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

Tom Hanson

Republican · U.S. House, Illinois District 5
✓From their own words
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. In their own words on March 19, 2024.

Hanson answered "No" to both aid questions in a 2024 WTTW candidate guide: whether the U.S. should provide Israel with money in its fight against Hamas, and whether it should provide military supplies. Local coverage says his platform opposes military aid to Israel and Ukraine.

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Deep Dive

Hanson is the Republican candidate for Illinois's 5th District. He ran for the same seat in 2024.

His position is recorded as answers rather than statements. In the WTTW voters' guide for the 2024 primary, read in full, he answered "No" to "Should the U.S. provide Israel with money in its fight against Hamas?" and "No" to "Should the United States provide Israel with aid in the form of military supplies in its fight against Hamas?" He also answered "No" on military supplies for Ukraine. He used the full range elsewhere on the same form, answering "Yes" on background checks for gun sales and "No" on an assault-weapons ban, which is what makes these answers evidence of a position rather than a blanket refusal to engage.

Local 2026 coverage describes his platform the same way: he "does not support aid to Ukraine or Israel".

The opposition is to foreign military aid generally rather than aimed at this conflict specifically, and he has published no statement on U.S. aid to Palestinians or on the conflict itself. In a 2022 voter guide he indicated "Strongly Disagree" on supporting the BDS movement.

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

  • [Position, 2024-03-19] WTTW candidate guide, opened and confirmed. Verbatim question and answer pairs: "Should the U.S. provide Israel with money in its fight against Hamas?" answered "No"; "Should the United States provide Israel with aid in the form of military supplies in its fight against Hamas?" answered "No"; "Should the United States provide Ukraine with aid in the form of military supplies?" answered "No." **Questionnaire test satisfied:** on the same form he answered "Yes" to background checks on all gun sales and "No" to an assault-weapons ban, so he used the range rather than declining to engage.
  • [Position, 2026-02-26] Moraine Valley coverage of the 2026 primary, confirmed verbatim: "Does not support aid to Ukraine or Israel." A reporter's summary of his platform, not his words.
  • His opposition covers foreign military aid generally, which is how the card and deep dive describe it, per the rule against rendering a blanket position as an Israel-specific one.
  • He has no federal voting record.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • No statement or documented position found by the research.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located beyond the aid answers above.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Earlier record, 2022-11-08] A voter-guide questionnaire records "Strongly Disagree" on supporting the BDS movement against Israel (iVoterGuide entry). Boycott politics is outside what this project tracks on cards; recorded here. Note this sits alongside his opposition to military aid, which a reader may find surprising, so both are on the page.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • Nothing located.

Consulted

Also in this race

  1. ? Mike Quigley (Democrat)

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.