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

Lindsay James

Democrat · U.S. House, Iowa 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 James taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. A Presbyterian minister who co-founded a college peace institute, she is a priority candidate of J Street's political arm, which calls itself pro-Israel and pro-peace.

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Deep Dive

James is the Democratic nominee in Iowa’s 2nd District, a state representative and Presbyterian minister who won the June 2026 primary.

Her documented work near this subject is interfaith rather than legislative: she co-founded a college peace institute in Dubuque and has worked with interfaith bodies. J Street’s political arm lists her as a priority candidate, which is the organization’s act; she has no located statement adopting or rejecting its positions. When activists at the University of Iowa staged a die-in in February 2026, demanding that Iowa-based Collins Aerospace, which has an office in the district, "end [its] complicity" with Israel, she did not respond to the Washington Reporter’s request for comment.

Nothing located has her addressing U.S. military aid, weapons transfers, the conflict, or antisemitism in her own words. Ask James directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in her 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

  • Nothing located in her own words. The Washington Reporter noted she did not respond to its request for comment on the February 2026 die-in; a non-response, recorded as that.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Read 2026-09-25] JStreetPAC’s candidate page lists her as a “Priority” candidate and describes her background; it quotes no statement from her. Unlike some of its candidate pages, hers does not carry an “Endorsed” label. JStreetPAC, the political action committee of J Street, heads its candidate list “Pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy leaders”. The organization’s act; its positions are not imputed to her.
  • No tracked funding badge appears because no committee support is recorded for her.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • Her interfaith-dialogue work (the Dubuque peace institute; engagement with interfaith bodies such as the Children of Abraham coalition) is background, not position material.

Where the absence was checked

  • [Consulted] Her Ballotpedia profile, legislative profile, and the district coverage above. A survey profile was offered without in-scope answers. Her campaign issues page, read 2026-09-25, covers domestic issues only and does not mention Israel, Gaza or foreign aid.

Race and status context

  • Democratic nominee in an open-seat race; her Republican opponent’s card carries its own record. Her state-house votes are outside what this site tracks.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Joe Mitchell (Republican)
  2. ✓ Dave Bushaw (Independent)
  3. – Rick Stewart (Libertarian)

All Iowa 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.