The RJC’s efforts to help GOP challenger Randy Feenstra unseat Rep. Steve King (R-IA-4) in the primary have attracted strong media attention.
The JTA ran a full story on this unusual move by the RJC:
The Republican Jewish Coalition is best known for scorching ads challenging the pro-Israel credentials of Democratic candidates. This election cycle, however, it is leading the charge against a GOP congressman: Steve King of Iowa.
…Not only is the Republican Jewish Coalition leading the charge to keep King in the GOP doghouse, the group wants him out of office altogether. Its political action committee recently announced that it was backing Randy Feenstra, the Iowa state senator who is challenging King in the primary.
…But party-aligned interest groups like the RJC are influential not just because of donors, but also because the parties look to them to take the lead on issues the interest group most cares about. The RJC making a case that a Republican is trafficking in anti-Semitism or white supremacism carries more weight than when it comes from an outside group.
…Since launching the campaign targeting King, [RJC Executive Director Matt] Brooks has tweaked his counterpart at the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Halie Soifer, for not backing primary challenges to [Reps. Rashida] Tlaib [of Michigan] and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who both back Israel boycotts. “Our guys have never shied away from speaking up and trying to take candidates out,” he said. “It would be nice to see something comparable on the other side.”
Read the whole thing here.
The RJC was also recognized for our get-out-the-vote efforts, which helped Mike Garcia win the special election in California’s 15th Congressional District last week. JTA’s weekly roundup included this quote from RJC’s Alex Siegel:
“Not only did our PAC and supporters fundraise for him, but we used peer-to-peer texting to encourage Jewish Republican voters in the district to return their ballots,” Alex Siegel, the RJC’s deputy executive director and California regional director, tells me. “With mail-in ballots figuring to be much more prevalent in this November’s election, our use of this political technology will be a key outreach tool for us.”
