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

JoAnna Mendoza

Democrat · U.S. House, Arizona District 6
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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.

See a dash? Ask the candidate where they stand, then send us their answer and we'll review it and update the mark. Or volunteer to help review candidates.

No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Nothing located has Mendoza saying what she would do about U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or about U.S. aid to Palestinians. J Street's political arm, a liberal pro-Israel group, endorses her, as does the Jewish Democratic Council of America, a group of Jewish Democrats.

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Deep Dive

Mendoza is the Democratic nominee in Arizona's 6th District, a retired Marine who served 20 years in the Navy and Marine Corps and is challenging Rep. Juan Ciscomani. Nothing our research located has her saying what she would do about U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel or about U.S. aid to Palestinians, and nothing has her describing the conflict in her own words.

Her campaign's national security page, read on September 4, 2026, is about securing the border and rebuilding the partnership with Mexico, diplomacy and NATO, equipping servicemembers, and requiring congressional approval before troops are committed to new conflicts. After 20 years of war in the Middle East, it says, she "is committed to ensuring we are not sending the next generation into endless conflicts without a clear mission, strategy, and path forward." It does not mention Israel, Gaza, Palestinians or foreign aid, and neither does any other issue page on her site.

J Street's political arm, the campaign committee of a liberal group that calls itself pro-Israel and pro-peace, lists her as an endorsed priority candidate. The Jewish Democratic Council of America, a political organization of Jewish Democrats, lists her among its endorsed candidates. Each page describes her views in the organization's own words, not hers; those descriptions, and two posts from her campaign's Facebook page about antisemitism that are reported but not confirmed directly, are set out on the research page.

Where she stands on U.S. weapons and money for the government of Israel, and on aid to Palestinians, is still an open question, and you are better placed to close it than we are. Ask Mendoza directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in her 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 2026-09-27) 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.

Two searches were read as one lead list for this card: one run 2026-08-20 and one run 2026-09-03. Every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-04 unless marked otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • Nothing located has Mendoza stating a position on U.S. weapons, arms sales or military funding for the government of Israel. Both searches returned an explicit not-found verdict on this dimension.
  • [Position; read 2026-09-04, page last modified 2026-05-22] Her campaign's National Security and Standing with Our Allies page (392 words retrieved) says she "believes national security starts in Arizona’s backyard by securing our Southern border and rebuilding our partnership with Mexico"; that she "is a strong proponent of diplomacy, working with our allies, and honoring key alliances like NATO"; that servicemembers must have "the training, equipment, and services needed to accomplish their mission"; that she "will work to reassert Congress’s role in national security decisions, demand Congressional approval before committing U.S. troops to new conflicts"; and that "After 20 years of war in the Middle East, she is committed to ensuring we are not sending the next generation into endless conflicts without a clear mission, strategy, and path forward." Israel, Gaza, Palestinians and foreign aid are not mentioned.
  • [Position; read 2026-09-04] The issues index and the seven other issue pages (Lowering Costs, Good-Paying Jobs, Healthcare, Safe Communities, Strong Borders, Climate, Water and Energy, Trust and Accountability, Veterans) carry nothing on Israel, Gaza, Palestinians, foreign aid, the Middle East or antisemitism. The press-release listing (27 titles, 2026-01-03 to 2026-08-20, over three pages) has no title on these subjects; the titles concern costs, health care, the border, fentanyl, veterans' benefits, the Colorado River, fundraising and Rep. Ciscomani. The one foreign-affairs title is a 2026-01-03 statement on the U.S. operation in Venezuela, which was not opened.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-04] Ballotpedia's candidate page (9,534 words retrieved) carries nothing on Israel, Gaza, Palestinians, foreign policy or antisemitism. The AZ-06 election page (13,568 words) reproduces her campaign themes (costs, health care, safety) and Rep. Ciscomani's attacks on her; nothing of hers on this subject. That page also reproduces the Green Party candidate Gary Swing's survey answers, including a sentence describing Israel's conduct in Gaza as genocide; those are Swing's words under his own heading, and nothing of his is attributed to Mendoza.
  • Profiles read for completeness, none touching the subject: Leadership Now Project (page dated 2026-05-09), BOLD PAC, AZPM, 2026-02-23, KJZZ, 2026-07-21.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located from Mendoza on UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-04] The Jewish Democratic Council of America's endorsements page (below) says, in its own words, that she supports "humanitarian aid and the development of a democratic Palestinian civil society that rejects terrorist organizations." That is the organization describing her, not a statement by her, and it is kept to this page.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located from Mendoza characterizing the conflict in her own words.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-04] The Jewish Democratic Council of America endorsements page, under the heading "JoAnna Mendoza (AZ-06)", says: "Mendoza has affirmed her commitment to Israel’s security and a negotiated two-state solution, emphasizing Israel's right to defend itself while supporting humanitarian aid and the development of a democratic Palestinian civil society that rejects terrorist organizations." Read under her own heading on a page listing dozens of candidates. The organization's description of her; she is not quoted. An organization speaking about a candidate is kept to this page and not used on the card.
  • [Position, 2025-06-23 (page datePublished; modified 2026-08-12)] J Street PAC's candidate page: "Mendoza has committed to representing J Street's pro-Israel, pro-peace values in Congress." J Street's words about her; no statement from her appears on the page.
  • [Position, 2026-04-26 (event date; page modified 2026-04-20)] J Street PAC's page for a reception in support of Rep. Derek Tran and Mendoza says: "She has committed to representing J Street’s pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy values in Congress." Same status: the organization's words, kept to this page.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2025-06-23; read 2026-09-04] J Street PAC, the federal political action committee of J Street, a liberal group that describes itself as pro-Israel and pro-peace, lists Mendoza as "Endorsed" with a "Priority" label on its candidate page and on its challengers split-donation page (published 2025-11-05, modified 2026-07-21). An endorsement is a fact about the organization, not a statement by her, and the card names it as a listing and nothing more.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-04] The Jewish Democratic Council of America, a political organization of Jewish Democrats that endorses candidates, lists her on its endorsements page (above).
  • [Position, 2026-03-17 per our research; not confirmed directly] Both searches report a post on her campaign's Facebook page (Mendoza4AZ, the account her campaign site links to) welcoming the JDCA endorsement, and both record the same text: "Honored to have the support of the Jewish Democratic Council of America in our mission to flip #AZ06 blue! I look forward to continuing our work with the Jewish community in Southern AZ to fight antisemitism, defend our democracy, and mobilize voters across our district!" The post did not render for us: the address our research recorded returned a 98-word login shell and the permalink form (facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ/posts/1296024302341466) returned 400. Reported, not confirmed directly; readers with a Facebook login can check it. Nothing in the reported text concerns U.S. weapons, money or aid.
  • Nothing located has her addressing AIPAC or any other lobbying organization.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)

