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

Mai Vang

Democrat · U.S. House, California 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.

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Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: Her platform, headed "Stop the Genocide in Palestine", pledges to end the military aid used in Gaza and to stop the flow of weapons, with nothing saying any should continue. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-01. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Vang's campaign platform, headed "Stop the Genocide in Palestine", says: "I will fight to end military aid that enables war crimes and the occupation of Gaza." She pledges to sign onto the Block the Bombs Act, which would restrict certain offensive U.S. weapons for the government of Israel.

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Deep Dive

Vang, a Sacramento city councilmember running in CA-07, has made U.S. military aid in the Gaza war a platform position. Under the heading "Stop the Genocide in Palestine", her campaign platform says: "In Congress, I will fight to end military aid that enables war crimes and the occupation of Gaza. I will immediately sign onto the "Block the Bombs" legislation to stop the flow of weapons used to kill innocent civilians. Every dollar we spend on endless war is a dollar stolen from our schools, our housing, and our healthcare." JNS reported the same pledge on July 15, 2026, describing the Block the Bombs bill as one that would restrict the U.S. president from providing the government of Israel with certain offensive weapons.

On the conflict itself, her platform names it a genocide in the heading of its Gaza section, "Stop the Genocide in Palestine". In March 2024, after the Sacramento City Council passed a Gaza ceasefire resolution while she was absent for a prearranged family commitment, she posted a statement supporting the resolution's demand for a permanent ceasefire.

On lobbying money, a decision separate from any weapons or aid position: her campaign contrasts her record with the incumbent's acceptance of AIPAC contributions, and the current site record shows she rejects AIPAC money.

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.
✓ Endorsed by Peace Action +1 more
Peace ActionA national peace and disarmament group. Its endorsements cover war, Pentagon spending and diplomacy broadly, not only U.S. weapons for the government of Israel.Track AIPACA watchdog on AIPAC-linked money. It backs candidates who reject AIPAC support and call for an arms embargo and conditions on aid to the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that push to restrict or end U.S. weapons transfers to the government of Israel. Endorsements from these groups are shown for information; they do not decide the mark.

In their words

“In Congress, I will fight to end military aid that enables war crimes and the occupation of Gaza. I will immediately sign onto the "Block the Bombs" legislation to stop the flow of weapons used to kill innocent civilians.”
Source ↗, 2026-10-01
Endorsements

Peace Action (2026 endorsement) · Track AIPAC (2026 endorsement)

Research log

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

Several items rest on date taken from the text itselfs or undated pages; band tags note the anchor used. Two sources found returned would not open and are flagged unlinked below.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • 2025-10-07 [Current position; pending verification, post not text-verifiable (robots-blocked)]: Statement marking two years since the October 7 attacks; called on the U.S. government to "stand for peace by stopping all arms shipments to Israel" and push for an immediate ceasefire. Campaign Facebook post
  • [Position, read 2026-10-01; undated live page, the first sentence quoted by JNS on 2026-07-15] Her campaign platform, under "Stop the Genocide in Palestine": "For 21 years, Doris Matsui has voted to fund endless wars. In 2024, while Doris was cashing checks from AIPAC, I was in City Hall passing Sacramento’s ceasefire resolution." Then: "In Congress, I will fight to end military aid that enables war crimes and the occupation of Gaza. I will immediately sign onto the "Block the Bombs" legislation to stop the flow of weapons used to kill innocent civilians. Every dollar we spend on endless war is a dollar stolen from our schools, our housing, and our healthcare." The platform does not use the words "arms embargo". JNS (2026-07-15) quotes the first pledge from her campaign website and describes the Block the Bombs bill as restricting the U.S. president "from providing Israel with certain offensive weapons"; CapRadio, 2026-07-16 confirms only that she has taken a more critical stance on U.S. support for Israel. The site's own stance record (read 2026-08-03) carries matching platform language including the Block the Bombs pledge.

Characterization of the conflict

  • 2024-01-25 [Reaction window, its final day; date from jweekly]: As a Sacramento councilmember, introduced with Councilmember Katie Valenzuela a proposed resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. jweekly
  • 2024-03-20 [Current position; quote unverified; CapRadio page undated, URL dated 2024-03-20]: After the council passed a compromise ceasefire resolution in her absence (prearranged family commitment, confirmed by jweekly), posted a statement on X supporting the resolution's demand for a permanent ceasefire; per an initial search she said "words matter" and that the resolution articulated "the demand for a permanent ceasefire to preserve human life and end the genocidal killing of Palestinians". CapRadio, jweekly (jweekly does not carry the quote)
  • 2025-10-07 [Current position; pending verification]: Described an "ongoing genocidal war on Gaza and illegal attacks on the West Bank"; said she grieves for all families affected. Campaign Facebook post
  • [Position, read 2026-10-01; undated live page] Her campaign platform heads its Gaza section "Stop the Genocide in Palestine". JNS (2026-07-15) reports that she criticized the incumbent in a social media post for not calling Israel's actions in Gaza a "genocide".

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • 2025-2026 campaign [Current position; undated; pending verification]: Campaign-site line per an initial search: "in 2024, while Doris [Matsui] was cashing checks from AIPAC, I was in City Hall passing Sacramento's ceasefire resolution". A funding contrast, separate from any weapons or aid position. JNS
  • March 2026 [EXCLUDED from card; source mismatch]: An initial search claims a statement criticizing Democratic congressional leadership for "silence as AIPAC and corporations flood Congressional primaries with millions of dollars" and calling for a "new direction". The cited source is a New Republic post about a College Republicans lawsuit at the University of Florida (newrepublic.com, published 2026-03-17); the connection to Vang is not evident. Treated as suspect, not used.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)

  • 2023-10-24 [Months after October 7, 2023; source did not open (abc10.com, which would not open); unlinked]: At a council meeting where commenters directed antisemitic remarks at Mayor Darrell Steinberg, joined council members and audience in rejecting antisemitic rhetoric.
  • 2023-12-07 [EXCLUDED; misattributed]: An initial search claims Vang posted a Hanukkah message calling it a "celebration of resilience". The cited source is a Barack Obama Facebook post (would not open); the quoted words are Obama's. Not attributed to Vang.
  • 2025-10-07 [Current position; pending verification]: Expressed grief for all families affected across the region; called for shared human safety and peace. Campaign Facebook post
  • An initial search found no standalone policy paper from Vang on antisemitism or Jewish institutional safety.

Also in this race

  1. ? Doris O. Matsui (Democrat)

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.