El-Sayed’s victory is the culmination of a remarkable primary campaign that began with him as an outsider candidate who was lagging in the polls in the beginning of the year. Stevens’s loss is a major rebuke to AIPAC’s involvement in primary races, and a testament to the erosion of the influence of outside money in general among Democratic primary voters. Stevens’s loss is a major rebuke to AIPAC’s involvement in primary races, and a testament to the erosion of the influence of outside money in general among Democratic primary voters. That year, Bush was a prime target of AIPAC spending, with the group devoting more than $7 million to helping Bell defeat her. Whatever happens in the remaining primary races, a reckoning is coming for the Democratic Party this November.