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

David Jolly

Democrat · Governor, Florida
✗From their own words

Jolly wrote that "Israel’s only understandable response has been to destroy their enemy, to occupy their land" and that by withholding weapons from the government of Israel over Rafah, Biden "just turned his back on Israel." In Congress he called for $5 billion yearly in military aid for that government.

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Deep Dive

David Jolly represented Florida's 13th District in the U.S. House as a Republican from 2014 to 2017, left the party in 2018 and registered as a Democrat in 2025. He won the Democratic nomination for governor on August 18, 2026 with 61 percent of the vote and faces Byron Donalds in November.

His one substantial piece of writing on this war is a May 2024 essay, published just after President Biden said he would not supply certain weapons if Israeli forces went into Rafah. It calls the Hamas attack "a declaration of war against a stable Israel" and says "Israel’s only understandable response has been to destroy their enemy, to occupy their land, and to ensure Israel is never again the victim of a Hamas war." It argues that the war "will be executed as Netanyahu and his war cabinet see fit", not by Washington, and it opposes the pause: for Biden "to withhold military aid during a time of war", he wrote, "casts Israel as a pawn of United States foreign policy, not an ally", and "Joe Biden just turned his back on Israel." He also wrote that peace is better achieved through leaders with "a penchant for diplomacy and negotiation", adding, "That’s not Netanyahu."

His record in Congress ran the same way. In March 2016, after meeting the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem, he called for U.S. military assistance to the government of Israel to rise from $3.1 billion to $5 billion a year: "I fully agree, and today I call on the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to meet that new funding level." That April he and Rep. Gwen Graham, now his running mate, wrote to President Obama asking for the same $5 billion a year as the current memorandum of understanding neared its 2018 expiry; more than 50 other members of Congress signed on.

We found nothing from him since he became a Democrat revisiting that number, and nothing located from him addresses U.S. aid to Palestinians. His campaign's issues page lists fourteen priorities, none of them foreign policy. A governor of Florida votes on none of it.

The record

Notable actions

• As a Republican member of the House, voted Yea on August 1, 2014 on H.J.Res.76, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Resolution, 2014, which appropriated $225,000,000 to the Secretary of Defense to provide to the Government of Israel for Iron Dome procurement during Operation Protective Edge. The House concurred in the Senate amendment 395-8 and the measure became Public Law 113-145 on August 4, 2014. This is a pre-2017 vote and is NOT one of this site's tracked floor votes.

• Cosponsored H.R.825, the United States-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act, on July 23, 2015, as a Republican. The bill set as U.S. trade negotiating objectives the discouraging of 'politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel' and the elimination of state-sponsored boycotts of Israel, and added reporting and securities-disclosure requirements. This is his only recorded action touching the boycott, divestment and sanctions question.

• Met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately in Jerusalem on March 29, 2016 and the same day publicly called for raising U.S. annual military assistance to Israel from $3.1 billion to $5 billion, calling on 'the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to meet that new funding level.' He was then a Republican House member running in the Republican U.S. Senate primary. The source does not say who organised or paid for the trip and no claim is made about that here.

• Cosponsored H.Res.729 on June 22, 2016 and voted Yea on it on September 13, 2016: the resolution expressed support for expeditious consideration and finalization of a new, robust, long-term Memorandum of Understanding on military assistance to Israel. It was agreed to under suspension of the rules, 405-4. Pre-2017; not a tracked floor vote for this project.

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. In their own words on May 9, 2024.

In their words

“Some reports suggest Israel is in need of up to $5 billion annually in military assistance, up from the current U.S. commitment of $3.1 billion. I fully agree, and today I call on the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to meet that new funding level.”
Source ↗, 2016-03-29
“We either stand with Israel or we don’t. Because while we hope for peace, the truth is we only defeat terrorists with renewed strength – and weapons, lots of weapons.”
Source ↗, 2016-03-29
“Israel's only understandable response has been to destroy their enemy, to occupy their land, and to ensure Israel is never again the victim of a Hamas war.”
Source ↗, 2024-05-09

Research log

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

Every page below was opened and read on 2026-09-25 unless the entry says otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. His congressional service predates every bill this site tracks, so there are no recorded votes on this card, and the funding badge does not apply to a state office.

