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

Charles Burkett

Other · Governor, Florida
✗
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: As of September 2026 his opinion website's ten-point Gaza plan has Israel completing efforts to "eradicate Hamas’s ability to terrorize and wage war against the State of Israel" and says Israel may protect itself "by any means necessary", with nothing pointing the other way. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Burkett's opinion site, which his campaign links, says “Israel is not a murderous killing machine” but “a besieged nation that only wishes to live in peace”, and sets out a ten-point plan for Gaza. Nothing located has him addressing U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel.

✉  Copy a message to send them

We don’t have a campaign email on file yet. Copy this message and send it through their website or a public social account.

If you send this from your own email, cc replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org so we can post their answer.

Website ↗

Deep Dive

Charles Burkett is a candidate for governor of Florida with no party affiliation, and the Division of Elections lists him as qualified for the November 3, 2026 ballot with Ruben Coto, who served two terms on the Surfside town commission, as his running mate. He was mayor of Surfside for four terms, including during the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in 2021, and runs a national investment company that owns real estate. His campaign site says the campaign is not accepting contributions and is not affiliated with either major party. The seat is open. Byron Donalds and David Jolly won the Republican and Democratic primaries on August 18, 2026, and the Division's listing for the office shows Scott Jewett of the Libertarian Party and four other candidates with no party affiliation also on the ballot.

What he has said on this subject is on AmericaWantsBetter.org, a site whose founder page names him and which his campaign's own page on where he stands links as "my opinion site". Its Israel section opens: "Support for Democratic Governments has been of paramount importance to the United States of America." It names "the State of Israel" as its example, describes a "multi-front war for its very existence", and says a roadmap for Gaza must be set out so that it is clear that "Israel is not a murderous killing machine, but a besieged nation that only wishes to live in peace". The ten-point plan that follows is addressed to the government of Israel: destroy Hamas's infrastructure in Gaza; create a safe zone in northern Gaza, which it calls New Gaza, whose redevelopment the government of Israel would support with loans and expert help; place Palestinians who refuse the offer and remain in the war zone after a year under martial law; and let Palestinians lease to the government of Israel land its army declares safe. Its last point reads: "If the above fails, then Israel shall retain the right, and the obligation, to protect its existence by any means necessary." The section has been on the site since at least February 2025.

The same site's foreign policy section warns against "foreign entanglements" and says America has spent trillions and lost soldiers in recent decades "with little to show for it", naming no country. Nothing on either of his sites addresses U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or U.S. aid to Palestinians: the plan's money for rebuilding Gaza comes from the government of Israel, not the United States. His campaign platform is about property taxes, insurance, overdevelopment and the cost of living. A governor of Florida casts no federal votes on any of this.

His other writing near this subject is about Surfside itself: two April 2026 posts on his personal blog about accusations of antisemitism in the town's mayoral race. In February 2022, while he was mayor, the town commission voted unanimously to adopt the working definition of antisemitism published by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental body. Both are on his research page with the rest of what was read.

Research log

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

Our research for this card began with searches run on 2026-09-07 and 2026-09-28, and every page below was opened and read on 2026-09-28 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site was read in full (its home page, its page on where he stands and its page on his running mate), along with the opinion site it links, AmericaWantsBetter.org, whose home page, founder page, opinion page and endorsements page were read. He has never held federal office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks are his, and a campaign for state office is not covered by the federal funding records this site tracks. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated.

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

  • Nothing located that addresses U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, at any date.
  • [Position; undated live page, read 2026-09-28; the section is present in an archived copy of 2025-02-07 and absent from one of 2024-05-26] The Israel section of his opinion site opens: "Support for Democratic Governments, where the rule of law is honored and respected, is integral for the maintenance of humanity's peace and progress, especially in our troubled world today." and "Support for Democratic Governments has been of paramount importance to the United States of America." and then "A good example of the above is the State of Israel, a country that holds the aforementioned values dear." It does not say what form that support takes, and it does not mention weapons, military aid or money from the United States.
  • [Position; undated live page, read 2026-09-28] The foreign policy section of the same site: it says the Founders warned against "foreign entanglements", and then: "This advice has proven to be prophetic as America has drained its treasury by trillions and spilled the blood of our brave warriors in the last few decades- with little to show for it." It names no country.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located that addresses U.S. aid to Palestinians, at any date. In the ten-point plan described below, the money and help for rebuilding a safe zone in northern Gaza come from the government of Israel: “Israel to support the complete redevelopment of the “Northern Gaza Safe Zone” area with loans, expert assistance, logistical assistance and (diplomatic representation – if requested.)”

