But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Jerry Carl

Republican · U.S. House, Alabama District 1
✗From money backing them
How this mark works

We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

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No recorded votes on the bills we track. Backed with $25K by AIPAC PAC (FEC filings).

Carl, who represented this district until January 2025, wrote in May 2024 that “Israel is fighting for its mere existence, and Joe Biden turned his back on Israel”. In 2021 he signed the letter urging the U.S. embassy stay in Jerusalem and condemned campus antisemitism in an April 2024 column.

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Deep Dive

Carl is the Republican nominee in Alabama’s 1st District, returning after representing it from 2021 to January 2025.

His own columns carry his positions. His May 2024 Yellowhammer News column: "Israel is fighting for its mere existence, and Joe Biden turned his back on Israel—endangering national security at home and abroad." His April 2024 column on campus demonstrations: "The surge of antisemitism across our nation is unacceptable", citing protest slogans he called advocacy for extermination. In August 2024, confronted outside the Capitol by activists who said lobbyist money drove his stance, he rejected the accusation and called the demonstrators "terrorist sympathizers", per the coverage.

His alliance record predates the war: as an incoming member he told Jewish News Syndicate in 2020 the U.S. would "stand very firm with Israel", and in February 2021 he signed the letter to Secretary Blinken urging that the embassy stay in Jerusalem, with his own quoted line in the release. His October 2023 statements are on the research page. A reported meeting with AIPAC members sits on his own social account and is held for human verification.

Nothing located has him addressing U.S. aid to Palestinians as a distinct question.

The money

$25K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $25,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$25,000The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.

In their words

“Israel is fighting for its mere existence, and Joe Biden turned his back on Israel—endangering national security at home and abroad.”
Source ↗, 2024-05-21
“The surge of antisemitism across our nation is unacceptable.”
Source ↗, 2024-04-30

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • No tracked-vote badges: he left the House in January 2025, and this record does not yet carry his roll-call votes. The research reports a February 2024 vote for the standalone Israel supplemental with a quoted line; the claimed column does not contain it, so the claim stays out of the card summary.
  • [Position, 2024-05-21] The Yellowhammer News column, verified and quoted on the card.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located as a distinct position at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Prior position, 2020-11] The JNS interview, verified by the article: stand-very-firm framing as an incoming member.
  • His October 2023 statements are not on the card summary.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Action, 2021-02-03] The Jerusalem-embassy letter, verified with his quoted line in the release.
  • [Event, 2024-08-01] The Capitol confrontation coverage, verified; his terrorist-sympathizers characterization is his own quoted word in the coverage.
  • [Held for human verification] The reported AIPAC meeting post on his own social account.
  • [Action, 2024-10-07] The research reports he co-sponsored the resolution marking one year since October 7; carried on that basis.

Safety and antisemitism

Sources retrieved for this card

Race and status context

  • Republican nominee in AL-1, a seat he previously held. His Democratic opponent’s card carries its own record.

Also in this race

  1. ? Clyde Jones (Democrat)

All Alabama candidates.

But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open Find Your Candidates for votes, funding and contact details.