Despite Denials, AIPAC Is Now Funding Campaign of Ala Stanford In Philadelphia

Dr. Ala Stanford on a panel at National Museum Of African American History & Culture on April 27, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Larry French/Getty Images for Smithsonian Channel.

AIPAC has been funneling money into the campaign of Dr. Ala Stanford in Pennsylvania’s 3rd congressional district, before the next slate of Democratic primaries, new federal campaign filings reveal.

Stanford has denied taking AIPAC money in the race for an open Philadelphia seat, but the records show the pro-Israel group has been secretly routing money directly to her campaign and into a super PAC supporting her that backs candidates who are involved in science or medicine. The structure allows Stanford, a pediatrician, to distance herself from the group’s increasingly toxic political reputation with the American public, while still benefiting from its cash outlays.

The super PAC is called 314 Action Fund, and as of April 21, had spent more than $2.6 million boosting Stanford, according to the latest filings. The group’s most recent monthly filing reveals a $500,000 donation from Kimbark Foundation, a group whose only other donation is $500,000 to EDW Action Fund, another PAC that has previously acted as an AIPAC shell organization. In the 2024 cycle, AIPAC used EDW Action to secretly funnel money to support Maxine Dexter, also a pediatrician, in her race against Susheela Jayapal in Oregon. It’s stated purpose is to elect pro-choice Democratic women. 314 Action has reported just $2.8 million in independent expenditures, meaning their support for Stanford represents the bulk of their independent spending so far.

Stanford has also taken in more than $27,000 through Democracy Engine from major AIPAC donors in the first quarter of 2026; Democracy Engine is a vehicle used by AIPAC to bundle donor money and funnel it to preferred candidates.

Stanford raised eyebrows when she made the argument that referring to Israel’s genocide in Gaza as a genocide was tantamount to using the “N-word,” calling it “the G-word.”

“I know when you use the G-word how hurtful it is to a group of people,” she said. “It’s like someone saying the N-word around me.” She was recently pressed on her answer, and doubled down, saying, “For Israelis who’ve been accused of committing it, it’s hurtful for them.”

Neither Stanford nor AIPAC responded to requests for comment. Asked about reporting from 2024 that AIPAC was using 314 Action as a subsidiary to donate to candidates outside of its name or ideological affiliation, Stanford denied taking any money from AIPAC, whether directly or funneled through 314 Action, in a candidate forum on March 30: “That’s not me. Not to my [campaign].”

Erik Polyak, 314 Action executive director, declined to respond to detailed questions from Drop Site, and instead spoke generally about its pro-science mission, while noting accurately that the group has on occasion gone up against AIPAC. While that’s true, it doesn’t speak to the Philadelphia race. “314 Action’s only mission is to elect doctors and scientists,” Polyak said. “Founded in 2016, we have existed for ten years and provide operational, financial and communications support to help STEM candidates run winning campaigns.”

Polyak noted that 314 Action had supported Daniel Biss in the recent Chicago race, while AIPAC was backing Laura Fine. That 314 Action is not always aligned with AIPAC can make them more useful when they are.

In 2024, Polyak vociferously denied 314 Action was funneling money from AIPAC. “The day before the May 21 primary election in Oregon, 314 Action’s executive director Erik Polyak wrote on Twitter that he was waiting on [Drop Site] reporter Ryan Grim to issue a retraction,” reported the news outlet Sludge. “The tweet showed a screenshot of 314 Action’s FEC filing information for April, which did not show an AIPAC-affiliated group. When 314 Action’s next monthly FEC filing was released on June 20, it showed the $1 million donation from UDP.”

Polyak this cycle is not attempting such a strident denial, as campaign finance records will continue to be released, though many of them will be too late to inform voters ahead of the primary.

Stanford on Thursday announced endorsements from Democratic Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania. She faces Sharif Street Jr., a local machine-backed state legislator, and State Rep. Chris Rabb, who has the support of DSA-Philly, Justice Democrats, and a growing number of progressive Democrats like Reps. Jamie Raskin and Ro Khanna.

EDW was created on December 22, 2023 and in May 2024 was given $100,000 by United Democracy Project (UDP), AIPAC’s official super PAC, which it spent in the Dexter-Jayapal race. That same month, UDP sent $1 million to 314 Action and $1.3 to “Voters for Responsive Government.” The three super PACs combined to swamp Jayapal, making Dexter a member of Congress. In the 2026 cycle, AIPAC funneled more than $10 million into Illinois Democratic primaries, spending heavily to back Fine in one primary. But AIPAC’s shell PACs—called “Elect Chicago Women” and “Affordable Chicago Now”—were outed as fronts for the pro-Israel group. In swept EDW Action Fund.

