The controversial J Street PAC has become one of the most generous contributors to Russ Feingold in the history of his political career.
Feingold, the former Democratic senator from Wisconsin who is running to recapture his old seat, has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the self-proclaimed "pro-Israel, pro-peace" J Street PAC, a group considered to be anti-Israel by many pro-Israel activists.
Feingold has pulled in a combined $210,975 from J Street throughout his 18-year career as a politician in Washington, D.C., which began in 1992 and lasted until his defeat in 2010. J Street’s donations to Feingold are sizable enough to make the group his second-largest contributor since his 1992 campaign.
A majority of the donations flowed to his committees in the form of bundled lobbyist contributions—actions Feingold opposed during his time in the Senate, when he portrayed himself as a campaign finance reformer.
In 2010, Feingold accepted more than $200,000 in bundled lobbyist contributions in the months before his defeat to Sen. Ron Johnson (R.,Wisc.), the Free Beacon previously reported.
For the 2016 election, Feingold has collected more than $260,000 in bundled lobbyist contributions, with J Street lobbyists providing $176,000 of that total—a figure that equates to 20 percent of the donations J Street has given this election cycle.
The J Street PAC has come under fire before for its anti-Israel stances and associations. The group was also a leading force in supporting President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, which it backed with a multi-million dollar public relations blitz.
Brian Reisinger, a spokesman for Johnson’s campaign, said that Feingold’s far-left ideology and coziness with J Street indicate he would jeopardize the nation's security if he returned to the Senate.
"Senator Feingold’s cozy relationship with this pro-Iran deal special interest group is yet another example of hypocrisy as he cashes in his former ‘strongly held principles’ to regain power in Washington," Reisinger said. "His support for President Obama’s dangerous Iran deal shows how his far-left ideology would put our nation at risk, and why his 18 years in the Senate is more than enough."