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

Chad Koppie

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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.

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.

Koppie's foreign-policy page is four words: "End Foreign Aid - Put America first." It names no country, and no statement was located on U.S. weapons or money for Israel's government, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians.

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Your record on weapons and funding for the government of Israel [ref: il7-koppie]

Dear Chad Koppie,

You're asking for my vote, and there is one question I can't find your answer to: should the United States keep sending weapons and funding to the government of Israel?

Your campaign hasn't said where you stand, and for many voters in this race it decides the vote. A short answer would help: will you vote against further weapons and funding for the government of Israel, or for enforceable conditions on that support?

I may share your answer publicly so other voters can see it.

Respectfully,
[Your name]

Website ↗X ↗Facebook ↗

Deep Dive

Koppie is the Republican candidate for Illinois's 7th District.

His campaign's foreign-policy page states his position in one line: "End Foreign Aid - Put America first." Read in full; the page is a little over 5KB and contains nothing further on the subject.

Ending all foreign aid would include aid to Israel and aid to Palestinians alike, but it is not aimed at either, and it is given here as the blanket position it is. He has published nothing located about this conflict specifically, about any package or transfer, or about the aid pipeline into Gaza.

If you want to know where he stands on those specifically, you are better placed to find out than we are. Ask Koppie directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.

In their words

“End Foreign Aid - Put America first.”

Source ↗, 2026-08-12

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

[Position, published 2026-08-12] His campaign's foreign-policy issues page, opened and confirmed word for word: "End Foreign Aid - Put America first." That is the entire substantive content of the page, which served 5,208 bytes. A blanket position covering all foreign aid, named as blanket rather than rendered as an Israel position.
No statement located on any package, transfer, or condition, and none naming Israel.
He has no federal voting record.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

No statement or documented position found. Ending all foreign aid would encompass it, which the deep dive says, but he has not addressed it.

Characterization of the conflict

Nothing located.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

Nothing located.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

Nothing located.

Consulted

WTTW 2026 voters' guide entry and his 2024 general entry; CBS Chicago on the IL-07 primary field; localcandidates.org; Capitol News Illinois primary coverage, which concerns the Senate primary rather than this race.

Also in this race

– La Shawn Ford (Democrat)

All Illinois candidates.