Vol. VI, No. 1,351
—Aisha Wahab is turning to an unlikely symbol as she calls out the millions of dollars in outside spending flooding the CA14 special election: Punch the Monkey.
In a social media video criticizing the barrage of attacks against her campaign, Wahab appeared wearing a pink T-shirt featuring Punch, the baby Japanese macaque whose story of abandonment—and attachment to a stuffed orangutan—turned him into an internet sensation earlier this year.
“Honestly, I’m rocking with you now because of that shirt,” said one commenter on Facebook.
The wardrobe choice offered a fitting metaphor for Wahab’s campaign.
“I just love Punch the Monkey,” Wahab said, noting the choice of attire was coincidental.
After winning both June CA14 elections by more than 20 percentage points, Wahab has since faced an extraordinary influx of outside money aimed at defeating her. AIPAC and aligned groups have spent millions in the race, with recent estimates putting the total at roughly $6 million and counting.
Wahab’s own campaign, meanwhile, raised just $56,000 during the latest reporting period in July, while her opponent, Melissa Hernandez benefitted with a massive nationwide bundling effort that raised $900,000 during the same period.
Like Punch, Wahab may be leaning into the image of being small, outnumbered and surrounded—but still hanging on.
—Meanwhile, a Super PAC with ties to Israel announced Thursday that a “six-figure” expenditure in support of Wahab is on its way.
J-Street Action Fund, which calls itself a an independent expenditure arm of the leading pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy group, is releasing an ad in support of Wahab
With just four days until Election Day and the last group of voters likely filling out their ballot this weekend, it remains to be seen how effective the late spending will be for Wahab.
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