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position; undated live page, read 2026-09-28; present since at least 2025-02-07] The Israel section of his opinion site: "Currently Israel is fighting, what some have called, a multi-front war for its very existence." and "This war has not only pitted Israel against Hamas and other enemies, but in many cases, pitted Israel against some of its own people and many opportunistic detractors around the world." and "The roadmap to a resolution of the Gaza issue has not yet been articulated in a wholistic way, but again, it must be, so that the truth will be obvious to all - that Israel is not a murderous killing machine, but a besieged nation that only wishes to live in peace", which it follows with the ten steps it says Israel should take.
  • The ten points that follow, in summary with their key words quoted: 1, destroy Hamas's infrastructure in Gaza and its ability to wage war; 2, create a new safe zone in northern Gaza for "non-militant, non-Hamas affiliated, innocent Gazans"; 3, the government of Israel to support the zone's redevelopment with loans and expert, logistical and diplomatic help, as "a model, self-contained, self-sustained city"; 4, residents of New Gaza to accept a constitution acknowledging that "Israel and its people are not an enemy"; 5, a self-administered New Gazan government; 6, population growth moved southward; 7, "Palestinians who refuse the New Gaza offer after one year, and wish to remain in an active war zone after a one-year time period has expired, will be subject to martial law as Israel completes its efforts to eradicate Hamas’s ability to terrorize and wage war against the State of Israel"; 8, Palestinians may lease land the Israeli army declares safe to Israel; 9, with the plan Israel "will have taken every moral and reasonable step, in a time of war, to protect itself"; 10, "If the above fails, then Israel shall retain the right, and the obligation, to protect its existence by any means necessary."
  • The same site's home page describes the site's purpose as promoting "worthy values" and supporting "patriotic leaders for public office". Its founder page names Charles W. Burkett and gives the same biography as his campaign site, and his campaign's page on where he stands consists of the words "Visit my opinion site, AmericaWantsBetter.Org" and a link to it.

Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying

  • Nothing located from him about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee or any other lobbying organization on this subject. His campaign platform includes a line to "Reverse damage that monied interests and influential lobbyists have inflicted on local communities", which names no organization and is about Florida.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not an answer to what America sends)

  • [Position, 2026-04-08] A post on his personal blog, Charles Burkett's Personal Opinion, headed "EXPLAINED: Orthodox Jewish Leaders Brand Surfside as Antisemitic" (https://savesurfside.com/f/explained-orthodox-jewish-leaders-brand-surfside-as-antisemitic). The blog's own feed gives its opening words: "...AND AT THE SAME TIME, NO LESS IN A LEGAL FILING, AND AGAINST ALL THE RULES, ENDORSE THEIR "PREFERRED CANDIDATE," SHLOMO DANZINGER, FOR MAYOR OF SURFSIDE." The body of the post is drawn by a script and could not be read, so nothing beyond its heading and opening words is claimed. It concerns the town's 2026 mayoral race.
  • [Position, 2026-04-27] A post on the same blog headed "Shul Rep Clucks Antisemitism after Questions about Millions Owed." (https://savesurfside.com/f/shul-rep-clucks-antisemitism-after-questions-about-millions-owed). The feed gives its opening words: "Before we turn to the troubling new chapter in Shul leadership, I feel compelled—for the residents of Surfside—to pause and remember the remarkable man who led the Shul for so many years: Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar". The body could not be read. It concerns a local congregation and money it is said to owe; the heading is his.
  • [Earlier record, 2022-02-11] Jewish News Syndicate reported that the Surfside Town Commission voted unanimously to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, after antisemitic fliers were distributed to homes in Surfside and Miami Beach and the Zionist Organization of America emailed Mayor Burkett urging adoption. The report quotes the ZOA and not him.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-12-15] Miami New Times reported on a Surfside commission meeting over the removal of posters of Israeli hostages, and quoted him, then a former mayor, calling it the "most astounding" Surfside meeting "ever held." His words are about the meeting, not the war.

