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

Daniel Butierez Sr.

Republican · U.S. House, Arizona District 7
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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.

Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: At an August 2025 debate on the war in Gaza he says "The only thing we could do there is back Israel", because "You're not going to get Hamas to come to the table", with nothing pointing the other way. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Nothing located as of September 2026 has Butierez taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel. At an August 2025 debate he said “I stand with Israel” and “The only thing we could do there is back Israel”.

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Deep Dive

Daniel Butierez Sr. is the Republican candidate in Arizona’s 7th District, which runs from Tucson along nearly 300 miles of the border to Yuma. He is a Tucson small business owner who has not held elected office. This is his third run at the seat: he lost to Raúl Grijalva in 2024 and to Adelita Grijalva in the September 2025 special election, and he faces her again on November 3, 2026.

He has said where his sympathies lie, and he has not said what he would do about U.S. weapons or money. At the Citizens Clean Elections Commission debate in Tucson on August 26, 2025, KJZZ reported him saying “I stand with Israel” and, of Gaza, “As long as Hamas is in there, controlling that country, we're not going to get anything accomplished”. AZPM, reporting the same debate, quoted him saying “The only thing we could do there is back Israel. I mean, there's nothing else going to happen. You're not going to get Hamas to come to the table”. No arms transfer, aid figure or piece of legislation is named in either account.

He has answered the question twice on an iVoterGuide candidate questionnaire, and his answer has changed. On the profile for the November 2024 general election, asked whether the United States’ relationship with Israel is important and why, he wrote “Absolutely! They have been our greatest Allie and our only friend in the Middle East.” On the profile for the 2025 special election he wrote “They are one of our closest allies and they keep the Middle East distracted and less focused on the rest of the world.” On both forms he was also asked to choose among four descriptions of American foreign policy, and on both he chose the one saying the United States has become too involved in others’ policies and should remain focused on its own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. He answered across the whole of both questionnaires, so these are answers he chose to give rather than gaps in a form.

Nothing else was found. His campaign site sets out policies on income tax, homelessness and housing, the economy, healthcare and border security, and uses the words Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, antisemitism, foreign aid and weapons nowhere. At the August 2026 rematch debate, on the accounts of six news organizations, this subject did not come up. A 2024 interview clip on an outlet’s Facebook page, in which he is said to discuss Gaza and Donald Trump, is on his research page; it is video and was not watched here.

You are better placed to close this than we are. Ask Butierez directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about him.

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.

In their words

“I stand with Israel.”
Source ↗, 2025-08-26
“As long as Hamas is in there, controlling that country, we're not going to get anything accomplished.”
Source ↗, 2025-08-26
“The only thing we could do there is back Israel.”
Source ↗, 2025-08-26

Research log

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

Every page named below was opened and read on 2026-09-07 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site was read in full, all nine posts and all thirteen pages. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. Butierez has never held office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks are his, and no funding from the committees this site tracks is recorded on this record.

