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

Chris Jones

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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. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Nothing located has Jones taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. When a state senator accused him in 2024 of a pro-Hamas position, he rejected the characterization and sued for defamation, withdrawing the suit a year later.

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Deep Dive

Jones is the Democratic nominee in Arkansas’s 2nd District and was the party’s 2022 nominee for governor.

What exists in his record is not a policy position but a fight over a label. In May 2024, the state Senate’s president pro tempore accused him on social media of holding a pro-Hamas position. Jones rejected the characterization as false, sued for defamation in Pulaski County, and a year later withdrew the suit in a statement on his own site, writing that the decision "comes from a broader vision" and that "this lawsuit was never just about a disagreement; it was a stand against the misuse of power by those vested with public trust." The accusation’s wording and his May 2024 response are reported against sources that do not open and sit on the research page.

During the 2024 campus demonstrations, asked on X whether mass student protests had ever been wrong, he replied: “We would do well to NOT ignore them.”

Nothing located has him addressing U.S. military aid, weapons transfers, or humanitarian aid at any date. Ask Jones directly, or at a forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.

The money

Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found

2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track

Nothing recorded (as of 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.

Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

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

Nothing located at any date.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

Nothing located.

Characterization of the conflict

[Position, 2024-05-09, unopenable sources] His rejection of the pro-Hamas characterization as "demonstrably false and defamatory", reported by the Arkansas Times and KARK per our research; the offered addresses are a newspaper’s Facebook post and similar, none of which open. What our research found; not quoted on the card. It is not yet confirmed.
[Position, 2024-05-01] Asked on X whether mass student protests had ever turned out to be wrong, he replied from his campaign account: “We would do well to NOT ignore them.” Verified on the post itself. (An earlier source offered for this remark was a private individual’s page; a volunteer located his own post.)
[Position, 2025-05-01] His withdrawal statement on his own site, verified and quoted in the deep dive. The statement is about accountability and power, not about Israel or Gaza; it is carried for what it is.
The lawsuit’s docket sits at the Arkansas courts portal (60CV-24-3690).

Related rhetoric and lobbying

Nothing located. No tracked funding badge appears because no committee support is recorded for him.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

Nothing located.

Identity notes

A very common name: our research’s disambiguation excluded athletes, commentators and officials elsewhere, and one cited source is a football roster; it feeds only the disambiguation note and nothing else.

Where the absence was checked

[Consulted, read 2026-08-21] His Substack, his own outlet, where the withdrawal statement was verified; no Israel or Gaza policy content located there.
[Consulted] His Wikipedia entry and Ballotpedia; race facts and the 2022 statewide run.

Race and status context

Democratic nominee facing the sitting member, whose card carries its own record. He has held no federal office, so there are no recorded votes on this card.

Also in this race

✗ French Hill (Republican)

All Arkansas candidates.