Earlier record

  • [Earlier record, 2021-07-01] CBN Israel's report on the Israeli army's search and rescue unit at the Surfside collapse quotes him on the rescue effort: "Nobody is giving up hope here. Nobody is stopping. We are dedicated to getting everyone out of that pile of rubble." Our research also reported that he honored the Israeli unit at a send-off ceremony on July 11, 2021; the PBS page it cited did not open, and that is recorded here only as reported.

What the campaign site and own pages say

  • [Position; undated live page, read 2026-09-28] His campaign site is headed "FLORIDA WANTS AN HONEST CHOICE FOR GOVERNOR ...NOT A PARTY OWNED YES-MAN." and says the campaign is "Not accepting contributions" and "Not affiliated or controlled by the Democrat or Republican Party". Its platform: eliminate homestead property taxes, rewrite property and auto insurance law, stop what it calls the "Manhattanization" of Florida's communities, repeal the Live Local Act, eliminate tolls, express lanes and the gas tax, a Florida Bullion Depository, pension reform, an "Oasis Act" for poor neighborhoods, and referendums before data centers are built. The words Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Jewish and foreign appear nowhere on it.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-28] His page on his running mate describes Ruben Coto's priorities, all of them about Florida's economy and insurance.
  • [Undated; titles read 2026-10-01] The campaign site links two videos: one titled "Burkett Announces DeSantis for Lieutenant Governor of Florida", on the Burkett For Governor channel, and a second titled "Oasis", on a channel in his name; neither was watched.

The race

  • [Read 2026-09-28] The Division of Elections' record for him lists Charles Burkett for Governor, No Party Affiliation, running mate Ruben A. Coto, of Surfside, filed on May 4, 2026 and qualified on June 8, 2026 by paying the qualifying fee, website burkettforgov.com. The Division's full listing for this office shows ten qualified candidates: Byron Donalds (Republican), David Jolly (Democrat), Scott Jewett (Libertarian Party of Florida), Dean Abrams, Charles Burkett, Jeffrey Datto, Moliere Dimanche and Frank Russo, each with no party affiliation, and two write-in candidates, Kathy Anderson and Erik Morris.
  • [Read 2026-09-28] His Ballotpedia page lists him on the general election ballot, links his campaign website, and records that he has not completed its 2026 candidate survey.
  • [Position, 2026-05-19] WLRN's report of his entry into the race calls him the town's four-term mayor and quotes him: "I’m not a politician, and I don’t really like being called one." It says his focus is putting "Florida residents first" and stopping the "Manhattanization" of South Florida. Nothing about foreign policy.
  • [Read 2026-09-28] Politics1 describes him as "Ex-Surfside Mayor & Real Estate Investment Firm Owner", with Ruben Coto as "Surfside City Commissioner & Businessman". Sparker's Soapbox's guide to the race lists him among the minor candidates with a campaign website and gives no positions. iVoterGuide's page for the race lists him by name and party only.

Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them

  • The bodies of his blog posts at https://savesurfside.com/f/explained-orthodox-jewish-leaders-brand-surfside-as-antisemitic and https://savesurfside.com/f/shul-rep-clucks-antisemitism-after-questions-about-millions-owed , which are drawn by a script and return only the blog's frame; their headings, dates and opening words come from the blog's own feed.
  • The PBS report our research cited for the 2021 send-off ceremony, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/mayor-90-deaths-confirmed-in-florida-condominium-collapse , and a CBS report on the collapse, https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/former-surfside-mayor-charles-burkett-reflects-on-condo-collapse/ , neither of which opened.
  • His accounts on X (https://www.x.com/charleswburkett) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/charles.w.burkett), linked from his campaign site, which need a signed-in reader; the NBC 6 interview and the press conference video his campaign site links, which were not watched.