U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel

  • Nothing located, at any date. No statement by him about arms transfers, weapons shipments, Foreign Military Financing, security assistance or any bill on those subjects was found in his campaign site, in either of the two candidate questionnaires he has filled in, or in any of the ten news reports read for this card.
  • [Position, 2025-08-26] The nearest thing to it is the debate answer below, in which he says the United States should back Israel. He names no weapon, no dollar figure and no legislation.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located, at any date. Neither his campaign site nor any coverage read mentions Gaza humanitarian funding or UNRWA.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2025-08-26] The Citizens Clean Elections Commission debate against Adelita Grijalva in Tucson, covered by four outlets read here. KJZZ reports: “While discussing the war in Gaza, Butierez said, ‘I stand with Israel.’” And, in the paragraph that follows it: “He added, ‘As long as Hamas is in there, controlling that country, we're not going to get anything accomplished.’” AZPM reports: “Grijalva called for a two-state solution and a restoration of humanitarian aid, while Butierez said the US should side with Israel.” And, in the paragraph that follows it: “The only thing we could do there is back Israel. I mean, there's nothing else going to happen. You're not going to get Hamas to come to the table.” Arizona Luminaria reports the same line: “‘I stand with Israel,’ Butierez said.”
  • [Position, 2024; the page carries no date that could be resolved, and its own text places it before the November 2024 election] A video interview posted by American Muslim Today, headed “Republican Candidate Daniel Butierez: ‘Only Trump Can Stop the Gaza Conflict’ | Muslim Viewpoint”. The outlet’s own description of the interview says he told it: “I believe if Trump gets into office, this war will stop. When Trump says, ‘I’m going to do this,’ he means it.” It also has him saying of Donald Trump, “Trump has always spoken when he shouldn't... he doesn't hold back any punches,” and, distancing himself from the movement around him, “I don’t have those kind of bigotries. I just see people as people.” The words above are the outlet’s transcription in its caption. The video itself was not watched here, and nothing from it is on the card.
  • [Position, 2026-08-26] The rematch debate against Grijalva, again produced by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Arizona Luminaria’s account lists what the two candidates argued about: immigration enforcement and the border wall, water security and the Colorado River shortage, the Project Blue data center proposal, affordable housing, health care costs, homelessness, education funding and school vouchers, and mail-in voting. Israel, Gaza and foreign aid appear in none of it, nor in the accounts published by AZPM, KTAR, KAWC, KYMA or FOX 10 Phoenix. The full debate is on video and was not watched for this card; its address is below.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, his profile for the November 5, 2024 general election; the answers carry no date and the page was read 2026-09-07] iVoterGuide’s candidate questionnaire. Asked “Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?”, he answered: “Absolutely! They have been our greatest Allie and our only friend in the Middle East.” Asked to pick among four descriptions of American foreign policy, he chose C: “The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger.” He also answered every other section of the form, on abortion, the economy, religious liberty, healthcare, immigration, education, marriage, elections, race, energy and his own outlook, so his answers on this section are answers he gave rather than blanks. iVoterGuide describes itself as a division of AFA Action.
  • [Position, his profile for the 2025 special election; the answers carry no date and the page was read 2026-09-07] The same questionnaire on his 2025 profile carries a different answer to the same question: “They are one of our closest allies and they keep the Middle East distracted and less focused on the rest of the world.” His foreign policy choice is C again. The identical questionnaire appears on his profile for the July 15, 2025 special primary; the two differ only in the endorsements and rating shown, which list Andy Biggs and Tim Dunn on the general profile.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] His profile for this year’s general election and for the July 21, 2026 Republican primary carry no questionnaire at all. He has not filled one in for the current race.
  • Nothing was located on pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian advocacy organizations, on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or on money from any such group. No pledge about their donations was found under his name.
  • Neither he nor his opponent has completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey for this race. His Ballotpedia page records that he completed the survey in 2023 and carries no answer on this subject.

Safety and antisemitism

  • Nothing located, at any date. The only adjacent remark found is the line the American Muslim Today caption attributes to him about bigotry, quoted above, which is about Donald Trump and the movement around him rather than about antisemitism or the safety of any community.

What his campaign site does say

  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] butierezforcongress.com. The three priorities on the home page are securing the southern border and resourcing the Border Patrol, cutting taxes and simplifying the tax code for small businesses, and promoting job growth through mining in southern Arizona. The policy section carries five pieces, all posted in January 2026: income tax reform, homelessness and housing, the economy, healthcare and border security. His press page is empty. All nine posts and all thirteen pages on the site were read. None of them uses the words Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, antisemitism, Jewish, foreign aid, Middle East, Hamas or foreign policy. The one page that mentions Iran is an automatic feed of headlines from National Review, The American Conservative and other publications, which is not his writing and says nothing about him.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] His biography page is about his own experience of homelessness and a wrongful conviction, and contains no foreign policy.

The race

  • [Undated; read 2026-09-07] Ballotpedia’s page for the 2026 general election: Butierez and Rep. Adelita Grijalva are on the ballot on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Republican primary on July 21, 2026. Arizona Luminaria records that he lost the 2025 special election 69 percent to 29 percent and lost to Raúl Grijalva in 2024, 63 percent to 37 percent.

