Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Hill Harper revealed Wednesday that he was offered $20 million to end his campaign and mount a primary challenge against Rep. Rashida Tlaib instead.
Harper, an actor who plays Dr. Marcus Andrews on the ABC drama “The Good Doctor,” said in an X post that he rejected the proposal.
“I didn’t intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that it has, here’s the truth,” Harper wrote.
“One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against [Tlaib]. I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied, or bought.”
The offer was reportedly made by Michigan businessman Linden Nelson in October, according to Politico, and the money would have come in the form of $10 million in bundled contributions to Harper’s campaign and $10 million in independent expenditures on his behalf.
It’s unclear how large of a donor Nelson is to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
AIPAC told the outlet that it “was absolutely not involved in any way in this matter” and that Nelson “has not contributed to AIPAC in over a decade.”
Nelson has donated more than $537,000 to Democratic and Republican candidates, including to President Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), since 1988, Federal Election Commission records show.
Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, was censured by House lawmakers earlier this month for defending Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel as “resistance” and for her use of the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a call for the eradication of the Jewish state.
The Michigan Democrat, a member of the far-left “Squad” congressional lawmakers, is up for re-election in 2024.
“I’m not going to run against the only Palestinian American in Congress just because some special interests don’t like her,” Harper said, adding that the phone call is emblematic of a “broken political and campaign finance system that’s tilted towards the wealthy and powerful.”
Harper is vying for Michigan’s open Senate seat next year, which is also being contested by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).