Overview
- FEC filings reviewed in mid‑October 2026 show a previously little‑seen cohort of wealthy donors has directed millions to progressive candidates and to the anti‑AIPAC super PAC American Priorities.
- The two largest named contributors, tech executives Mohammad Waqas and Omer Hasan, together gave more than $2 million to American Priorities and related efforts this cycle.
- American Priorities was formed to counter pro‑Israel influence in politics and its filings show six‑figure independent expenditures in key contests, including more than $500,000 tied to Abdul El‑Sayed’s Michigan Senate campaign.
- Many top donors had little or no federal giving from 2014 through 2024, and reporting describes them as younger entrepreneurs or medical professionals of South Asian or Middle Eastern background who began large political giving in 2025–2026.
- Reporters and analysts link this influx of new money to recent progressive primary gains and to improved Democratic midterm prospects, while Jewish community groups and critics flag the scale and focus of the spending and established donors such as Alex Soros continue to make direct gifts to progressives.