Second U.S. Senate candidate alleges being offered $20M to drop bid, run against Rashida Tlaib

(FOX 2) - A candidate for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat has alleged they were offered $20 million to drop their campaign and instead run against Detroit Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. 

Nasser Beydoun wrote on social media that he was approached by "the pro-Israel lobby" with an offer to run against Tlaib - the second such case in a week after Senate candidate Hill Harper wrote of a similar offer.

In his Monday morning post on X, Nasser said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee "had the nerve to suggest that I would even consider taking a dime from them."

"The pro-Israel lobby will go to any length to remove anybody from the U.S. Congress that has any opposition to their agenda and their total unequivocal support for Israel, good, bad, or indifferent," he said in an attached video.

He did not identify if a specific person approached him with an offer, only referring to the AIPAC, which spends money boosting political candidates for office. 

Tlaib, who represents Michigan's 12th District in Congress, is the only Palestinian American in the U.S. House of Representatives and has been a vocal critic of Israel's invasion of Gaza. She recently was the target of a censure vote after stoking ire from other representatives over comments she made over the Israel-Hamas war.

First reported in Politico on Nov. 22, the news source said a Michigan businessman had offered Harper $20 million in campaign money if he campaigned against Tlaib in the Democratic Primary race next year. Politico identified the figure as Linden Nelson.

Beydoun Nasser. Photo via Twitter account

Harper responded in a post on X that he had been offered money by "one of AIPAC's biggest donors." 

Harper and Nasser joined Elissa Slotkin in the race for the open seat after Debbie Stabenow said she would be stepping down at the end of her term.