Michigan Senate candidate Hill Harper: I turned down $20M to challenge Tlaib in primary
Hill Harper, an actor and Democratic candidate for one of Michigan's seats in the U.S. Senate in 2024, posted on social media Wednesday he was offered $20 million to end his Senate campaign and mount a primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, but declined the offer.
The Free Press has not independently verified the exchange. If true, it would signal a move to challenge one of the most vocal critics of Israel in Congress. It also would be a "pretty sloppy" violation of campaign finance laws, according to one expert on the topic.
Harper is vying to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, whose seat is up for election next November. He's one of several Democratic candidates for the seat, but the presumed frontrunner in the primary is Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing.
POLITCO reported Wednesday that Linden Nelson, former owner of the now-shuttered Michigan Motion Pictures studio, offered Harper $20 million in campaign contributions during an Oct. 16 phone call if he agreed to end his Senate campaign and instead challenge Tlaib in the Democratic primary.
"I didn’t intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that it has, here’s the truth. One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against @RashidaTlaib. I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied, or bought," Harper posted Wednesday on X, which used to be called Twitter.
In response to an inquiry from the Free Press, the Harper campaign referred to a follow-up social media post where Harper said "I’m not going to run against the only Palestinian-American in Congress just because some special interests don’t like her."
AIPAC is the acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — the group says it lobbies on behalf of Israel in Congress and is a contributor to congressional campaigns of both Democratic and Republican candidates who are seen as advocates for Israel. AIPAC said it contributed more than $17.5 million to pro-Israel candidates through its political action committee (PAC) during the 2022 election cycle. Among the recipients was Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who unsuccessfully ran against Tlaib in the 2022 Democratic primary for Michigan's 12th Congressional District. AIPAC, through a PAC, contributed more than $100,000 to Winfrey's campaign, according to political spending website OpenSecrets.
Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for AIPAC, said in an email to the Free Press that the organization "was absolutely not involved in any way in this matter," and "our records indicate that this individual has not contributed to AIPAC in over a decade."
Tlaib, who represents part of Detroit in Congress, has called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. House members, including 22 Democrats, voted to censure Tlaib on Nov. 7, citing Tlaib's defense of the phrase "from the river to the sea." Tlaib has defended the phrase, which she says is a message of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. But many others, including many of her own Democratic colleagues, have denounced her defense of the phrase, which refers to the creation of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing all of Israel.
Tlaib could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tlaib and other Democrats who have been critical of Israeli military action in Gaza have been targeted by pro-Israel groups — Democratic Majority For Israel said it launched a six-figure television ad buy in southeast Michigan criticizing Tlaib earlier in November.
Harper, on his campaign website, also called for a "humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza.
Nelson was a principal in the now-closed Motown Motion Pictures studio, which previously operated out of Pontiac. Nelson has contributed thousands to political candidates, among both Republicans and Democrats, according to Federal Elections Commission records, including a $2,900 contribution to Winfrey's campaign last year. Nelson still listed "Michigan Motion Pictures" as his employer on FEC receipts last year.
Messages left for Nelson at phone numbers listed for him on public records were not immediately returned.
The POLITICO report, which cites a source with knowledge of a phone call between Harper and Nelson, says the contributions would be split between $10 million in contributions directly to Harper's campaign and $10 million in independent expenditures.
Nick Pigeon, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said if the allegation is true, the overture to Harper would appear to violate campaign finance restrictions on coordination between independent expenditures and a candidate committee. That's an area of campaign finance law that is rarely enforced, but "it's pretty sloppy for them to come out and say it in that way," he said.
Washington correspondent Todd Spangler contributed with prior reporting. Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hill Harper: I was offered $20M to challenge Rashida Tlaib
