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

Jeffrey Datto

Other · Governor, Florida
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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.

Datto, a Hialeah neuroscientist on the ballot with no party affiliation, calls fixing Florida's police system one of his top priorities. Nothing located as of September 2026 has him taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians.

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Deep Dive

Jeffrey Datto, who campaigns as Dr. Jeff, 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 Juan Santana as his running mate. He lives in Hialeah. His own posts describe him as a neuroscientist who spent eight and a half years as a researcher at the University of Miami's Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and as a litigator with more than 20 years of federal litigation experience, including as a pro se litigant in federal court. The seat is open. Byron Donalds and David Jolly won the Republican and Democratic primaries on August 18, 2026, and Scott Jewett of the Libertarian Party and four other candidates with no party affiliation are also on the ballot.

On the question this site asks, the record is thin, and nothing he has published reaches it. He has no campaign website: a September 2026 guide to this race found none for him, and the address in his name is a parked domain. His campaign speaks through his Facebook page and his YouTube channel, and what could be read there is about police conduct in Hialeah, family courts, the use of artificial intelligence in court filings, his search for a running mate, and the public accountability platform he calls My Florida AI. The words Israel, Gaza, Palestinian and foreign aid appear in none of it. He has not completed Ballotpedia's candidate survey, and iVoterGuide's page for this race lists him without a profile. An empty record carries no implication either way, and a governor casts no federal votes on any of this.

Our research also pointed to comments he is said to have posted in April 2026 beneath another candidate's video about criticism of Israel. The video opens, but its comments do not, so his words there have not been read and nothing is drawn from them. The address is on his research page for anyone who can open it.

You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Datto directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about him.

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 a search run on 2026-09-07, and every page below was opened and read on 2026-09-25 unless the entry says otherwise. A second search was run on 2026-09-28, and the two further pages it pointed to were opened that day. Facebook dates are given in Florida time. He has no campaign website, so his campaign's own words were read on his Facebook page (the posts that opened, listed below), in the titles of all sixteen videos on his YouTube channel, and in the descriptions of his accounts on X and Facebook. His Ballotpedia page, the Division of Elections' record, iVoterGuide's page for this race and a September 2026 guide to the race were read as well. 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, at any date.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located, at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located, at any date. The words Gaza, Palestinian, genocide and Hamas appear nowhere in anything of his that was read.

Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Reported for 2026-04-08; not read] Our research reported two comments of his beneath a video James Fishback posted on his Facebook page on April 8, 2026, when both were candidates for governor. The video's caption reads: “You can love Israel, you can be skeptical of Israel, but I will defend your right to criticize Israel.” As our research reported them, the comments said that supporting Israel and defending Americans' right to criticize any foreign government can both be true, which it called a strong First Amendment position, and that government should not punish or silence Americans for criticizing Israel or any other foreign government. The video opened on 2026-09-25, and no comments were visible on it, so these words have not been read, are not attributed to him anywhere on the card, and are recorded here only so that anyone who can open the comments can check them. Whether they were comments on the video or replies to other commenters is not known.
  • Nothing else located, at any date. No statement of his about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee or any other lobbying organization was found.

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

  • [Reported for 2026-04-08; not read] Our research reported a third comment of his in the same place, saying that he grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey with many Jewish friends and has always had deep respect for the Jewish community. It could not be read, for the same reason. His own August 5, 2026 Facebook post lists him as an alumnus of Cherry Hill High School East, which is consistent with the identity but is not the comment.
  • [Position, 2026-07-20] A post on his Facebook page headed “FIXING FLORIDA’S POLICE SYSTEM”. It says: “Fixing Florida’s police system is one of my top priorities.” and, on how officers should treat the public: “Every Floridian deserves to be treated with dignity and respect—rich or poor, Black, White, Latino, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, atheist, or anyone else. We are all Floridians, and we all deserve equal treatment under the law.” It is about policing, and it is recorded here because it names Jewish Floridians; it is not a statement about antisemitism or about the government of Israel.
  • [Position, 2026-09-26] A video post on his Facebook page headed “I WAS HOMELESS. I DESERVED RESPECT.”, read 2026-09-28. It says Hialeah police officers mocked and ridiculed him when he was homeless, and continues: “No Floridian should be treated as less than human. Rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, sick or healthy—everyone deserves respect from those who serve the public.” Like the July 20 post, it is about how police treat the public; it names Jewish Floridians among others and is not a statement about antisemitism or about the government of Israel.
  • [Reported for 2026-07-04 and 2026-09-14; not read] Our research reported a video caption of his reading “The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a wonderful tool against antisemitism”, dated July 4, 2026, and a post of September 14, 2026 saying “Jesus was a Jew”. The one address it gave for both, a video on his own page whose address mentions James Fishback, opens on 2026-09-28 only as an empty video page, and Facebook's own video player reports the video unavailable. Neither has been read, neither is attributed to him on the card, and both are recorded here only so that anyone who can open the address can check them.

