Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California’s Bay Area, has won an endorsement from TrackAIPAC after spending years as a target of the group’s red cards. The shift comes as Khanna signs TrackAIPAC’s new PEACE pledge, rejecting campaign contributions
On June 10, Rep. Ro Khanna signed onto TrackAIPAC’s new PEACE pledge, and it marked a turning point he had been fighting for since 2024.
The progressive California lawmaker—who represents parts of San Francisco’s Bay Area—has now received TrackAIPAC’s endorsement, becoming the first member of Congress to move from being a red-card target to winning the group’s backing.
TrackAIPAC is known for posting red cards online for lawmakers and candidates who receive money from the pro-Israel lobby. In Khanna’s case. the group’s fury landed even though he did not take money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC. Still, in 2024 he was handed an anti-endorsement red card largely due to his legislative record, not campaign contributions. Khanna has taken money from J Street. which opposed Gaza ceasefire attempts in 2023 but later pushed for conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.
“Rejecting AIPAC money isn’t enough — every member of Congress must be clear on these issues.”
Khanna’s PEACE pledge. which TrackAIPAC says it created to “enforce American law. counter foreign influence and end war crimes. ” requires several specific commitments. Among them: candidates who sign the pledge swear off money from AIPAC and aligned groups. acknowledge Israel’s genocide in Gaza. oppose military aid to any country that commits human rights violations. and stand against efforts in Congress to “emmesh” the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
Khanna told The Intercept he signed because he wanted the pledge to match his own red lines.
“I’m proud to be the first member of Congress to sign the PEACE Pledge to reject campaign contributions and political support from AIPAC. DMFI. and other groups that promote unconditional support for Israel. ” Khanna said. “The pledge also affirms my opposition to the genocide in Gaza and my commitment to voting against future military assistance to any country whose security forces are committing human rights violations. Rejecting AIPAC money isn’t enough — every member of Congress must be clear on these issues.”.
TrackAIPAC’s endorsement now puts Khanna on the other side of the group’s scoring system—something his staff and his public arguments have been trying to change for more than a year. In June of last year, TrackAIPAC said Khanna became the first lawmaker to meet with the group. He asked why he had been assigned a red card. By the time they met, TrackAIPAC removed the red card but did not grant him a full green seal. Instead. it left a label on his page that remains there today: “We encourage this representative to continue improving their legislative record on Israel-Palestine issues.”.
On the TrackAIPAC page, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., holds a green card and a positive label stating: “This candidate rejects Israel lobby contributions. This representative has a strong legislative record on Israel-Palestine issues.”
Khanna had previously pushed back on TrackAIPAC on social media, doubling down on his rejection of AIPAC support. Those posts drew the ire of AIPAC, which attacked him on social media at times using TrackAIPAC’s red card graphic.
In the weeks after October 7, 2023, Khanna’s voting record looked different from the posture he has come to represent now. He voted in favor of a string of pro-Israel House resolutions, including reaffirming Israel’s “right to self-defense” on October 25. A week later. he signed a resolution that condemned antisemitism and “the support of Hamas. Hezbollah. and other terrorist organizations” in colleges and universities. He was also absent on early resolutions calling for a ceasefire.
He later became a vocal critic of Israel and voted against a bill meant to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. which has been used to silence criticism of Israel. In the summer of 2025, he cosponsored the Block the Bombs bill and signed onto a pair of resolutions by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., acknowledging Israel’s offensive in Gaza as a genocide and recognizing the Nakba. Earlier this month. Khanna attempted to strike a portion of the National Defense Authorization Act that would codify Israel’s joint development of weapons with the U.S.
It was also this month that his office reached out to TrackAIPAC to revisit the possibility of gaining its endorsement. the group said. The office had been fielding inquiries about the “continue improving” label on TrackAIPAC’s presidential candidate list. TrackAIPAC said it had already been developing the pledge and offered it to Khanna’s office.
The group’s push is built on a belief that campaign money and legislative votes have to line up with the harshest humanitarian outcomes. TrackAIPAC founders say their aim is also to provide an “offramp” for members of Congress who want to evolve on Israel and Palestine—backed not only by tracking but by advocacy for Palestinian rights.
TrackAIPAC’s influence has been visible in the way it has scored candidates in competitive races. It has claimed major midterm primary victories in contests it endorsed. including Adam Hamawy in New Jersey. Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania. and Mai Vang in California—races in which it framed its endorsements around both political spending and legislative conduct.
“We’ve been really effective at building a megaphone and bringing accountability to folks who are on the wrong side,” TrackAIPAC co-founder Casey Kennedy said. “But with that success we’ve had, now we have a responsibility to offer a bridge to folks to chart a new path forward.”
TrackAIPAC also faces controversy over how it draws the line. Critics have said its use of red cards can be confusing when it assigns the mark to lawmakers who do not take AIPAC money. In Khanna’s case, that confusion started before he ever agreed to the PEACE pledge. It also persists as the group expands its enforcement tools.
TrackAIPAC says anyone who abandons the pledge would again receive a red graphic and be targeted in its intense social media campaigns. Cori Archibald, a TrackAIPAC co-founder, rejected the idea that the pledge is a purity test.
“If you’re gonna have a litmus test,” Archibald said, “I think genocide is certainly a good one.”
Still, some Democrats close to campaign politics see risk in how the rules may play out across the map. Adam Carlson, a political consultant and pollster behind Zenith Research, has previously criticized TrackAIPAC’s methodology. He said he expects other congressional and presidential candidates courting the left to sign onto the pledge. But he does not expect a broader shift in the pattern that tends to put establishment Democrats. including those often targeted by TrackAIPAC. in the crosshairs.
“It’s a flex – the more people they get to sign this pledge, the stronger they are,” Carlson said of TrackAIPAC. “But it won’t change the dynamic broadly.”
He cautioned that the group’s future accountability could create pitfalls for candidates, including the possibility of purity tests that could undermine electoral prospects in swing districts. Carlson also warned of questions about how TrackAIPAC will enforce compliance once legislators commit.
TrackAIPAC’s stated goal is to offer those candidates a clearer path forward. Khanna’s endorsement suggests the group is willing to trade scrutiny for support—if a candidate is willing to make the pledge concrete.
Khanna has not formally announced a run for president. But he has been positioning himself to the left of the Democratic establishment on Israel and Palestine. In April, he announced he supports the halt of both offensive and so-called defensive weapons to the country due to its human rights abuses.
And now, after years of being treated as a cautionary case, he’s received the endorsement he sought—turning the symbolism of TrackAIPAC’s red cards into a new kind of political permission slip as the 2028 horizon comes into view.
Ro Khanna TrackAIPAC PEACE pledge AIPAC J Street Israel-Palestine Gaza genocide DMFI U.S. military aid election endorsements progressive Democrats Capitol Hill