Iranian American PAC, Public Affairs Alliance Merge

The Iranian American Political Action Committee, which has doled out $326,000 to Iranian-American sympathetic candidates so far this cycle, has tethered itself to a newly formed advocacy organization called the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans.

The director of the merged organization, Babak Hoghoogi, says the group will focus exclusively on domestic matters such as civil rights and immigration. "Foreign policy matters are very important, but they're not a subject on which we wish to weigh in," says Hoghoogi. "We wish to be a resource for Congress to interface with the Iranian-American community."

Raising the political profile of the Iranian-American community is a big part of that, Hoghoogi says. The PAAIA, itself a 501(c)4, hopes the affiliated IAPAC can do some talking. As the election approaches, Hoghoogi says he's expecting the PAC's fundraising to improve. With PAAIA shouldering all administrative costs, he says, all of its receipts will go directly to political contributions.