MINNEAPOLIS — In the final days before the three-way Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, outside groups are spending millions to support state Sen. Matt Klein, the moderate candidate in the race.

A group called 314 Action dropped $1.2 million on Klein on Monday to boost him over his two primary opponents, progressives Matt Little, a former Lakeville mayor who won the DFL endorsement, and state Rep. Kaela Berg.

The political action committee supports Democratic doctors and scientists — including Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan this week — and has spent $2.5 million backing Klein, a physician, since July 20, according to federal spending data.

The influx of last-minute money indicates donors may be worried a progressive Democrat could hurt their chances at beating state Sen. Eric Pratt, the Republican in the race, in what’s historically been a swing seat.

“I think there’s a real sense of urgency about making sure Democrats keep that seat, and I think that’s why you’re seeing so much money so late,” said Democratic strategist Abou Amara, who is not working with any of the candidates in the race.

Craig is running for U.S. Senate, leaving an open seat in the Second District that covers the south Twin Cities metro and parts of southern Minnesota. The Democratic primary to replace Craig has been emblematic of a larger fight within the Democratic Party over whether to move more to the left.

Craig represented the district as a moderate during her four terms in Congress.

The last-minute money could be the deciding factor in a race that’s had limited polling and features three viable candidates, Amara said.

“If you can get an extra couple $100,000 and it moves you 1% or 2%, that could be the difference.”

Berg and Little are also benefiting from an influx in outside spending in the final weeks of the race, though not at the same level as Klein.

Since mid-July, Berg has gotten a boost of $785,000 from abortion rights groups, pro-women groups and a labor group.

Little has benefited from more than $407,000 in last-minute outside spending from progressive organizations, including one that was recently created to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — an influential lobbying group that advocates for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and backs Democrats and Republicans.

The recent influx of money backing Klein has sparked speculation from Little and Berg that AIPAC may be meddling in the race. Both candidates call the conflict in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians a “genocide,” a point of contention in the Democratic Party between progressives and moderates.

“Over $2 million in AIPAC money is pouring in for my opponent Matt Klein at the last minute,” Berg said in a statement for this story. “This late play is an attempt to deceive voters and gives no time for fact checking or accountability.”

Previous reporting has linked 314 Action to AIPAC; however, the group told the Minnesota Star Tribune it has not taken money from AIPAC or its affiliated groups this election cycle and does not plan to.

“314 Action is proudly supporting Dr. Matt Klein because he’s the only doctor in the race,” 314 Action Fund President Joshua Morrow said in a statement.

Klein has the backing of the Democratic Majority of Israel PAC, a pro-Israel group that backs Democrats similar to those AIPAC supports. He’s also appeared on AIPAC’s featured candidates list for donors and has benefited from overlapping donors to AIPAC.

Klein said in an interview in late July he accepts donations “from all religious backgrounds.”

Outside groups are not allowed to coordinate with political campaigns, and Klein said he supports getting money out of politics.

“Since we launched this campaign, we have built a movement and received more support from grassroots donors than any other candidate in the race,” Klein said in a statement. “We cannot control outside money from external sources.”

Little has also accused Berg of indirectly accepting AIPAC money through the outside groups backing her. After Little overwhelmingly won the DFL endorsement in early May, groups connected to AIPAC donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to some of the major abortion rights and women’s groups backing Berg.

“They know I can’t be bought, and so they know I’m going to fight for exactly what I’m saying,” Little said. “They are diametrically opposed to my position, and so they view me as the enemy, and that’s why they’re spending such significant amounts of money in a suburban Minnesota congressional race.”

Berg maintained that she does not accept AIPAC money.

A spokesperson for groups backing Berg — Elect Democratic Women Action Fund and Pro-Choice Majority Action — brushed off Little’s allegations without responding directly to his charge by saying Little is “willing to throw around statements with no facts to support them if it suits his purpose. It suggests he’d be more comfortable in the fact-free MAGA party.”

AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, said it is not backing any of the candidates in the Second District race. AIPAC could not be reached for comment on whether it’s supporting any of the candidates.

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