ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA

A California Democratic candidate backed by a pro-Israel advocacy group's spending has lost her spot in a congressional runoff after a progressive critic of Israel overtook her in the vote count more than a week after the primary election.

State Assembly member Jasmeet Bains, a moderate, received around $500,000 in ad buys from Democratic Majority for Israel, according to a Sacramento Bee review of Federal Election Commission filings, in her bid to represent California's 22nd Congressional District in the Central Valley.

In the days after California's June 2 primary, Bains appeared on track to finish second and advance to a November contest against Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao, who has backing from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.

But late Tuesday, the Associated Press called the race for school board member Randy Villegas over Bains. As of press time, Villegas held 32% of the vote to Bains' 27%, with 90% of total votes tallied. Valadao was in first place with 40% of the vote.

The US Capitol building is illuminated the night the Senate passed a short-term government funding bill, more than a month into the longest US government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025.
The US Capitol building is illuminated the night the Senate passed a short-term government funding bill, more than a month into the longest US government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)

Israel emerges as campaign issue

The result sets up another front line in the Democratic Party's effort to gain control of Congress amid rapidly shifting voter sentiment about Israel. Democrats are hoping to flip the 22nd District, where most residents are Latino, after statewide redistricting this year.

Villegas, who is backed by Jewish progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, called for a ceasefire in Gaza in January 2024 and has called Israel a "genocidal regime."

According to FEC filings, he received support from American Priorities PAC, a pro-Palestinian super PAC. Multiple media outlets also reported that Villegas received backing from a Republican PAC.

During the campaign, Democratic Majority for Israel president Brian Romick told Jewish Insider that Villegas "consistently has an anti-Israel record."

But most of the group's spending in the race did not mention Israel. Instead, the group purchased advertisements suggesting Villegas had been complicit in covering up abuse of minors at his local school district. Local media reported that the ads were misleading.

Mixed results for pro-Israel spending

In a sign of how pervasive anti-Israel sentiment has grown among Democrats, Bains, too, said Israel committed genocide in Gaza before Democratic Majority for Israel entered the race. After receiving its backing, the candidate later walked back that position.

"While we're disappointed at the outcome of this race, we remain enthusiastic about our record so far this primary cycle," Romick told JTA in a statement.

He pointed to the group's backing of Texas Democrat Johnny Garcia against Maureen Galindo, as well as the success of another Democratic Majority for Israel-backed candidate elsewhere in California.

For Democratic Majority for Israel, however, the loss adds to a mixed record in a primary season that has seen Democrats turn sharply against pro-Israel spending. Other candidates endorsed by pro-Israel groups in Illinois, New Jersey and elsewhere have lost to critics of Israel.