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

Kathy Castor

Democrat · U.S. House, Florida District 14
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes

Castor pairs U.S. support for the government of Israel with humanitarian aid for Gazans. In February 2024 she urged a deal that supports the people of Israel while aiding civilians, and she greeted the October 2025 ceasefire by calling to "flood humanitarian aid to the region".

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Deep Dive

Castor represents Florida's 14th District, Tampa and its surroundings, and she is the sitting member.

Her votes point both ways and she has explained the pairing herself. In February 2024, explaining a yes vote on a standalone aid bill, she called for Speaker Johnson to "craft a national security agreement that secures the border and provides support for the people of Ukraine and Israel while also providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflicts around the world", and wrote that her vote was "a signal regarding the need to replenish the Iron Dome". She voted for the February and April 2024 packages and against the May 2024 bill written to force weapons deliveries; her stated frame throughout pairs defense support with humanitarian relief. She also voted against both amendments to cut that aid: the July 2025 amendment to strike $500 million for Israeli Cooperative Programs, and the July 2026 amendment to bar the next year's funds for the government of Israel. She co-sponsors the United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act, joining it in March 2026.

When the ceasefire came in October 2025 she said it plainly: "It is past time to end the war, release the hostages, flood humanitarian aid to the region and build a durable peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people."

On the Palestinian side she has acted as well as spoken. In October 2025 she co-led a letter pressing the administration, with Representative Frost and Senators Van Hollen and Merkley, on the detention without trial of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen from Florida held in Israeli custody. After his release, she, Senator Welch and Senator Van Hollen led a February 2026 letter demanding accountability for his treatment; it says "This type of abuse, which has become commonplace in the West Bank and Israeli prison facilities, must stop." Both are multi-signer letters. In July 2025, on the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a U.S. citizen, by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, she urged Florida's members of Congress, Secretary of State Rubio and the President "to demand full accountability for the attack on Floridian Musallet."

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes · Backs 0 of 1 tracked bills to restrict weapons transfers

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8034 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-04-20 · Passed 366-58
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8369 - Israel Security Assistance Support Act2024-05-16 · Passed 224-187
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 8595 - Massie amendment (Part A No. 8) to bar FY27 funds for Israel and cut $3.3B in Foreign Military Financing2026-07-15 · Failed 104-314
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
H.Amdt. 55 to H.R. 4016 - strike $500M for Israeli Cooperative Programs2025-07-18 · Failed 6-422 (only 6 voted to cut)
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
Bill sponsorship
H.R. 3565 - Block the Bombs ActWould bar transfer of 2,000-lb/BLU-109 bunker busters, JDAMs, 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells to Israel. Does not affect Iron
Not sponsoringhas not backed this restriction bill
H.R. 1229 - United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025Formalizes/expands bilateral defense cooperation with Israel.
Co-sponsorbacks this bill to send more support
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.

Voted to send weapons or funding in more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$30K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $25,000 · DMFI: $5,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$25,000The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.DMFI PAC$5,000Democratic Majority for Israel's PAC; calls itself the home for pro-Israel Democrats and backs Democratic candidates who support a strong U.S. alliance with the government of Israel.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.
Endorsed by AIPAC +1 more
AIPACThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.DMFI PACDemocratic Majority for Israel's PAC; calls itself the home for pro-Israel Democrats and backs Democratic candidates who support a strong U.S. alliance with the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.

In their words

“It is past time to end the war, release the hostages, flood humanitarian aid to the region and build a durable peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people.”
Source ↗, 2025-10-09
“This type of abuse, which has become commonplace in the West Bank and Israeli prison facilities, must stop.”
Source ↗, 2026-02-18
“I urge all Florida representatives, senators, Secretary of State @SecRubio and the President to demand full accountability for the attack on Floridian Musallet.”
Source ↗, 2025-07-15
Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement) · DMFI PAC (2026 endorsement)