What his own pages say

  • [Undated; read 2026-09-25] His Facebook page, under the name Jeff Datto, describes him as “NPA Candidate for governor of FL | ProSe AI Litigator™ | Neuroscientist | Catholic Dad”. Ballotpedia lists this page as his campaign's. His account on X describes him as “NPA Candidate for Governor of Florida | Neuroscientist | Pro Se AI Litigator | Catholic Father | Good Morning Florida”.
  • [Position, 2026-06-01] An introductory post on his Facebook page opens: “Dr. Jeff Datto — NPA Candidate for Governor of Florida, neuroscientist, father, and litigator.” and continues: “I am battle-tested, with more than 20 years of federal litigation experience.” It is about his character and his approach to problems, and names no foreign subject.
  • [Position, 2026-08-05] A post on his Facebook page sets out his background: founder of DattoAI.com, a former researcher for eight and a half years at the University of Miami's Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a former research associate at Duke University, and degrees from Thomas Jefferson University and Johns Hopkins University. The rest of the post is about harassment he says he has faced and his work as a pro se litigant in federal court.
  • [Position, 2026-08-18] A video on his Facebook page whose caption opens “I do not discriminate.” It is about a dispute with utility workers outside his home in Hialeah.
  • [Position, 2026-08-22] A post on his Facebook page about his search for a running mate, written before Juan Santana was named.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-25] His YouTube channel carries sixteen videos. Their titles are about Hialeah police, a utility crew at his home, using AI notes in court, family-court reform, Florida taxpayers, an original song, a television character, two warnings about Jay Collins, a filing trip to Tallahassee and a visit to Cleveland Clinic Florida. None names Israel, Gaza, Palestinians or foreign aid. The videos themselves were not watched.
  • The address drjeffdatto.com is a parked domain with no campaign content.
  • [Position, 2026-09-26] The same September 26 post, read 2026-09-28, closes its English text: “As governor, I will make police accountability an immediate priority. I will also work to end the use of public money to promote politicians through their private social media accounts.” A Spanish version follows.

The race

  • [Read 2026-09-25] The Division of Elections' record for him lists Jeffrey Peter “Dr. Jeff” Datto for Governor with No Party Affiliation, running mate Juan Santana, of Hialeah, filed on December 5, 2025 and qualified on June 12, 2026 by paying the qualifying fee. The Division's full listing for this office shows eight qualified candidates who are not write-ins: Byron Donalds (Republican), David Jolly (Democrat), Scott Jewett (Libertarian Party of Florida), and Dean Abrams, Charles Burkett, Jeffrey Datto, Moliere Dimanche and Frank Russo, each with no party affiliation. It also shows two qualified write-in candidates, Kathy Anderson and Erik Morris.
  • [Read 2026-09-25] Ballotpedia's page for him: “Jeffrey Datto (No Party Affiliation) is running for election for Governor of Florida. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026.” It records no incumbent in the race, primaries on August 18, 2026, and that he has not completed its candidate survey. It lists no campaign website.
  • [Read 2026-09-25] Sparker's Soapbox's guide to the general election for governor lists him among five candidates with no party affiliation who qualified, and notes that no campaign website was found for him as of September 7, 2026. It gives no positions for him.
  • [Read 2026-09-25] iVoterGuide's page for this race lists him and the other candidates by name and party, with no profile or questionnaire published for any of them.

