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

Richard Pan

Democrat · U.S. House, California 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.

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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.

Pan has not spoken publicly on U.S. military aid to Israel or U.S. aid to Palestinians; no statements found in source-checked research. As a state senator he backed hate-crime prevention bills with the Legislative Jewish Caucus and spoke at a 2018 Pittsburgh shooting vigil in Sacramento.

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Deep Dive

We found no statement from Richard Pan on U.S. military aid or weapons to Israel, U.S. aid to Palestinians, or the Israel/Palestine conflict, across his state Senate record and his 2026 congressional campaign. Pan is a pediatrician and former state senator running in California's 6th district, per Ballotpedia.

His opponent has made the silence itself an issue: a July 2026 press release from Rep. Kevin Kiley, covered by Sierra Wave, called out what it described as Pan's silence on Israel. That is the opponent's framing, not a position from Pan.

Pan's record on community safety and antisemitism is from his state service. In March 2015, after antisemitic incidents in the Sacramento area including swastika vandalism at a UC Davis fraternity, he proposed anti-discrimination training for student governments at California public universities. He spoke at the October 2018 interfaith gathering at Congregation B'nai Israel after the Tree of Life shooting. In February 2021 he joined the Legislative Jewish Caucus to support hate-crime prevention bills, and in March 2021, as Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus chair, he co-led a joint caucus statement condemning hate crimes against minority communities.

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

Characterization of the conflict

  • No public statements found. [Nothing found]
  • 2026-07-15 [Current position; opponent's framing, not Pan's words]: Rep. Kiley press release calling out Pan's silence on Israel. Sierra Wave.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • No public record found. [Nothing found]

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position; all Earlier record)

  • March 2015 [Earlier record; month-only date taken from the text itself; source published 2015-03-10]: After Sacramento-area antisemitic incidents including UC Davis fraternity swastika vandalism, proposed requiring civil rights and anti-discrimination training for student governments at California public universities. JTA.
  • 2018-10-29 [Earlier record]: Spoke at the interfaith gathering at Congregation B'nai Israel in Sacramento after the Tree of Life shooting; expressed solidarity with the Jewish community. CapRadio (page undated in metadata; article covers the 2018-10-29 event).
  • 2021-02-22 [Earlier record]: Joined Legislative Jewish Caucus members at a Sacramento press conference supporting hate-crime prevention and community protection bills, including security funding for vulnerable institutions. J. The Jewish News.
  • 2021-03-18 [Earlier record; joint caucus action]: As API Legislative Caucus chair, co-led a joint condemnation of hate crimes with the Jewish Caucus and other diversity caucuses. Latino Caucus release.

Sources consulted (identity)

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Kevin Kiley (Other)

All California 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.