  • [Position, 2026-03-17 per our research; not confirmed directly] The Facebook post above speaks of working "with the Jewish community in Southern AZ to fight antisemitism".
  • [Position, 2026-04-14 per our research; not confirmed directly] Both searches report a Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) post on the same page and record the same text: "Today, we remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust and honor the survivors and families forever changed. We must keep telling the truth about this dark chapter in history, educate future generations, and stand against antisemitism, hatred, and dehumanization in all forms." The recorded address, https://www.facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ/posts/today-we-remember-the-millions-of-lives-lost-during-the-holocaust-and-honor-the-/1317787206831842/, returned 400 to both searches and to us, so it is given here as an address and not as a link.

Not on the card, and why

  • The JDCA's and J Street PAC's descriptions of her views: organizations speaking about the candidate, not her words; kept to this page.
  • The two Facebook posts: pages that did not open for us; the text is what our research recorded, not what we read; and both are about antisemitism and community, not about U.S. weapons, money or aid.
  • Gary Swing's survey answers on the shared Ballotpedia election page and on his localcandidates.org positions page (returned by both searches; that site does not render for us): a different candidate in the same race, read under his own heading.
  • A Jewish News (UK) article about Kerry-Anne Mendoza, a British journalist: a namesake, not the candidate; returned by the August search, which itself noted the distinction; 403 to us and not needed.
  • Her "Diplomacy & International Relations" page on localcandidates.org, found by a web search: that site does not render for us; her campaign's own national security page was read instead.

Sources retrieved for this card (URL, HTTP status, date read 2026-09-04)

  • https://www.joannamendoza.com/issues/national-security/ (200; 392 words retrieved; article:modified_time 2026-05-22)
  • https://www.joannamendoza.com/issues/ (200) and the seven other issue pages: /issues/cost-of-living/, /issues/economy/, /issues/healthcare/, /issues/immigration-border-security/, /issues/environment/, /issues/oversight-accountability/, /issues/veterans/ (all 200)
  • https://www.joannamendoza.com/ (200); https://www.joannamendoza.com/news/ and its second and third pages (200); https://www.joannamendoza.com/endorsements/ (200)
  • https://jstreetpac.org/candidate/joanna-mendoza/ (200)
  • https://jstreetpac.org/event/event-ca-04262026/ (200)
  • https://jstreetpac.org/jstreetpac-challengers-split/ (200)
  • https://jewishdems.org/endorsements/ (200; 24,489 words; read under her own heading)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/JoAnna_Mendoza (200)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona%27s_6th_Congressional_District_election,_2026 (200)
  • https://leadershipnowproject.org/candidates/joanna-mendoza/ (200)
  • https://www.boldpac.com/candidates/joanna-mendoza (200)
  • https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2026/2/23/228604-democratic-party-bets-on-southern-arizona-candidate-to-help-flip-the-house/ (200)
  • https://www.kjzz.org/elections/2026-07-21/juan-ciscomani-to-face-joanna-mendoza-in-arizona-cd6-race (200)
  • https://www.facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ/photos/endorsement-alerthonored-to-have-the-support-of-the-jewish-democratic-council-of/1296024302341466/ (200, a 98-word login shell; unread) and https://www.facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ/posts/1296024302341466 (400)
  • https://www.facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ/posts/today-we-remember-the-millions-of-lives-lost-during-the-holocaust-and-honor-the-/1317787206831842/ (400); https://www.facebook.com/Mendoza4AZ (400)
  • https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/the-canary-editor-criticised-over-arbeit-macht-frei-tweet/ (403; a namesake, not about the candidate)

Addresses returned by the searches and not retrieved

  • https://www.localcandidates.org/politicians/gary-swing/positions/779c8751-21ca-4dbf-8b0e-ce1bd4e6f594 (429 to both searches; a different candidate; the site does not render for us).
  • https://www.localcandidates.org/politicians/joanna-mendoza/positions/bd48e630-d0ec-4f80-a6fd-884b19a97be6 (found by web search; same site, not opened).
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-04, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Juan Ciscomani (Republican)
  2. – Jereme Lance Peters (Libertarian)
  3. ✓ Gary Swing (Green)

All Arizona 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.