Republican Jewish Coalition Spends $500K on Pennsylvania Senate Race

Pat Toomey Image by Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The Republican Jewish Coalition is spending $500,000 in Pennsylvania to protect the state’s incumbent senator, Pat Toomey.
Matt Brooks, the RJC director, told JTA on Monday that the ad campaign targeting Toomey’s challenger, Katie McGinty, had topped $500,000, twice what a political action committee affiliated with J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, is spending to support McGinty in the state.
The RJC is running an ad on the internet and on television targeting for her support of the Iran nuclear deal; J Street, similarly, is targeting Toomey for opposing the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal reached last year.
The Iran deal has become a battleground this election between liberal pro-Israel groups who backed it and centrist and right-wing pro-Israel groups who opposed it. It has figured in a number of Senate and U.S. House of Representatives races.
The Pennsylvania race is tight, and among the states Democrats hope to win to regain control of the Senate.
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