The Kimbark Foundation registered as a Delaware nonprofit on December 19, 2025. On February 23, 2026, Kimbark transferred $500,000 to EDW Action Fund, which in March disclosed it was spending on behalf of Laura Fine. In March 2026, Kimbark transferred $500,000 to 314 Action Fund.

On March 10, according to the new FEC filings, 314 Action transferred $2,000,000 to 314 Action Fund, further obscuring the origin of the money. (Not all of 314 Action Fund’s money comes from AIPAC or its donors, of course; for instance, Nobel Prize winner Drew Weissman gave $240,000 in March to the group and also donated directly to Stanford. What makes 314 Action valuable as a pass-through vehicle is that some of its money is authentically related to pro-science politics, while at other times it disguises money for AIPAC. Other AIPAC shells act only as shells.)

Margot Pritzker, wife of Tom Pritzker, recently ousted from his role as head of Hyatt due to his links to Jeffrey Epstein, gave $50,000 to 314 Action Fund on January 21, 2026.

This tactic, also used in the New Jersey 11th district special election—in that race a popup group called the Guzman Foundation did the work— involves creating new 501(c)4 organizations that previously didn’t exist specifically in order to hide money and its ideological ties, giving cover to pro-Israel Democrats who want to avoid the group’s toxicity.

In NJ-11, that strategy ultimately failed, sending former Bernie Sanders’ aide Analilia Meijia to Congress. The Guzman foundation was eventually linked to the billionaire financier Robert Granieri, of Jane Street Capital. An entity called Article One Inc. had spent $350,000 to back the AIPAC candidate in that New Jersey race. Article One Inc. had previously formed a joint fundraising committee with Article One Victory, which was also funded by Granieri.

In April 2024, Granieri participated in the AIPAC play against Jayapal in Oregon, giving 314 Action Fund $350,000. The fall before, he gave $250,000 to AIPAC’s super PAC UDP.

Not enough information exists yet about the Kimbark Foundation to identify its donor.

Stanford has also received 27 individual donations through the Democracy Engine donation platform. The Guardian exposed Democracy Engine for covertly distributing AIPAC money in 2024, describing the group as “a donation platform that allows unpopular PACs to obscure their donations and lists AIPAC as a client on its LinkedIn page.”

AIPAC has ended up being a lucrative client for Democracy Engine at that. FEC reports show that in 2025 to 2026 alone, AIPAC paid Democracy Engine more than $1.42 million for “processing fees” and “technological services.”

AIPAC is not the only organization able to use Democracy Engine, but the donors who used it for Stanford have also been major donors to AIPAC. A number of the individuals financially backing new AIPAC-aligned shadow PACs have also been repeat donors directly to AIPAC, other shadow PACs and AIPAC-endorsed candidates. Jeffrey Snyder, a member of the AIPAC Board of Directors, donated $2,000 to Ala Stanford through Democracy Engine, $25,000 to United Democracy Project and $5,500 directly to AIPAC in February 2025. Real estate executive Scott Copeland followed suit, donating $1,500 to Stanford through Democracy Engine, $8,500 directly to AIPAC in 2025, and he too contributed to other passthrough organizations like United Democracy Project and Elect Chicago Women during the March Illinois primaries.

Andrew Milstein, president of the Bacchetta Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has issued philanthropic grants to the Anti-Defamation League and other pro-Israel groups, donated $3,500 to Stanford through Democracy Engine and $25,000 to Democracy Engine itself. He also made maximum contributions to AIPAC candidates including Laura Fine, Rep. Haley Stevens, Donna Miller, and Melissa Bean.

AIPAC donors’ secret attempts to continue propping up pro-Israel candidates through obfuscated methods comes as Democratic primary voters, in poll after poll, have rejected Israel’s influence over U.S foreign policy and bribery tactics on Capitol Hill. A new poll in Michigan commissioned by Drop Site and Zeteo and conducted by Data For Progress found that 64% of likely Democratic primary voters are less likely to support candidates who receive donations from AIPAC, while just 10% said they are more likely. A CNN poll recently found that Democratic voters who identify as “liberal” have a -74 point net favorability of Israel, as compared to -26 points in 2022, and those who identify as “not liberal” have a -55 point net favorability of the country, as compared to +3 in 2022.