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

Darren Bailey

Republican · Governor, Illinois
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At a Palestinian American club in Bridgeview in 2022, Bailey questioned the constitutionality of Illinois laws penalizing companies that boycott the state of Israel. Nothing since, and nothing on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, was located.

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Deep Dive

Bailey is a former Illinois state senator and the Republican nominee for governor, a nomination he also held once before. He has never held federal office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks are his.

The one in-scope item on this record dates from his earlier run. In September 2022 he made a campaign stop at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview and gave an interview to Palestine TV. Asked about the Illinois measures penalizing companies that boycott the state of Israel, measures backed by the governor he was running against, he answered: "I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now." The Algemeiner, which reported the visit, wrote that he questioned the constitutionality of those measures; the Times of Israel reported the same event under a headline saying he seemed to oppose such laws. Neither outlet reports him saying he opposes them, and we are not going to sharpen a hedge into a position.

Two limits are worth stating. The question was about an Illinois statute governing state pension investments, not about U.S. weapons or money, so it does not answer what this site asks. And the Algemeiner report describes a map at the venue that labelled the whole territory Palestine; that is the outlet's account of the room, not something he said or endorsed, and it is not treated here as a position of his.

One other thing is on this record and is set out in full on the research page: in 2022 he was widely condemned, by Jewish organizations and by politicians of both parties, for comparing abortion to the Holocaust in a 2017 video that resurfaced during that campaign. It is not an answer to what the United States sends, and it is not used here as one. If you want his position on U.S. weapons and money for the government of Israel, or on aid to Palestinians, you are better placed to get it than we are: ask Bailey directly and send us the reply. It goes on this page in his own words.

The record

Notable actions

• September 2022 – As the GOP gubernatorial nominee, Bailey made a campaign stop at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview, Ill., speaking in front of a map that erased the state of Israel (labeling the whole region 'Palestine,' Jerusalem as its capital, and restoring the Golan Heights to Syria); in a Palestine TV interview he questioned the constitutionality of the Illinois anti-boycott measures backed by Gov. Pritzker.

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.

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

In their words

“I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now. And that makes sense, that’s what’s taking place in every aspect of government with this governor of ours. He doesn’t follow the law, he doesn’t follow the constitution. So the constitution will always be front and center. The Muslim community, the Arab community will always have a seat with me as we learn together, work together, and live together.”
Source ↗, 2022-09-12

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 in any band. A fresh search in August 2026 found no documented statement, policy proposal or legislative action by him on U.S. military aid, defense packages or weapons transfers to the government of Israel.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located in his own words that we can open. See the excluded social-media item below.

State action and Illinois law

  • [Prior, 2022-09-12] Campaign stop at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview during his earlier run for governor, reported by the Algemeiner and corroborated by the Times of Israel. In an interview with Palestine TV at the event he was asked about the Illinois measures against companies that boycott the state of Israel, backed by his opponent, and said, verified verbatim: "I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now." The report continues, in a separate span the reporter joins with an attribution, that he added: "And that makes sense, that’s what’s taking place in every aspect of government with this governor of ours. He doesn’t follow the law, he doesn’t follow the constitution. So the constitution will always be front and center. The Muslim community, the Arab community will always have a seat with me as we learn together, work together, and live together." The two spans are kept apart here because a reporter-stitched quotation is not re-joined.
  • Same report: the Algemeiner describes a map at the venue labelling the whole region Palestine, naming Jerusalem as its capital and placing the Golan Heights in Syria. That is the outlet's description of the venue, not a statement by him, and it is not used as one.
  • [Prior, 2023-10] The Bridgeview visit was raised against him in his later congressional primary. The Daily Line carries the story; its opening and photograph caption are readable and the rest sits behind a membership wall, so only the lede is relied on here. The attack itself circulated on an opponent's social-media page, which returns an error and is not linked.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • The record's own endorsement check resolved empty; no endorsement from any tracked advocacy group, on either side.
  • [Position, 2026, unverifiable] Our search reports a June 2026 comment attributed to him on a news organization's social-media post about a ceasefire, in which he is said to have written that the government of Israel would not leave Lebanon and to have called the president an asset of that government. The only address for it is a Facebook post that returns an error, the words would be a comment beneath someone else's post rather than a statement of his own, and the name is a common one. It is not verified, not quoted, and not on the card. It is written out here so a reader knows it was looked at and rejected.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • [Prior, 2017, resurfaced 2022-08-01] In a 2017 video he compared abortion to the Holocaust. CBS News Chicago quotes him, verified verbatim: "I believe that abortion is one of the greatest atrocities of our day, and I believe it's one of the greatest atrocities probably forever. The attempted extermination of the Jews of World War II doesn't even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion since its legalization." The same report records condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League's Midwest office and from his opponent's campaign, and carries his response in full, verified verbatim: "The Holocaust is a human tragedy without parallel. In no way was I attempting to diminish the atrocities of the Holocaust and its stain on history. I meant to emphasize the tragedy of millions of babies being lost. I support and have met with many people in the Jewish community in Illinois and look forward to continuing to work with them to make Illinois a safer and more affordable place for everyone."
  • [Prior, 2022-08-09] A week later he defended the comparison on WSPY radio. Capitol Fax publishes the exchange, verified verbatim: "The Jewish community themselves have told me that I’m right." And: "the Jewish rabbis they said, ‘No, you’re actually right.’" The site's author records that he asked the campaign for the rabbis' names. The Jerusalem Post also covered the episode. Context only. This is not an answer to what the United States sends, and it is not used as one.

Race and status context

Also in this race

  1. ✓ J.B. Pritzker (Democrat)
  2. – Collin Corbett (Independent)
  3. – Griselda Romero (write-in) (Green)

All Illinois 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.