Not on the card, and why

  • The tax, homelessness, housing, economic, healthcare, border and mining material that fills his campaign site: real positions, but not about U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or about U.S. aid to Palestinians. Listed above so the absence can be checked.
  • The American Muslim Today interview: the words attributed to him there are an outlet’s caption for a video that was not watched here, and they are about Donald Trump rather than about what the United States sends. Recorded above with its address.
  • Adelita Grijalva’s answers at either debate: they belong on her own card.
  • His answers on abortion, immigration, education, energy, marriage and the rest of the two questionnaires: out of scope.

Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)

  • https://butierezforcongress.com/ and all nine posts and thirteen pages on it (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://butierezforcongress.com/policy/ (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://butierezforcongress.com/press/ (opened; 2026-09-07; empty)
  • https://butierezforcongress.com/my-incredible-story (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/1124/election/1243?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; his November 2024 general election profile)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/23391/election/1320?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; his 2025 special general profile)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/23052/election/1292?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; his 2025 special primary profile)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/1124/election/1113 (opened; 2026-09-07; his July 2024 primary profile, no questionnaire)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/28155/election/1426?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; no questionnaire)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/59490/race/30415/election/1455?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; no questionnaire)
  • https://www.kjzz.org/elections/2025-08-27/arizonas-7th-congressional-district-candidates-debate-immigration-gaza-ahead-of-special-election (opened; 2026-09-07; published 2025-08-27)
  • https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2025/8/26/226176-congressional-district-7-candidates-grijalva-and-butierez-debate-immigration-homelessness-and-foreign-policy (opened; 2026-09-07; published 2025-08-26)
  • https://azluminaria.org/2025/08/26/grijalva-vs-butierez-cd7-debate-live/ (opened; 2026-09-07; published 2025-08-27)
  • https://azluminaria.org/2026/08/26/live-debate-adelita-grijalva-and-daniel-butierez-in-district-7/ (opened; 2026-09-07; published 2026-08-26)
  • https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2026/8/26/230947-debate-arizona-congressional-district-7/ (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://ktar.com/arizona-politics-news/election/adelita-grijalva-daniel-gutierrez-cd7-debate (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.kawc.org/news/2026-08-27/republican-butierrez-challenges-a-democrat-grijalva-for-the-third-time (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://kyma.com/decision-politics/arizona-politics/2026/08/27/recap-of-cd7-debate-between-rep-adelita-grijalva-and-daniel-butierez-sr/ (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.fox10phoenix.com/election/2026-election-adelita-grijalva-faces-her-gop-opponent-clean-elections-debate (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.facebook.com/AmericanMuslimToday/videos/republican-candidate-daniel-butierez-only-trump-can-stop-the-gaza-conflict-musli/1168335010932889/ (opened; the caption was read, the video was not watched; 2026-09-07)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Daniel_Butierez_Sr. (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona%27s_7th_Congressional_District_election,_2026 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C_jOCETOO4 (the full August 2026 debate, published by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission; the page opened, the video was not watched; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/early-voting-begins-special-election-arizona-congressional-district-7/75-5613c74e-a647-4cb0-8018-dea9187f0bab (could not open; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/cd7-candidates-clash-meet-in-debate-early-voting-begins,610270 (could not open; 2026-09-07)
  • https://tucson.com/news/local/government-politics/elections/article_b19f2cc8-5c22-482a-92a2-497809b322b8.html (could not open; 2026-09-07; the Arizona Daily Star’s report of the August 2025 debate)
  • https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/082726_cd7_debate/ (could not open; 2026-09-07)
  • His campaign’s social accounts, which were not read for this card: https://www.facebook.com/p/Butierez-For-Congress-61556219533310/, https://x.com/Butierez4C, https://www.instagram.com/butierezforcongress/, https://www.tiktok.com/@butierezforcongress
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-07, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.

Also in this race

  1. ✓ Adelita S. Grijalva (Democrat)

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.