House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark won her primary Tuesday in Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District, defeating two progressive challengers who tried to make her ties to pro-Israel political money and her position on the war in Gaza the central issue of the race.
Clark, who represents the Boston-area district and has held her House leadership post since 2022, easily beat former city councilor and union organizer Jonathan Paz and 27-year-old Harvard Law School researcher and union organizer Tarik Samman. She was first elected to Congress in a 2013 special election and is the second-highest ranking Democrat in the House behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The financial gap between the candidates was steep. Clark raised $4.5 million for her campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings, compared with $88,500 for Paz and $43,800 for Samman.
AIPAC Money and Gaza Criticism
Both challengers pressed Clark over her acceptance of support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group that has contributed to her campaigns in the past and endorsed her again this cycle. Paz and Samman argued that Clark’s growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza was inconsistent with continuing to accept that money.
Clark has taken an increasingly critical line toward the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even as she has continued to support Israel’s existence as a sovereign Jewish state and backed U.S. assistance for some Israeli defensive systems. Last year, she used the word “genocide” at a district event before clarifying she was not accusing Israel of genocide. In July, she voted to cut $3.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel, saying Netanyahu’s government had failed to meet U.S. interests and values.
In Congress, Clark has been a leading voice against Republican spending, immigration and healthcare measures, including recent efforts opposing ICE funding and GOP cuts to Head Start and Medicaid.
Clark ran unopposed in the 2024 general election. Her last contested general election was in 2022, when she defeated Republican Caroline Colarusso by a margin of 74% to 26%.
