But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Gordon Heslop
Republican · U.S. House, Louisiana District 4
?Mixed
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.
Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: In a 2026 voter-guide answer he says the relationship matters because "they are a democracy in a very troubled part of the world" and "help us oppose radical Islam", without saying where he stands on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.
Heslop is a Republican candidate in Louisiana's 4th District, a retired accounting educator who campaigns under the slogan Make America Normal Again.
His own words on the subject come from a candidate survey he filled in across the whole form during an earlier run in another state. Asked whether the United States' relationship with Israel is important and why, he wrote: "Yes, it is important because they are a democracy in a very troubled part of the world and help us oppose radical Islam." On American foreign policy generally he chose the option favouring selective help to countries seeking freedom, and explained it at length: "I absolutely oppose isolation, it got us into two world wars in the past and we don't need a third." He also marked strong agreement that Islamic terrorism threatens American national security.
That is an endorsement of the relationship and a general preference for engagement abroad. It does not say what the United States should send, in weapons or in money, and this card does not turn it into that. He has run in three states this cycle, and the answers above were given for one of the earlier races rather than this one, which is recorded here rather than smoothed over.
One set of claims that would bear directly on the question is not used. A candidate-profile host is reported to carry planks of his conditioning support on a direct threat to Israel's existence and ending foreign aid until domestic needs are met. That host cannot be rendered by either of our routes, and under a standing rule it is never used as a source. If those planks are his, this card understates him.
If you want to know where he stands on U.S. weapons and U.S. money, ask him directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.
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 that opens and reaches transfers.
[Position, read 2026-08-20] His candidate survey. Opened and confirmed word for word. On the foreign policy range question he answered: "B. I strongly support the US being an active partner in the free world and selectively helping countries gain and maintain freedom. This does not mean I want the US to be fighting all over the world. The world is a better place the more free countries that exist and the US benefits greatly - for example, a free Europe after WWII is now our biggest trading partner. I absolutely oppose isolation - it got us into two world wars in the past and we don't need a third." No transfer, figure or recipient is named, so no position on transfers is claimed from it.
⚠ The form's own header reads "Voter Guide Profile for MO U.S. Representative, District 8 candidate", so these answers were given for a Missouri race rather than this one. They are his answers, and the card says which race they come from. The page carries no answer date and is banded to the day it was read. ⚠ The questionnaire test is satisfied: he answered across the form at length, including free-text answers on immigration and on the Chinese Communist Party.
⚠ **Two planks are reported and are NOT used.** A candidate-profile host is reported to carry him saying the United States should "Support Israel only if its existence is directly threatened" and should "End all foreign aid until America's domestic needs are met", and to carry a proposal to "Ban all lobbying firms to eliminate conflicts of interest". Every address for these is on localcandidates.org, which is unrenderable by both of our routes and is barred as a source under a standing rule. The first of those planks would be a direct answer to the question this project asks. It is written out here so a reader can see what is missing, and nothing from it is on the card.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located. The reported foreign-aid plank above is not used, for the reason given.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, read 2026-08-20] The survey answer quoted above is the whole of it: a democracy in a troubled region that helps the United States oppose radical Islam. Confirmed word for word. On the same form he marked "Strongly Agree" that "Islamic terrorism is a threat to the United States' national security", adding "Totally agree". No characterization of the war in Gaza or of Palestinian statehood was located.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
Nothing located that opens. The reported lobbying plank is on the barred host described above.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
[Position, read 2026-08-20] The same survey has him answering a question on compelled service with a hypothetical about a Jewish baker being asked to decorate a cake carrying an antisemitic message. His point is about compelled speech and religious conscience rather than about antisemitism as such. Confirmed word for word on the page. Recorded here and deliberately kept out of the card summary: the offensive phrase in the hypothetical is the example he chose to argue against, and reproducing it on a card would carry it further than his meaning.
[Prior, undated on its page] A local news report has him urging the immediate deportation of a visiting scholar over statements about Hamas and Hezbollah, during his Missouri campaign. The article opens and confirms the substance, describing him as "A Republican candidate for the Eighth Congressional District in Missouri" challenging that district's incumbent, and quotes him: "We cannot be tolerant of intolerance and should never allow foreigners to campaign within the U.S. for the destruction of our nation and way of life." The page carries no publication date, so no day-precise date is asserted and no quote entry is created. Kept to this page: it concerns immigration enforcement over speech rather than what the United States sends.
Where else the absence was checked
[Consulted, read 2026-08-20] His campaign site. Opened and read in full; no mention of Israel, Gaza, Palestinians, foreign aid or foreign policy. This is the required own-site check before a card rests on absence for a dimension.
[Consulted, read 2026-08-20] His Ballotpedia profile. Opened. It records that he has not completed the 2026 candidate survey for this race, and carries a 2026 survey completed for an earlier race, which was read in full. That survey covers the middle class, the national debt, home ownership, education and health care, and contains nothing in scope. Our search attributed the Israel answer to this survey; it is in fact on the other form, and the card cites the correct carrier.
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. His Ballotpedia profile records that he also sought Texas's 32nd District this cycle and lost that primary, and a Texas race page confirms it.
He has held no federal office, so there are no recorded votes on this card.
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.
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