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

Eric Jones

Democrat · U.S. House, California District 4
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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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Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: In a March 2026 news article he is quoted on AIPAC saying "It’s so right in front of our face that it’s almost insulting at this point", without saying where he stands on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

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Deep Dive

Eric Jones is the Democratic challenger to Rep. Mike Thompson in California's 4th district, a former venture capitalist and co-founder of the American Dream Institute, per Ballotpedia and CapRadio's race overview.

At the Indivisible Yolo candidate forum in March 2026, he said he is against funding the government of Israel's actions, the Davis Enterprise reported: "Jones says he is against funding Israel’s actions and their use of our political system." The paper also quoted him on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: "It’s so right in front of our face that it’s almost insulting at this point". Under "No Blank Checks for War, Death, and Destruction", his campaign platform calls for "No military aid to any country without an up-or-down vote in Congress" and says "All aid comes with conditions — we will be leaders and true friends to our allies, holding them accountable". It names no country.

Accounts of whether he calls the war in Gaza a genocide contradict each other, and none can be confirmed; they are on the research page and none is stated here as his position. His official candidate statement and campaign materials contain no Israel or Palestinian aid platform.

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

  • April 2026 [Reported; month-only date taken from the text itself; unconfirmed community recap]: At an Indivisible candidate forum, he reportedly criticized Rep. Thompson for military and defense spending votes, citing Iron Dome funding for Israel, and said he would vote no on foreign military assistance packages to Israel if elected. The only source is an unconfirmed community recap posted on Reddit, which could not be opened on 2026-10-01. Nothing on the card rests on it. A Davisite piece was also cited for the vote-no claim; it discusses only his super-PAC ties and contains no Israel aid position.
  • 2026-03-06 [Position]: A reporter's account of a separate forum, the Indivisible Yolo candidate forum, in the Davis Enterprise (March 6, 2026): "Jones says he is against funding Israel’s actions and their use of our political system." The same account has him naming "vote no on war" among ways to answer the President's actions, and quotes him on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: "It’s so right in front of our face that it’s almost insulting at this point". The Davis Enterprise and the April forum recap above are two separate accounts of two separate forums pointing the same way; the recap could not be opened on 2026-10-01, so only the newspaper's account is confirmed here.
  • [Position, read 2026-10-01; undated live page] His campaign platform, under "No Blank Checks for War, Death, and Destruction", lists "End U.S. funding of unnecessary foreign wars", "No military aid to any country without an up-or-down vote in Congress" and "All aid comes with conditions — we will be leaders and true friends to our allies, holding them accountable". It names no country.

Characterization of the conflict

  • April 2026 [Reported; conflicting accounts; listed here but not used for the card]: The unconfirmed community recap on Reddit reports Jones answered no when moderators asked whether Israel's actions in Gaza are a genocide. A reader comment on the Davisite piece asserts he "calls what is happening to Gaza a genocide." The accounts contradict each other and neither is verifiable; a person should settle this before anything is published.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • April 2026 [Reported; unconfirmed community recap]: Reportedly referenced AIPAC when discussing special interest groups and foreign lobbying at the forum (unconfirmed community recap on Reddit).
  • 2026-04-21 [Current position; verification failed as a Jones item]: An initial search said local op-eds highlighted his opposition to AIPAC's influence. The cited Davis Vanguard op-ed criticizes Democratic leadership and incumbents over Gaza and AIPAC but does not state Jones's positions. Not attributable to Jones.

Safety and antisemitism

  • No policy statements found. Commentary notes his wife is Jewish and they are raising Jewish children; that rests on the same Davisite comment thread, not on reporting. No campaign platform on antisemitism exists per his candidate statement and Ballotpedia.

Sources consulted (identity and context)

Also in this race

  1. ? Mike Thompson (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.