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

  • Her recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card and point both ways; what each bill did is shown with its vote.
  • [Position, 2024-02-06] Her statement on the February 2024 standalone bill. Quoted: "...my yes vote is a signal regarding the need to replenish the Iron Dome, a missile defense system that has helped protect the people of Israel from terrorist rocket fire for more than a decade. The bill also boosts funding for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, and the operations in the Middle East area of responsibility so that our military can respond to the attacks on American forces by Iranian proxies." And: "craft a national security agreement that secures the border and provides support for the people of Ukraine and Israel while also providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflicts around the world." The release also criticizes Republicans for stalling "aid to Israel, Ukraine, and humanitarian interests". The Iron Dome sentence is her stated reason; it is here and in the deep dive, not on the card front.
  • [Position, 2024-04, undated page] A constituent update praises the April 2024 package for replenishing the Iron Dome while providing humanitarian aid to civilians, "including millions of Palestinians who continue to face an urgent humanitarian crisis as water and food supplies dwindle." The page carries no date, so no day-precise date is asserted for it.
  • [Position, 2025-06-16; reported, not confirmed] She is reported to have reaffirmed support for Israel's defense against Iranian threats, per a Floridian Press story that no longer opens. It concerns Iran and is not on the card.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] Her statement on the November 2023 package: the Republican bill "immorally excludes humanitarian aid for innocent Palestinians who are used as human shields by Hamas terrorists", and "Defense aid to Israel has always been bipartisan". Her explanation of her No vote on that package; it is kept to this page.
  • No located statement explains her No on the May 2024 forced-delivery bill; that badge stands without her reasons.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • [Position, 2025-10-09] Her statement on the October 2025 ceasefire, quoted on the card: "It is past time to end the war, release the hostages, flood humanitarian aid to the region and build a durable peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people."
  • [Position, 2025-10-22] Her release on the letter she co-led with Representative Frost and Senators Van Hollen and Merkley, joined by other members for a total of 10 House members and 13 senators, pressing the administration on the detention without trial of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen from Florida held in Israeli custody since February 16, 2025. A multi-signer letter, stated as such.
  • [Position, 2026-02-18] The Welch-Van Hollen-Castor letter to Secretary of State Rubio, joined by twelve other lawmakers, after his release on November 27, 2025. It concludes: "This type of abuse, which has become commonplace in the West Bank and Israeli prison facilities, must stop." A multi-signer letter, stated as such.
  • [Position, 2025-07-15] Her post on X on the killing of a Floridian in the West Bank: "Thank you, Democratic Leader @RepJeffries, for calling for a thorough investigation into the killing of American citizen Sayfollah Musallet by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. I urge all Florida representatives, senators, Secretary of State @SecRubio and the President to demand full accountability for the attack on Floridian Musallet."
  • Her February 2024 statement above pairs humanitarian assistance with defense support, which is the frame the card leads with.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Reaction window, 2023-10-25] Her statement condemning the October 7 attacks as "barbaric", affirming Israel's right to defend itself. Not on the card.
  • [Position, 2025-10-09] The ceasefire statement above.
  • [Prior, 2023-07-17; reported, not confirmed] Reported to have signed a joint statement that efforts to delegitimize Israel are dangerous and anti-Zionist rhetoric emboldens antisemitism, reaffirming a two-state solution, per the lead office's release, which no longer opens. A joint statement, stated as such.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [2026-06-02] The Guardian reported, from congressional ethics filings, that staff from her office were on an August 16-24, 2025 trip to Israel paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, which the paper describes as "a charitable affiliate of pro-Israel lobby Aipac". A staff trip, not a statement of hers.
  • Tracked funding totals appear as a badge on this card.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • [Prior, 2017-02-22] Signed a bipartisan letter demanding federal action on bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers, per Florida Politics.
  • [Prior, 2021-06-08 and 2022-06-28] Joined letters urging a special envoy against antisemitism and a federal plan to protect Jewish institutions, per Jewish Cleveland's item and the 2022 task force letter to the Department of Homeland Security.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-21] Signed a bipartisan letter seeking dedicated funding for the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, per Representative Raskin's release, which no longer opens; reported, not confirmed. Not on the card.

Race and status context

  • Sitting representative and Democratic nominee in a closely watched district. The Division of Elections lists three qualified candidates on the printed ballot for District 14: Mike Beltran (Republican), Kathy Castor (Democrat) and Brian Lambert (Libertarian Party of Florida), with two qualified write-in candidates.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Mike Beltran (Republican)
  2. – Brian Lambert (Libertarian)

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.