But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
James Martin
Democrat · U.S. House, Florida District 21
?Mixed
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.
Reviewed by hand after the two reviewers read it differently: In one breath he says Israel probably no longer needs U.S. subsidies but frames continued arms sales conditioned on U.S. law as the next question, so his words point both ways. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-01. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.
James Martin is a fourth-generation Floridian from Hobe Sound and a Coast Guard veteran. He commanded two Coast Guard cutters out of Fort Pierce, served overseas and in the Caribbean, and worked in the White House Office of the Vice President on national security. He is 33. He defeated Bernard Taylor in the Democratic primary on August 18, 2026 by about 360 votes out of nearly 48,000, and is running on November 3, 2026 against the Republican incumbent Brian Mast and Alexander Cooke, who has no party affiliation; David Fabrikant is a write-in candidate. The Republican primary was cancelled.
On American money for Palestinians he has said nothing we could find, in either direction: not on humanitarian funding for Gaza, not on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, not on the aid pipeline. His campaign site sets out six priorities, and the words Israel, Gaza and Palestinian appear nowhere on it. The eleven press releases his campaign has published since October 2025 are about the cost of living, clean water, corruption, endorsements and American military action in the Caribbean.
Two further statements of his on this subject were reported in August and September 2026, one separating criticism of the Israeli government from opposition to the state's existence and one about a political committee that had endorsed his primary opponent. Neither page would open for us, so neither is used here and nothing is claimed from either; both are set out with their addresses on his research page.
He has said little else in public on what the United States should send, fund or withhold. Ask him directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.
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 2026-09-27) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
In their words
“I think the conversation about Israel now is to agree that they probably don’t need subsidies. Then it becomes ‘should we sell arms to them as long as we are keeping with U.S. laws?’”
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Every page named below was opened and read on 2026-09-18 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site was read in full, including all eleven items on its news and press listing back to October 2025. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. He has held no elected office, so this record carries no votes.
U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel
[Position, 2026-08-10] Stet News, “2 Democrats vie to unseat Brian Mast”, by its staff, published eight days before the primary. Under its foreign policy heading the article reports: “Martin said the United States needs to take a look at its subsidies to Israel.” It then quotes him: “I think the conversation about Israel now is to agree that they probably don’t need subsidies. Then it becomes ‘should we sell arms to them as long as we are keeping with U.S. laws?’” The same section carries his views on Ukraine and on the war with Iran, which are different questions. The article's other Israel passage, beginning “He said Israel and Palestine both have the right to a peaceful existence”, belongs to Bernard Taylor and not to Martin; it is not used here. Stet News is a nonprofit newsroom covering Martin, St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach counties.
Nothing else located at any date. His campaign site, its issues page, its news and press listing and its biography carry no statement on American weapons or money for the government of Israel.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located at any date, in either direction. No statement of his on humanitarian funding for Gaza, on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, on the aid pipeline or on the American pier could be found on his own site or anywhere that would open for us.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, reported 2026-08-13; the source could not be opened] Our research reports that Florida Politics quoted him saying “You can have legitimate criticisms of Israel's government yet still think it has the right to exist”. The address, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/813825-anti-israel-activity-blurs-with-antisemitism-on-florida-campaign-trail/ , could not be opened on 2026-09-18, so the wording is not confirmed and nothing on the card rests on it. The address is printed here as plain text rather than linked so a reader can try it.
[Position, reported around 2026-09-09; the source could not be opened] Our research reports that he discussed Israel, Gaza and the wider conflict in an interview on a radio program, previewed on social media on September 8 and broadcast around September 9, 2026. The two addresses given for it, https://www.facebook.com/theKCIngramShow/posts/1824763655874758/ and https://www.facebook.com/61581331215858/posts/122167634865044373/ , both refused on 2026-09-18, and no recording or transcript could be located. Nothing is claimed from it. The same material includes a criticism of the incumbent's conduct; the incumbent's record belongs on his own card in any case.
Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, 2026-08-10] Stet News reports that neither Democratic candidate accepted money from political action committees, that individual donations make up the majority of his campaign account and that he contributed $150,000 to it himself, and it lists his endorsements: former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, Moms Demand Action, the Democratic Hispanic Caucus and Veterans for Responsible Leadership. A refusal of committee money is never read here as a position on weapons or funding.
[Position, reported 2026-08-13; the source could not be opened] Our research reports that the same Florida Politics article quoted him criticizing his primary opponent over an endorsement by a political committee that opposes the existence of the state of Israel, in two passages beginning “You can say you are not an antisemite all you'd like” and “At a time when I regularly hear on the campaign trail”. The address above could not be opened, so neither wording is confirmed and nothing is written from them. Stet News independently records that his primary opponent had that endorsement and had asked the organization to withdraw it; that is his opponent's record and belongs on his opponent's card if one is ever written.
