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

Matthew Gromlich

Democrat · U.S. House, Louisiana District 4
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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.

Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: His campaign's answer on Israel and Palestine calls it a genocide and rejects sending money to an aggressor, with nothing saying the weapons should keep flowing. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-01. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Gromlich's campaign priorities page says: "The Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people." In the same answer it says he "does not agree with sending money to any country that acts as the aggressor". He pledged "No AIPAC money. Period."

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Deep Dive

Gromlich is a Democratic candidate in Louisiana's 4th District, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University Shreveport running against the Speaker of the House.

Asked on his priorities page about outside influence in American elections and policymaking, naming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he answers that "Outside organizations, foreign or domestic, should not have undue influence over our government or our elections", frames it as a principle rather than a quarrel with one group, and ends: "I am against AIPAC and Citizens' United."

He has said the same thing in his own voice. In a March 2026 post on his campaign's Facebook page, read for this card by a volunteer, he wrote: "You've been asking. So let me be clear. No AIPAC money. Period." The post opposes "any politician" accepting "unlimited outside money — from any organization — and letting it shape how they govern", and calls that committee "one of the most powerful examples of how this system works", citing federal election records for its figures. A pledge about who funds a campaign is not a position on what the United States sends, and the two are kept apart here.

On what America sends, his priorities page now answers the question "What is your stance on Israel and Palestine?" in the third person: "The Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people. Matt does not support the actions of the Israeli government, does not take AIPAC money, and does not agree with sending money to any country that acts as the aggressor. Matt stands with the Palestinian people. Free Palestine." That answer was not on the page when it was read on August 20. He is also reported to have called, in July 2026, for the United States to stop sending weapons to Prime Minister Netanyahu. That cannot be checked: the addresses given for it are posts on another politician's page, and none of them opens. The addresses are on this card's research page so you can try them yourself. On the use of force his platform argues for "no endless wars, no unclear missions" and for military force as a last resort, without naming any country.

You are better placed to settle the rest than we are. Ask Gromlich directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his 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 2026-09-27) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

In their words

“You've been asking. So let me be clear. No AIPAC money. Period.”
Source ↗, 2026-03-17
“The Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people. Matt does not support the actions of the Israeli government, does not take AIPAC money, and does not agree with sending money to any country that acts as the aggressor.”
Source ↗, 2026-10-01

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, read 2026-10-01; undated live page] His priorities page, under the question "What is your stance on Israel and Palestine?", in the third person: "Matt does not support the actions of the Israeli government, does not take AIPAC money, and does not agree with sending money to any country that acts as the aggressor." The sentence names no country, but it is his campaign's answer to a question about Israel and Palestine. The question and answer were not on the page when it was read on 2026-08-20.
  • [Reported 2026-07-16, carriers do not open] He is reported to have published a campaign update calling on the United States to "Stop sending weapons to Netanyahu", to halt military aid supporting the war in Gaza, and to argue instead for "a real, just, and lasting peace". The addresses offered are one post and a second variant of the same post on another politician's page, and both return 400 to requests. Wrongly addressed and unreachable; no wording is quoted anywhere and nothing is claimed.
  • [Position, read 2026-08-20] His priorities page, under the heading "Military Families and National Security", answers "Do you support continued U.S. involvement in foreign wars?" Opened and confirmed word for word: "That means no endless wars, no unclear missions, and no putting families through repeated deployments without a defined purpose." And: "We should be prioritizing those relationships, along with smart national defense, so that military force is truly a last resort, used only when it is necessary to protect American lives and security." No country is named and no transfer is addressed, so nothing about the government of Israel is claimed from it.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located. His platform page would "Prioritize programs that directly improve the lives of working Americans rather than corporate subsidies or endless foreign aid" and "Reevaluate wasteful spending abroad and redirect resources toward domestic needs". Opened and confirmed word for word. That is a general budget preference. It names no recipient and is not read as a position on humanitarian aid either way.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, read 2026-10-01; undated live page] The same answer on his priorities page opens: "The Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people." It ends: "Matt stands with the Palestinian people. Free Palestine."
  • [Reported 2026-07-16, carriers do not open] He is reported to have characterized military action in Gaza under Prime Minister Netanyahu as a "genocide in Gaza". Same unreachable and wrongly addressed carriers as above, linked there. Nothing claimed.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2026-03-17] **His own campaign Facebook post, human-verified.** A volunteer opened and read the post on his campaign's own page, Matt Gromlich for Congress, on 2026-08-20, and its text is saved verbatim in our records: "You've been asking. So let me be clear. No AIPAC money. Period. I don't believe any politician should be accepting unlimited outside money — from any organization — and letting it shape how they govern. AIPAC is one of the most powerful examples of how this system works. Swipe through to understand what they are, what they spend, and why it matters. All figures sourced via FEC data through OpenSecrets and Track AIPAC." The post is headed "Rejecting AIPAC money in politics" and displays the date March 17; the platform prints a bare month and day for current-year posts, which places it in 2026. Individual post addresses on this host could not be opened, so the link above is to the account. Recorded as a fundraising pledge and deliberately not written up as a weapons or funding position, per the standing rule that the two must not be conflated.

⚠ This resolves one of the reported items: the pledge text earlier reported through another politician's July 2026 page is word-for-word the text of this March post, so the pledge is his own and is now verified. The weapons and genocide statements reported through the same route remain unverified.

  • [Position, read 2026-08-20] His priorities page, under "Democracy, Ethics, and Accountability", answers a question that names the American Israel Public Affairs Committee directly. Opened and confirmed word for word: "Our elections and our policies should be decided by the American people. Period. Outside organizations, foreign or domestic, should not have undue influence over our government or our elections. That means greater transparency in political spending, stronger limits on outside influence, and making sure elected officials are accountable to their constituents, not to any special interest group. This isn't about one organization; it's about a principle: our government should reflect the will of the people who live here. No question. I am against AIPAC and Citizens' United." The page carries no publication date and is banded to the day it was read.
  • One further address was offered, a third party's post describing his funding. It is another person's page and does not open. Nothing claimed.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • Nothing located.

Where the absence was checked

  • [Consulted, read 2026-08-20] His campaign site front page, his blog index and his separate platform site. All three opened and were read in full. None mentioned Israel, Gaza, Palestinians, genocide or weapons on that date; on 2026-10-01 the priorities page carried the new answer on Israel and Palestine recorded above. This is the check the standing rule requires before a card rests on unverifiability, and it did not promote the reported weapons material.
  • [Consulted] Local coverage of his requalifying opens and carries nothing in scope.
  • Two further addresses on localcandidates.org were offered. That host could not be opened and is not used.

Race and status context

  • Qualified on Louisiana's certified list for the all-candidate November election in the 4th District, with a December runoff between the top two if nobody clears half the vote. Five candidates are on the ballot.
  • He has held no federal office, so there are no recorded votes on this card.

Also in this race

  1. ? Gordon Heslop (Republican)
  2. ✗ Mike Johnson (Republican)
  3. – Mike Nichols (Republican)
  4. ✓ Conrad Cable (Democrat)

All Louisiana 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.