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

  • [Position, 2024-05-09] His essay "The Very Hard Truth About America’s Role in the Israel-Hamas War", on his own Medium account, written as President Biden said he would not supply certain weapons if Israeli forces went into Rafah. It quotes Biden: "I made it clear…if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used." It opposes that decision: "For Joe Biden to now abandon Israeli leadership, to withhold military aid during a time of war, resets that political truism — it casts Israel as a pawn of United States foreign policy, not an ally." And: "But leadership comes at a cost. Joe Biden just turned his back on Israel. Joe Biden made Israel’s execution of its war more difficult, he eased the burden for Hamas." It also argues the limits of American leverage: "The reality is that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza will be executed as Netanyahu and his war cabinet see fit. It will not be executed through the edicts of the Biden Administration or the US Congress." The essay's full text is also carried by his Medium feed, dated Thu, 09 May 2024 03:18 GMT.
  • [Earlier record, 2016-03-29] After meeting the Israeli prime minister privately in Jerusalem, he called for U.S. military assistance to the government of Israel to rise from $3.1 billion to $5 billion a year, per Florida Politics. His statement, as quoted there: "Some reports suggest Israel is in need of up to $5 billion annually in military assistance, up from the current U.S. commitment of $3.1 billion. I fully agree, and today I call on the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to meet that new funding level." And: "Let’s be clear – if Israel’s security is breached, our own U.S. national security is immediately compromised". And, closing: "We either stand with Israel or we don’t. Because while we hope for peace, the truth is we only defeat terrorists with renewed strength – and weapons, lots of weapons." He was then running in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. The Tampa Bay Times account, headlined "Jolly wants big increase in U.S. aid to Israel", is behind a subscriber wall; only its headline can be read.
  • [Earlier record, 2016-04-20] With Rep. Gwen Graham he wrote to President Obama calling for funding for Israeli defense to rise from $3.1 billion to $5 billion a year, with the current memorandum of understanding expiring in 2018; Florida Politics reports more than 50 other members of Congress signed. The article notes the $5 billion figure included U.S. investment in missile interceptor systems such as Iron Dome and the Arrow III. His words, as quoted there: "Surely now is the time to provide additional support to our greatest security partner in the Middle East, Israel." Gwen Graham is his running mate in 2026.
  • [Read 2026-09-25] Nothing located from him since he registered as a Democrat in April 2025 revisits the $5 billion figure or U.S. military aid.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located, at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2024-05-09] From the same essay: "It was a declaration of war against a stable Israel by the ruling faction in neighboring Gaza. War, not terrorism." And: "Israel’s only understandable response has been to destroy their enemy, to occupy their land, and to ensure Israel is never again the victim of a Hamas war." Of the Israeli prime minister: "Peace is always better achieved through leaders with a penchant for diplomacy and negotiation. That’s not Netanyahu." The essay's subtitle reads "Joe Biden needs Benjamin Netanyahu more than Benjamin Netanyahu needs Joe Biden".
  • [Earlier record, 2016-03-29] In the same 2016 statement he called Israel "our strongest security partner in the Middle East" (Florida Politics).

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2026-08-19] The Jerusalem Post, reporting the primary results, calls both nominees pro-Israel and writes that "Jolly has been a longtime supporter of Israel, and that stance has remained unshaken during his shift from Republican to moderate Democrat." A newspaper's characterization, not his words.
  • [Position, 2026-08-17] The Forward, covering a Hillsborough County Democratic Party gala, describes him as "a longtime supporter of Israel". A third party's characterization, recorded as such.
  • [Position, 2026-07-10] WLRN reports that after primary wins by candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America in New York he told CNN, "I think New York elected the wrong people." The remark is about those candidates; the article does not connect it to aid to the government of Israel, and neither does this page.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • [Position, 2026-02-06] His campaign statement on national identity condemns "a Florida gubernatorial candidate unleashing antisemitism and cheered for it, another peddling Islamophobia", and says everyone's rights should be protected "regardless of the color of their skin, where they were born, who they love, or who they worship." Context, not an answer on what the United States sends.

What the campaign site and his own pages say

  • [Read 2026-09-25] His campaign issues page lists fourteen priorities, from affordability and insurance to treating everyone with kindness, dignity and respect; none is foreign policy, and the words Israel, Gaza and Palestinian appear nowhere on it or on the campaign home page.

The race

  • He won the Democratic primary on August 18, 2026 with 61.0 percent of the vote and faces Byron Donalds (R), Scott Jewett (L) and several candidates with no party affiliation in November, per Ballotpedia. Per Wikipedia's account of his career, he left the Republican Party in September 2018 and registered as a Democrat in April 2025.
  • [Position, 2026-09-22] WUSF reports that he declined to debate Donalds, so no general-election debate is expected.

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

  • WFLA's report headlined "Candidates for Florida governor offer opposing views on Middle East military operation" (https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/candidates-for-florida-governor-offer-opposing-views-on-middle-east-military-operation/) did not open by any route. Its headline points to the 2026 Iran strikes, which are not this card's subject.

Not on the card, and why

  • His February 2026 post on X about the U.S. strikes on Iran, quoted by the Jerusalem Post: about Iran, not what the United States sends to the government of Israel.
  • The Jerusalem Post and Forward characterizations: third parties' words, not his.
  • The 2016 closing lines ("weapons, lots of weapons") and the Iron Dome detail: carried here; the card uses the 2016 funding call itself.

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

  • https://davidjollyfl.medium.com/the-very-hard-truth-about-americas-role-in-the-israel-hamas-war-610ddab7f70d; could not open here; its text was read from his Medium feed; 2026-09-25
  • https://medium.com/feed/@davidjollyfl; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://floridapolitics.com/archives/205705-david-jolly-gets-private-audience-benjamin-netanyahu-jerusalem-calls-sending-money-israel/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://floridapolitics.com/archives/207495-david-jolly-gwen-graham-pen-letter-president-obama-calling-increase-financial-aid-israel/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://www.tampabay.com/jolly-wants-big-increase-in-us-aid-to-israel/2271150/; opened, headline only; 2026-09-25
  • https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-905949; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://forward.com/news/844913/dan-bilzerian-jake-lang-israel-antisemitism/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2026-07-10/dsa-candidates-are-winning-democratic-primaries-can-they-do-it-in-florida; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://davidjolly.com/david-jolly-statement-this-election-is-about-our-national-identity/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://davidjolly.com/issues/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://davidjolly.com/; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_gubernatorial_and_lieutenant_gubernatorial_election,_2026; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Jolly; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2026-09-22/florida-no-debates-general-election-statewide-political-race; opened; 2026-09-25
  • https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/candidates-for-florida-governor-offer-opposing-views-on-middle-east-military-operation/; could not open; 2026-09-25

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Byron Donalds (Republican)
  2. – Scott Jewett (Libertarian)
  3. ✗ Charles Burkett (Other)
  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.