewish community will still vote for Haley, because that's what they've been doing in Oakland County,” he said. “I've told people it's gonna be split. I don't believe it's a monolith, but I think you're going to see a very large part of the Jewish community still support Mallory. It's not just the Andy Levin voters. There's plenty of people that really, really appreciate Mallory's approach. I'll leave it at that. And then a couple other questions, if anybody else has anything else.” Kalman and a spokesperson for AIPAC did not respond to a request for comment. 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