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

  • The comments beneath the April 8, 2026 video at https://www.facebook.com/fshbck/videos/you-can-love-israel-you-can-be-skeptical-of-israel-but-i-will-defend-your-right-/1449072992821585/ , where the comments our research reported would be. The video opens; its comments do not appear.
  • The video at https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/videos/james-fishback-jesus-was-a-jew-httpsfbwatchv5me6bvszycceric-braverman-michael-lu/2177891483073764/ , which our research gave as the source of the July 4 caption about antisemitism and the September 14 post saying “Jesus was a Jew”. The page opens with no post content, and Facebook's own video player reports the video unavailable.
  • The rest of his Facebook page beyond the posts listed above, and his Instagram accounts, https://www.instagram.com/drjeffdatto/ and https://www.instagram.com/jdatto/ , which need a signed-in reader.
  • The posts on his X account, which need a signed-in reader, and his account on TikTok, whose address was not found.
  • The spoken content of his YouTube and Facebook videos, which were not watched.

Not on the card, and why

  • The April 2026 comments about supporting Israel and the right to criticize foreign governments, and the comment about Cherry Hill and the Jewish community: they could not be read, so they are not attributed to him. They are recorded above as reported, with the address.
  • The July 20, 2026 line about treating every Floridian with dignity: it is about policing, not about antisemitism or what the United States sends. It is recorded above.
  • The September 26, 2026 line that no Floridian should be treated as less than human, naming Jew and Gentile: it is about policing, not about antisemitism or what the United States sends. It is recorded above.
  • The reported July 4 caption about the Gospel and antisemitism and the reported September 14 post saying “Jesus was a Jew”: they could not be read, so they are not attributed to him. They are recorded above as reported, with the address.
  • James Fishback's video and its caption: another candidate's words.
  • His posts and videos about Jay Collins: another candidate, and out of scope.
  • His positions on policing, family courts, artificial intelligence in the courts and taxes: out of scope. They are listed above so the absence is checkable.
  • 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://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/ (opened; 2026-09-25; the page's description and recent posts)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/posts/dr-jeff-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-neuroscientist-father-and-li/122399373998031512/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-06-01, Florida time)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/posts/dr-jeff-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-resident-of-hialeah-friend-o/122413906982031512/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-07-20)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/posts/dr-jeffrey-p-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-founder-dattoai-com-the-/122415931640031512/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-08-05, Florida time)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/videos/dr-jeff-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-resident-of-hialeah-i-do-not/4531875333760162/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-08-18, Florida time)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/posts/dr-jeff-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-resident-of-hialeah-still-se/122418279956031512/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-08-22)
  • https://www.facebook.com/fshbck/videos/you-can-love-israel-you-can-be-skeptical-of-israel-but-i-will-defend-your-right-/1449072992821585/ (opened; 2026-09-25; posted 2026-04-08; no comments visible)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/videos/dr-jeff-datto-npa-candidate-for-governor-of-florida-resident-of-hialeah-advocate/1065652739645962/ (opened; 2026-09-28; posted 2026-09-26, Florida time)
  • https://www.facebook.com/DrJeffDatto/videos/james-fishback-jesus-was-a-jew-httpsfbwatchv5me6bvszycceric-braverman-michael-lu/2177891483073764/ (opened with no post content; 2026-09-28; the video player reports it unavailable)
  • https://www.youtube.com/@DrJeffDatto (opened; 2026-09-25; video titles only) and https://x.com/DrJeffDatto (opened; 2026-09-25; the account's description only)
  • https://www.drjeffdatto.com/ (opened; 2026-09-25; a parked domain)
  • https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanDetail.asp?account=89630 and the Division of Elections' full listing for Governor linked above (opened; 2026-09-25)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Jeffrey_Datto (opened; 2026-09-25)
  • https://www.sparkers-soapbox.com/florida-governor-general-election-2026/ (opened; 2026-09-25)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/race/31360/election/1464 (opened; 2026-09-25)
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-07, 2026-09-25 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. ✗ Charles Burkett (Other)
  5. ? Dean Abrams (Other)
  6. – Erik Morris (write-in) (Other)
  7. – Frank Russo (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.