But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Richard Bennett
Independent · Governor, Maine
–No Position Found
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.
No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.
Bennett has not spoken publicly on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. No statement was found in source-checked research across 7 sources.
The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.
7 sources checked and read, every one listed on the research page. Most candidates at this level have simply never been asked.
You are better placed to change that than we are. Ask Bennett directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in their own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about them.
An earlier check had already recorded, with a date, that no position on this question was found here, and that finding is preserved in the record.
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
What was looked for, and what came back
**U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel:** Material returned; set out in full below.
**Characterization of the conflict:** Material returned; set out in full below.
**Rhetoric and lobbying:** Material returned; set out in full below.
**Safety and antisemitism:** Material returned; set out in full below.
What an initial search did return, on the other questions
The card's claim is about what the United States sends, and that question came back empty. These questions did return material. It is reproduced word for word so nothing found is lost, and it is context rather than a position on U.S. weapons or money. Em dashes are rendered as hyphens to satisfy house style; no wording is changed.
### U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel No record of personal statements, legislative proposals, or public actions by Richard Bennett regarding U.S. military aid or weapons sales to Israel was found.
### Characterization of the conflict * **February 13, 1999:** While serving in the Maine State Senate, Bennett visited the Seeds of Peace camp in Otisfield, Maine, an international youth camp that brings together Israeli and Arab teenagers to foster dialogue. Praising the camp's mission and comparing it to Maine's political environment, Bennett stated that mutual respect is "a hallmark of what makes Maine special from a governmental point of view" and shared a Margaret Mead quote encouraging the young participants to make a difference.
Beyond this visit, no direct personal statements or public commentary characterization of the broader Israel/Palestine conflict by Bennett were identified.
### Rhetoric and lobbying * **April 28, 2021:** Bennett co-sponsored bipartisan legislation in the Maine Legislature aiming to restrict or eliminate funding for the Maine Information Analysis Center (MIAC), the state's police fusion center. The legislative effort followed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that MIAC had engaged in improper surveillance of environmental activists, gun owners, and counselors at the Seeds of Peace camp, an Israel-Palestine peacebuilding organization based in Maine. In a legislative public hearing regarding the bill, Bennett criticized the agency's overreach, stating that "from the days of its origins, the Maine fusion center has lacked the oversight, transparency, and proper accountability of a public agency".
No other specific public statements or actions regarding Israel-related lobbying or political rhetoric were found.
### Safety and antisemitism * **January 24, 2023:** During a Maine State Senate session, Bennett led the chamber in the Pledge of Allegiance on the day the legislature considered and adopted a Joint Resolution recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day and endorsing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
No other specific public statements or actions regarding Jewish safety or antisemitism were identified.
maine.gov [does not name the candidate in the text we could read]
Earlier finding, preserved
Checked 2026-07-18. "checked campaign site and news; no stance found on sending weapons/money to Israel." (the note of this earlier check points at a search-results page rather than a fixed page, so it is recorded without a link)
Not found
No position located on U.S. weapons, arms sales or military funding for the government of Israel.
No position located on U.S. aid to Palestinians, UNRWA or Gaza humanitarian funding.
This is a record of what was checked on 2026-08-11, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.
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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