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

Brenton Awa

Republican · U.S. House, Hawaii District 2
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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.

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No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Nothing located has Awa taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. The state Senate minority leader’s chamber adopted a 2024 Gaza-ceasefire resolution, but no remarks of his own on it, or on any of this, were located.

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Deep Dive

Awa is the Republican nominee in Hawaii’s 2nd District, a former television news anchor who leads the Republican minority in the state Senate and ran unopposed in the August 2026 primary.

The one adjacent fact in his record belongs to his chamber, not to him: in March 2024 the Hawaii State Senate adopted a concurrent resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. No floor remarks, votes attributed to him personally, or statements of his about that resolution were located, and this card does not convert his chamber’s act into his position.

Race coverage frames his challenge to the sitting member around local issues. Nothing located has him addressing U.S. military aid, the conflict, lobbying organizations, or antisemitism.

Ask Awa 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 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

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

  • Nothing located.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Chamber act, not his, 2024-03-22] The Hawaii Senate’s adoption of SCR 13 calling for a Gaza ceasefire, per Hawaii Public Radio. His chamber’s act; no personal remarks or recorded position of his located; deliberately not imputed.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • Nothing located. No tracked funding badge appears because no committee support is recorded for him.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • Nothing located.

Where the absence was checked

  • [Consulted, read 2026-08-21] Civil Beat’s race piece, retrieved: local-issues framing, no Israel content. His Ballotpedia profile and Wikipedia entry: career facts. A community-group Facebook post was offered and does not open; nothing claimed. No campaign-site address was located in the research record.

Race and status context

  • Republican nominee facing the sitting member, whose card carries its own record. His state-senate votes are outside what this site tracks; there are no recorded federal votes on this card.

Also in this race

  1. ? Jill N. Tokuda (Democrat)

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.