Pro-Israel donors have picked a candidate to replace Rep. Danny Davis in Chicago.

Jason Friedman, one of 18 candidates vying to replace Davis in the March Democratic primary next year, has pulled ahead of the pack in fundraising. His campaign reported donations totaling over $1.5 million in its October filing with the Federal Election Commission.

About $140,000 of that money comes from major funders of pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee PAC and its super PAC, United Democracy Project. The two groups spent more than $100 million on elections last year and ousted two leading critics of Israel from Congress. The pro-Israel donors’ support this year is an early sign that Friedman’s race is on AIPAC’s radar.

A former Chicago real estate mogul, Friedman launched his campaign in April, before Davis announced his retirement. From 2019 to 2024, he was chair of government affairs for the Jewish United Fund, a charitable organization that promotes pro-Israel narratives, noting on its website that “Israel does not intentionally target civilians,” “Israel does not occupy Gaza,” and “There is no Israeli ‘apartheid.’” Friedman has not made Israel a part of his campaign platform, but last month, the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs, a pro-Israel PAC, held an event for its members to meet him.

AIPAC has not said publicly whether it’s backing a candidate in the race, but more than 35 of its donors have given money to Friedman’s campaign. Among them, 17 have donated to the United Democracy Project, and eight have donated to both. Together, the Friedman donors have contributed just under $2 million to AIPAC and UDP since 2021.

That includes more than $1.6 million to UDP and more than $327,000........

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