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

April Verlato

Republican · U.S. House, California District 28
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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.

Verlato has not spoken publicly on U.S. military aid to Israel, U.S. aid to Palestinians, or the conflict itself; no statements found in source-checked research.

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Deep Dive

We found no public record from April Verlato on any of this site's four questions: U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel, characterization of the Israel/Palestine conflict, Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying, or antisemitism and Jewish community safety. That absence is the finding.

Verlato is the Republican candidate for the U.S. House in California's 28th district. She is an attorney, a former mayor and current city council member of Arcadia, and ran for the same seat in 2024 against Rep. Judy Chu, per Ballotpedia. An initial search returned general public-safety material from her council record and campaign platform (a 2021 no-confidence resolution on the Los Angeles County district attorney, police budget votes, bail policy). None of it concerns Israel, Palestinians, or antisemitism, so it sits on the on this page only.

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.

Searched 2026-08-10 for: verlatoforcongress.com safety; April Verlato CA-28 Israel; April Verlato public safety). Questions 1-3 and the antisemitism half of question 4 came back empty; an initial search returned only general public-safety material, retained below and out of scope for the card.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • No public statements, official stances, or actions found. [Nothing found]

Characterization of the conflict

  • No public statements, writings, or published policy stances found. [Nothing found]

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • No statements or actions found regarding Israel-related rhetoric, lobby organizations, or interest groups. [Nothing found]

Safety and antisemitism

  • Antisemitism / Jewish community safety: no statements, positions, or actions found. [Nothing found]
  • General public-safety record, out of scope for this question, retained per no-deletion rule:

- 2021-05-18 [Earlier record]: As an Arcadia council member, requested a council vote on a no-confidence resolution regarding Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon's prosecution policies. Arcadia Chamber. - 2016-2024 [Earlier record through current position; date range per the search notes, treated as claim]: Voted for every budget request, ordinance, and strategic plan presented by the Arcadia police chief, including votes adding four sworn officers. Ballotpedia. - 2023-12 [Months after October 7, 2023 by calendar, unrelated to the conflict; month-only date per the search notes]: Campaign launch made "Public Safety for All" and national security platform components; support for law enforcement, legal challenges to the county zero-bail system, stricter enforcement on crime. Campaign site, campaign home.

Sources consulted (identity and candidacy)

Also in this race

  1. ? Judy Chu (Democrat)

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.