July 11, 2025

Avoiding a New York 2.0 Mayoral Race

The political world was rocked when Zohran Mamdani — a young, far-left, untested candidate — won New York City's mayoral race with just 20% voter turnout. In a city of over 8 million people, a small, mobilized minority decided the future for everyone else.

New York — home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — could now be led by someone who refuses to condemn the antisemitic slogan “From the River to the Sea,” and who aligns with the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that calls Israel an apartheid state.

This is a concerning trend: fewer voters are determining more election outcomes. According to Inside Elections, control of the House ultimately came down to a group smaller than the crowd at a Texas high school football game, making 2024 the closest race for House control in recent history. Just 7,000 votes ultimately decided the Speaker’s gavel, which went to Rep. Mike Johnson (LA).

Democrats Rep. Susan Wild (PA) and Rep. Yadira Caraveo (CO) lost their races by one percent, while GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA) won her race against Democrat Christina Bohannan by 0.19 percentage points. Democratic wins in these races would have put us in control of the House. 

Primary season has begun. Already, the far left is actively recruiting and supporting candidates who are hostile to Israel and indifferent to the increase of antisemitism. We've seen the consequences when figures like AOC and the Squad enter office. Once they're in Congress, they become loud, extreme, and pose a threat to our values.

But we have a chance to fight back.

A critical special election in Arizona will fill the seat of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, who was not a friend of Israel. We can elect Daniel Hernandez, a pro-Israel champion and bold voice against antisemitism. He’s running against a far-left candidate cut from the same cloth as Mamdani.

Heed the lessons from the NYC mayoral race and the 2024 House races. We must turn out the vote.

The stakes are too high.

Sign up to make Get-Out-The-Vote calls for Daniel Hernandez. It’s simple. It’s fast. And it works. Click here.

Don’t let this race slip through our fingers. Elections have consequences.

TAKE ACTION

Phone bank for AZ-7 Candidate Daniel Hernandez!

The special election is July 15th.

Click here.

We have a unique opportunity to send Daniel, a pro-Israel candidate to Congress, and NOT another Squad member.

Daniel will be solidly pro-Israel, and he will unequivocally stand up against antisemitism regardless of which side of the political aisle it may come from. 

This is a safe blue district, so the primary is the election.

We can win this race. But it will take a strong effort to turn out the votes.

Create an account and start calling. Click here.

Sign up to write postcards for this November's elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Help encourage voters to show up at the polls. Click here to request postcards.

JAC AROUND TOWN

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL) at JAC member Karen Brenner's house in Chicago

L:R Hollis Wein, Teri Rabai, Rep. Gabe Amo (RI), Claire Levenberg, and Marcia Balonick

IN THE NEWS

ISRAEL

• Israel, EU agree to boost Gaza aid: “More trucks, more crossings, and more routes.”
• As Israel focuses on wars, its neighbors are gaining in the AI race
• Israel’s agonizing choice over which hostages to save

BDS & ANTISEMITISM

• Musk releases latest Grok version after antisemitism controversy
• Acting Columbia president Claire Shipman apologizes for texts suggesting removal of a Jewish trustee
• Nation’s largest teachers’ union votes to endorse proposal that would cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League

CHOICE

• New tax law makes Planned Parenthood choose: abortions or basic care
• Judge rejects a challenge to Michigan's decades-long ban on publicly funded abortions
• More abortion clinics are closing even in states where abortion is legal, with further cuts expected

SEPARATION

• The Founders fought for the separation of church and state
• A century after a man was convicted of teaching evolution, the debate on religion in schools rages
• Separation of church and state keeps getting muddled in MAGAland

GUN VIOLENCE

• American gun violence goes global
• Rural counties aren’t escaping gun violence
• Why does the right falsely blame trans people for mass shootings?

CLIMATE & COURTS

• Trump hires scientists who doubt the consensus on climate change
• Climate change helped fuel heavy rains that caused Hill Country floods, experts say
• One MAGA judge’s campaign for the Supreme Court keeps leading to humiliation

POLITICAL BYTE

• AZ candidate Daniel Hernandez: I'm ready to deliver in Congress
• One year after Trump’s attempted assassination, how politics has changed
• How much worse is this going to get?

FYI

• Meet the first Jewish Superman: a mensch in a cape saves the day
• This wealthy member of Congress just proposed increasing her own taxes
• Ari’el Stachel, an ‘Arab Jewish’ actor with a Tony Award, has a message about antisemitism for Zohran Mamdani

THE LAST WORD

“I’ve never wavered — not when it was politically risky, not when it was unpopular, and not when it meant going toe-to-toe with those in power.”

AZ-7 Candidate Daniel Hernandez

(The special election is Tuesday, July 15th. Click here to help make phone calls to voters. Click here to donate.)

Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.

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