A former AIPAC-linked group is now supporting Abdul El-Sayed to elect a doctor to the U.S. Senate

314 Action, a national organization that works to recruit, train and elect scientists, doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, on Tuesday endorsed the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of Detroit.

What is surprising about the effort is that 314 Action Fund was once linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and was one of the groups that AIPAC diverted money to through its super PAC in the 2024 cycle. 

314 Action Fund told Michigan Advance on Monday that it is not affiliated with AIPAC. Given that history, it is notable that the group plans to support El-Sayed and spend on his behalf.

The outside money is sorely needed for El-Sayed as he runs against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), whose campaign has seen nearly $50 million in outside spending on her behalf.

314 Action in a news release said that as an epidemiologist and doctor, El-Sayed is one of their Guardians of Public Health, who is answering the call to serve his community. The Guardians of Public Health effort aims to elect 100 new doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to Congress and down to the local level by 2030. The group has raised and spent more than $25 million on that effort thus far.

“As an epidemiologist and a doctor, Abdul El-Sayed saw firsthand how broken the healthcare system was and how broken policies are making Michiganders sick. He’s already proven he can make change — as a public servant, Abdul secured free glasses for kids, removed lead from Detroit’s elementary schools and spearheaded a program that will cancel up to $700 million in medical debt for 300,000 Michiganders,” Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action, said in a statement. “As Trump and Republicans gut Medicaid, SNAP, and public health programs, we need new, bold, progressive leaders like Abdul working to create systemic change. He has the vision, grassroots support, and proven experience to win. We’re proud to endorse Abdul for the U.S. Senate and look forward to supporting his campaign.”

El-Sayed praised the organization and thanked them for their support.

“As the only national organization working to elect doctors and scientists, 314 Action understands that electing career politicians isn’t working,” El-Sayed said in a statement. “I never planned on getting into politics, but when I realized that our healthcare system set Americans up to fail, I had to make a change. The reality is that too many working families are facing impossible decisions that are sometimes life or death. Michiganders deserve better. I’m proud to have 314 Action’s support in this fight and I look forward to working with them in Congress.”

In June, Dave Weigel of Semafor wrote a piece detailing what he referred to as the “toxicity” of AIPAC spending in Democratic primaries. The piece noted that 314 Action Fund fell into that “new, messy reality” in 2024, when it received $1 million from the United Democracy PAC, which was labeled as one of AIPAC’s first campaign committees. That effort in 2024 was aimed at helping current U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Oregon) get elected. Dexter has since voted against sending military aid to Israel and renounced AIPAC.

314 Action has since moved to distance itself from the controversial American lobby group for Israel.

In a statement to the Advance, 314 Action Executive Director Erik Polyak said that, “for 10 years, 314 Action has focused on one mission: to recruit, train, and elect Democrats with backgrounds in science and medicine.”

“We’re the only national organization doing this work, and we’re proud that we’ve helped elect more than 700 scientists and doctors at every level of government while raising nearly $100 million from over 550,000 supporters,” Polyak said. “We do not screen, evaluate, or prescribe foreign policy positions to our endorsed candidates — that isn’t why we exist and does not determine who we choose to support.”

Polyak also said that 314 Action “has not taken money from AIPAC or any affiliated entity this cycle, and we won’t.”

“From Michigan to Pennsylvania to Maine, we’re watching our opponents weaponize disinformation to smear us in races where we’ve backed strong candidates like Abdul El-Sayed — and we won’t stand idly by and watch that happen.”

Despite its former AIPAC connection, the group said it is now turning to El-Sayed in a bid to propel the first Democratic doctor to the upper chamber of Congress — which hasn’t happened since former U.S. Sen. Ernest Gruening was elected in 1959 to represent Alaska and ended his tenure in 1969. Gruening studied medicine but did not practice.