Not on the card, and why

  • The December 2023 Miami New Times quotation about a Surfside commission meeting: it is dated December 15, 2023, and it is about a local meeting.
  • The 2022 IHRA adoption: earlier record, and context on antisemitism rather than an answer to what the United States sends. It is named once in the deep dive as history.
  • The 2021 search and rescue coverage: earlier record, and about the collapse, not the war.
  • His April 2026 blog posts on accusations of antisemitism in Surfside's mayoral race: local politics, with bodies that could not be read. Named once in the deep dive as context.
  • A December 2024 Local 10 report on his involvement in police traffic stops as mayor: out of scope.
  • The full ten-point plan is summarized in the deep dive and quoted above; the front carries only the characterization and the plan's existence, for length.
  • Byron Donalds's, David Jolly's and the other candidates' records: they belong on their own cards.

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

  • https://burkettforgov.com/ , https://burkettforgov.com/more-on-where-i-stand and https://burkettforgov.com/my-pick-for-lt-governor (opened; 2026-09-28; the whole campaign site)
  • https://americawantsbetter.org/ , https://americawantsbetter.org/about-the-founder , https://americawantsbetter.org/editors-opinion-page and https://americawantsbetter.org/endorsements (opened; 2026-09-28)
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20250207233040/https://americawantsbetter.org/ (opened; 2026-09-28; the Israel section present) and https://web.archive.org/web/20240526155232/https://americawantsbetter.org/ (opened; 2026-09-28; the site then had a different layout and no Israel section)
  • https://savesurfside.com/ , https://savesurfside.com/f.rss , https://savesurfside.com/f/explained-orthodox-jewish-leaders-brand-surfside-as-antisemitic and https://savesurfside.com/f/shul-rep-clucks-antisemitism-after-questions-about-millions-owed (opened; 2026-09-28; the posts' bodies did not render)
  • https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanDetail.asp?account=90630 and https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanList.asp?elecid=20261103-GEN&OfficeGroup=CAB&StatusCode=ALL&OfficeCode=GOV&CountyCode=ALL&FilterByDist=&DistrictCode=&PartyCode=ALL&CanName=&Search=Search (opened; 2026-09-28)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Charles_Burkett_(Florida) (opened; 2026-09-28)
  • https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2026-05-19/former-surfside-mayor-charles-burkett-florida-governors-race (opened; 2026-09-28; published 2026-05-19)
  • https://www.jns.org/antisemitism/surfside-fla-votes-to-adopt-ihra-definition-of-anti-semitism (opened; 2026-09-28; published 2022-02-11)
  • https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-town-meeting-descends-into-chaos-over-israeli-hostage-poster-dispute-18459150/ (opened; 2026-09-28; published 2023-12-15)
  • https://cbnisrael.org/2021/07/01/israels-search-and-rescue-unit-in-florida-on-another-heroic-mission-of-mercy/ (opened; 2026-09-28; published 2021-07-01)
  • https://politics1.com/fl.htm , https://www.sparkers-soapbox.com/florida-governor-general-election-2026/ and https://ivoterguide.com/race/31360/election/1464 (opened; 2026-09-28)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOlKaUm4Jzw and https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MJGFRhg7tu0 (titles and channels read from YouTube's own embed data; 2026-10-01; not watched)
  • The PBS and CBS addresses above (could not open; 2026-09-28)
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-07 and 2026-09-28, not a claim that no other statement exists.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Byron Donalds (Republican)
  2. ✗ David Jolly (Democrat)
  3. – Scott Jewett (Libertarian)
  4. ? Dean Abrams (Other)
  5. – Erik Morris (write-in) (Other)
  6. – Frank Russo (Other)
  7. – Jeffrey Datto (Other)
  8. – Kathy Anderson (write-in) (Other)
  9. ? Moliere Dimanche (Other)

All Florida 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.