Mich. GOP Joins Campaign Against J Street-Backed Candidates

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Washington Free Beacon

J Street-supported Slotkin supports Iran deal, resisting speeding up fight against ISIS

Charles Fain Lehman
March 13, 2018

The Republican Party of Michigan is signing on to a campaign to defeat candidates, including a Michigan Democrat, backed by J Street PAC, the prominent pro-Iran-deal, Mideast lobbying group.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin announced its "stop J Street Campaign" in February, focused on defeating the congressional campaign of J Street PAC cofounder Dan Kohl for the House of Representatives. J Street is a D.C.-based organization that claims to be "pro-peace" and "pro-Israel" but which critics have described as "anti-Israel." The group has been censured for inviting individuals with anti-Israel views to their conferences.

Notably, J Street was a prominent backer of President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal, pouring millions of dollars into support for the controversial agreement. The Israeli government has since called the deal a "historic mistake." J Street did not return a request for comment for this article.

Now, the Michigan GOP is joining with its Wisconsin counterpart to hit J Street-backed candidate Elissa Slotkin, running for the House of Representatives in Michigan's eighth district. Slotkin is strongly backed by J Street, which solicits donations for her on its website.

Slotkin's previous foreign policy work may have influenced J Street's decision to back her. Slotkin worked to build support for the Iran deal while at the Department of Defense, and has since publicly voiced her support for it.

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