Second US Senate candidate offered $20m to help defeat Rashida Tlaib

Nasser Beydoun, a businessman and Democrat running for the US Senate in Michigan, was offered $20m to drop out of the race, in a bid to help defeat Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Beydoun said: “I was offered $20 million to withdraw from the senatorial race and to run against my friend.”

“The pro-Israel lobby had the nerve to suggest that I would even consider taking a dime from them. This goes to show how easily an election can be bought and paid for in this country,” said Beydoun.

“Our country’s campaign finance system is broken, and the only people it benefits are the rich and powerful.  I will not be bought. I will not back down. I will continue to run a grassroots campaign that puts America and its working class first,” he added.

Last week a prominent actor-turned-Michigan-politician was offered $20m to mount a primary challenge against Tlaib, underscoring the fierce blowback the Palestinian-American lawmaker is facing over her position on Israel.

“One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against @RashidaTlaib,” US Democratic Senate candidate Hill Harper wrote on social media platform X. “I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied, or bought.”