But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Michael Bridgford
Independent · U.S. House, Iowa District 1
?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.
Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: A July 2026 post from his campaign about AIPAC money says "No foreign country gives a local Iowan that kind of money for nothing", without saying where he stands on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.
Nothing located has Bridgford taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. His campaign criticizes both opponents for taking what it calls "foreign-policy-focused lobby money" from AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group, and says he has taken none.
✉ Copy a message to send them
We don’t have a campaign email on file yet. Copy this message and send it through their website or a public social account.
If you send this from your own email, cc replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org so we can post their answer.
Michael Bridgford, a financial adviser from Bettendorf who grew up on a family farm near the Quad Cities, is running as an independent in Iowa's 1st District. He faces Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the Republican, and Christina Bohannan, the Democrat, on November 3. He has never held office, so there are no votes on this record.
What his campaign has said on this subject is about money in politics. On July 9, 2026 the campaign's Facebook page posted a video headed "AIPAC tracker reporting", listing what it said each opponent had received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and nothing for him. It said: "No foreign country gives a local Iowan that kind of money for nothing." And: "They give it because they want something back from us, a favor, a vote, a blind eye in Washington when it counts." On September 24 a second post said whether he has taken AIPAC money is one of the three questions the campaign hears most, described the group as "an influential U.S. lobbying group that advocates for pro-Israel policies in the federal government", and called his opponents' receipts "foreign-policy-focused lobby money".
Neither post says what he would have the United States send the government of Israel or Palestinians. His campaign site's issue pages cover congressional reform, farm policy, health care prices, Social Security, manufacturing and the national debt, and do not mention Israel, Gaza or foreign aid. He has left all 32 of iVoterGuide's 2026 questions unanswered. Two interviews in which he discusses foreign policy, on WHO 13 in Des Moines and on Bleeding Heartland, are video only and are listed on his research page.
You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Bridgford directly, or at a candidate forum, what he would have the United States send, 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.
In their words
“No foreign country gives a local Iowan that kind of money for nothing.”
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 2026-10-08 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site is built so that a plain reader sees only an outline of its pages; its published text, for all of its pages, was read from the file the pages themselves load. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. Undated pages are recorded on the date we read them. Bridgford has never held office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks is his, and no funding from the committees this site tracks is recorded on this record. Nothing located on this subject falls in the reaction window.
U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel
Nothing located, at any date. No page read for this card says what he would have the United States send the government of Israel.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located, at any date.
Characterization of the conflict
Nothing located, at any date.
[Undated, read 2026-10-08] His iVoterGuide profile lists "Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?" with "Did not answer". All 32 of its questions read "Did not answer", so the blank is a fact about the guide's coverage of him.
Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, 2026-07-09] His campaign's Facebook page, Bridgford For Iowa, posted a video whose caption opens "AIPAC tracker reporting TLDR:" with dollar amounts for Christina Bohannan and Mariannette Miller-Meeks and "$0.00" for Bridgford, then: "Do you think a foreign countries hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars because they love Iowa?" and "No foreign country gives a local Iowan that kind of money for nothing." and "They give it because they want something back from us, a favor, a vote, a blind eye in Washington when it counts." and "Iowa needs someone who only answers to America." It points readers to an online tracker of money linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The caption speaks of him in the third person ("That's Michael Bridgford"); it is the campaign's text. The video itself was not watched.
[Position, 2026-09-24] A second post on the same page: "One of the top 3 questions we get:" followed by "Have you taken AIPAC money" and "(AIPAC is an influential U.S. lobbying group that advocates for pro-Israel policies in the federal government.)" It gives the tracker's figures for the three candidates, asks which opponent is "taking this much foreign-policy-focused lobby money", and says that voting for either party leaves "favors already owed in your name to special interests." The video itself was not watched.
[Read 2026-10-08] His campaign site's Join Us page: "Unlike my opponents, who are supported by millions of dollars from the foreign-interest lobby, healthcare lobby, big tech, crypto/AI corporations, and D.C. leadership funds, my campaign is built by people." It names no organization. The page carries no date.
[Read 2026-10-08] His campaign site's issue pages are headed: congressional term limits, a stock-trading ban and campaign finance reform; the farm economy, biofuels and small business; health care price transparency and rural clinics; Social Security; manufacturing and the skilled trades; the affordability crisis and fiscal responsibility; and fundamental freedoms and the Constitution. A search of the whole site's text for Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, AIPAC, Iran, Ukraine and antisemitism returns nothing.
[Position, 2026] His 2026 Ballotpedia answers name congressional reform, affordability and AI data centers as his three key messages, and list endorsements from the Forward Party, the Independent Leadership Council and Joe Manchin. Ballotpedia records that he signed the Political Integrity Pledge. None of it mentions Israel.
[2026-04-16] Iowa Public Radio's report on his launch describes him as "an independent financial advisor from Bettendorf" and quotes him on China, Russia and artificial intelligence; nothing on Israel.
The race
[Read 2026-10-08] Ballotpedia lists him as an independent on the November 3, 2026 ballot with Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) and Christina Bohannan (D); the Iowa Secretary of State's candidate list prints him as "No Party".
Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them
WHO 13's April 2026 interview, in which the station says he gives "his opinion on the economy, foreign policy, immigration, healthcare, and more": https://who13.com/news/politics/iowa-politics/meet-independent-candidate-for-congress-michael-bridgford/ (the page did not open; its other version opens, and the interview is video only).
Bleeding Heartland's interview of April 17, 2026, by Laura Belin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhPR6RMGo-E (video; no transcript could be opened).
The Iowa Podcast interview: https://iowapodcast.com/michael-bridgford/ (audio).
The two Facebook videos above, whose captions were read but whose spoken words were not.
His campaign X account, @Bridgford4Iowa: https://x.com/Bridgford4Iowa (its most recent posts open and none is on this subject; the rest need a signed-in reader), and his campaign Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts, as listed by Ballotpedia.
Not on the card, and why
The dollar amounts the campaign's posts give for his opponents: their records, not his words; the funding badges on their own cards carry what this site tracks.
The Join Us page's "foreign-interest lobby" line: it names no organization, and the page's text reaches a reader only after it loads.
The blank iVoterGuide entry: guide coverage, not a position.
His platform on congressional reform, farm policy, health care, Social Security and AI: out of scope.
Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)
https://www.facebook.com/bridgfordforiowa/videos/aipac-tracker-reporting-tldrbohannon-303959miller-meeks-150491bridgford-000ask-y/995981430097916/; caption opened, video not watched; 2026-10-08
https://www.facebook.com/bridgfordforiowa/videos/one-of-the-top-3-questions-we-gethave-you-taken-aipac-moneyaipac-is-an-influenti/1606815604256600/; caption opened, video not watched; 2026-10-08
seven campaign press releases linked from his site's news page (media.base44.com); opened; 2026-10-08
https://x.com/Bridgford4Iowa; profile and recent posts opened; 2026-10-08
https://who13.com/news/politics/iowa-politics/meet-independent-candidate-for-congress-michael-bridgford/; could not open (403); its /amp/ version opened, video not watched; 2026-10-08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhPR6RMGo-E; page opened, video not watched; 2026-10-08
https://iowapodcast.com/michael-bridgford/; not opened (audio); 2026-10-08
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.