[Undated; read 2026-09-18] His campaign site's endorsement list names a former vice president, four caucuses of the Florida Democratic Party, two national groups and a number of local officials. No Israel-related organization appears on it.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not an answer to what America sends)
[Position, reported 2026-08-13; the source could not be opened] The passage our research attributes to him about antisemitism on the campaign trail sits in the same unopenable article and is not confirmed. In any event it is context about safety rather than an answer about what the United States sends.
What the campaign site and own pages say
[Read 2026-09-18] His campaign site and its biography page. Six priorities are set out: cost of living, clean water, anti-corruption and transparency, health care, immigration, and protecting Social Security and veterans' benefits. A case-insensitive search of the home, issues, news and biography pages for israel, gaza, palestin, hamas, antisemit, jewish, unrwa, aipac and middle east returns nothing at all except a biographical sentence about his Coast Guard service in the Middle East. The news and press listing carries eleven items from October 1, 2025 to August 4, 2026, on his launch, fundraising, endorsements, an anti-corruption platform, a newspaper endorsement, debates and American military strikes in the Caribbean and on Venezuelan vessels. None is on this subject.
[Read 2026-09-18] His profile at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington research organization, from an earlier posting. Its description reads: “James Martin is an active-duty U.S. Coast Guard officer detailed to the Office of the Vice President, Office of National Security Affairs, where he serves…”. It is used here only to confirm identity and carries nothing on this subject.
The race
[Read 2026-09-18] Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 election in Florida's 21st District: “Incumbent Brian Mast, James Martin, Alexander Cooke, and David Fabrikant are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 21 on November 3, 2026.” The same page lists Cooke with no party affiliation and Fabrikant as a write-in candidate with no party affiliation, and Robert Ott as withdrawn or disqualified. Martin defeated Bernard Taylor in the Democratic primary on August 18, 2026, 50.4 percent to 49.6, a margin of 362 votes out of 47,746, and the Republican primary was cancelled. The district takes in all of St. Lucie and Martin counties and part of northern Palm Beach County. The other candidates' records belong on their own cards.
Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/813825-anti-israel-activity-blurs-with-antisemitism-on-florida-campaign-trail/ and https://floridapolitics.com/archives/814669-james-martin-edges-out-bernard-taylor-for-democratic-nomination-in-cd-21/ , both of which could not be opened on 2026-09-18. Three statements our research attributes to him come from the first of these; none of them is used.
https://www.facebook.com/theKCIngramShow/posts/1824763655874758/ and https://www.facebook.com/61581331215858/posts/122167634865044373/ , both of which refused on 2026-09-18. No recording of the radio interview they preview could be located and no video was watched for this card.
His accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. None was read here.
Not on the card, and why
The three statements reported by Florida Politics: on legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and the state's right to exist, on his primary opponent's endorsement by an anti-Zionist committee, and on antisemitism on the campaign trail. The only address for them would not open, so the wording is unconfirmed; all three are set out on the research page with the address as plain text and nothing is built on them.
The radio interview of early September 2026, including his criticism of the incumbent's conduct at the Capitol. Its only addresses would not open, and the incumbent's record belongs on the incumbent's own card in any event.
The passage in the Stet News profile about both peoples' right to a peaceful existence and about tax dollars funding the conflict. Those are Bernard Taylor's words, not Martin's. They are recorded here so that nobody attributes them to him later.
His statements on Ukraine, on the war with Iran and on American military strikes in the Caribbean and against Venezuelan vessels. Different questions from what the United States sends to the government of Israel.
That neither Democratic candidate took committee money, treated as a position on weapons or funding. A money-refusal is a separate thing and is never read here as a position on what the United States sends.
Brian Mast's, Alexander Cooke's and David Fabrikant's records. Another candidate's record belongs on that candidate's own card.
The cost of living, clean water, health care, immigration and Social Security material that fills his platform. Out of scope.
Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)
https://www.wflx.com/2026/08/21/james-martin-take-brian-mast-after-wining-democratic-primary-floridas-21st-congressional-district/ and https://cbs12.com/news/election/florida-election-news-james-martin-wins-democratic-primary-will-face-brian-mast-in-florida-21-congressional-district-bernard-taylor-concedes-november-3-matchup (opened; 2026-09-18; both report the primary result and neither carries anything from him on this subject)
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/813825-anti-israel-activity-blurs-with-antisemitism-on-florida-campaign-trail/ , https://floridapolitics.com/archives/814669-james-martin-edges-out-bernard-taylor-for-democratic-nomination-in-cd-21/ , https://www.facebook.com/theKCIngramShow/posts/1824763655874758/ and https://www.facebook.com/61581331215858/posts/122167634865044373/ (could not open; 2026-09-18)
This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-18, not a claim that no other statement exists.
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.
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