But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Troy Dale Jackson
Democrat · U.S. Senate, Maine
✓OpposesFrom 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.
Jackson opposes U.S. military aid to the government of Israel. He pledges he will "never vote in favor" of such aid, and told a Sept. 26 town hall he was "not willing to vote for any more bombs". His campaign site reads: "No U.S. tax dollars to Israel's military."
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Jackson, a former Maine Senate President and fifth-generation logger, became the Democratic nominee against Sen. Collins at the party's July 25, 2026 nominating convention, after Graham Platner's departure from the race. He entered with almost no record on this issue from two decades in the state legislature, and then made his position unmistakable within weeks.
On July 9, 2026, responding to reports of a Palestinian aid worker killed in Gaza, he wrote: "This is unconscionable. Anybody with eyes and a heart knows the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza." The same day he pledged: "When I’m in the US Senate, I’ll never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel." Both spans appear in the Jerusalem Post's account. He also pledged on X to reject "all money from corporate PACs, AIPAC, and lobbyists from Big Oil and Big Pharma", a pledge about his own fundraising (AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobbying group), separate from his position on the aid.
His campaign site carries the line "No U.S. tax dollars to Israel's military", and his campaign describes his broader approach as putting "diplomacy ahead of open-ended military intervention". In September his campaign restated his position to Drop Site News: he "opposes U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel" and "has described Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide." Coverage of his nomination noted he stayed quiet on Israel in his convention acceptance speech, which focused on economic issues, labor, and Collins. He has not said what the United States itself should fund for Palestinians.
At a town hall in Belfast on Sept. 26, a voter asked the candidates whether they would commit to voting against "any aid for the state of Israel". He answered that he was "not willing to vote for any more bombs, any more aid going." In a NEWS CENTER Maine interview days later, he said of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "I don’t want the United States sending money, a blank check, to him anymore".
In the same interview he said of the word genocide: "It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust". On Sept. 30 he apologized in a statement: "I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews," he said. "In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say. I apologize for the pain that caused." He apologized for the generalization, not for calling it genocide.
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct support found in any cycle they have filed
Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-09-24) from the five lobbying groups we track, in any cycle they have filed.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
✓ Endorsed by Peace Action
Peace ActionA national peace and disarmament group. Its endorsements cover war, Pentagon spending and diplomacy broadly, not only U.S. weapons for the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that push to restrict or end U.S. weapons transfers to the government of Israel. Endorsements from these groups are shown for information; they do not decide the mark.
In their words
“When I'm in the US Senate, I'll never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel.”
“I support ending U.S. military aid that enables Israel’s assault on Gaza, which is a genocide. America must stop supplying weapons used to kill civilians and require compliance with U.S. and international law.”
“I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews”
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, 2026-07-15] Portland Press Herald voter guide (Maine Trust for Local News), his written answer to "Do you support an end to U.S. military aid in Israel? Is Israel committing a genocide in Gaza? Why or why not?": "Yes. I support ending U.S. military aid that enables Israel’s assault on Gaza, which is a genocide. America must stop supplying weapons used to kill civilians and require compliance with U.S. and international law. I support a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, full humanitarian access and accountability—toward a future where Palestinians and Israelis can live in freedom, dignity and security." The newspaper has since taken this page down. Its address (pressherald.com/voter-guide/candidates/troy-jackson/) returned a "Page not found" error (404) on 2026-10-05; his current page in the guide, Troy Dale Jackson (published 2026-09-25), asks no question about Israel or Gaza; and no archived copy of the old page was found. The answer above was read on the newspaper's page on 2026-09-26.
[Position, 2026-07-09] X post, verified verbatim via JPost (2026-07-25): "When I’m in the US Senate, I’ll never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel." Also carried by JTA and Times of Israel nomination coverage.
[Position, 2026-07] Campaign site: "No U.S. tax dollars to Israel's military." (priorities page and homepage, both re-read 2026-09-24).
[Position, 2026-08-05] Campaign statement: foreign policy prioritizing "diplomacy ahead of open-ended military intervention," strict congressional oversight, not enriching defense contractors (Bangor Daily News).
[Position, 2026-09-22, date of the report] A campaign spokesperson told Drop Site News that he "opposes U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel" and "has described Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide." Drop Site also reports that his campaign told New York Magazine his positions on Gaza have not changed.
[Position, 2026-09-26] Community conversation in Belfast with U.S. House candidate Matt Dunlap, recorded by C-SPAN ("Troy Jackson speaks during a community conversation in Belfast on September 26, 2026"). A voter asked both candidates whether they would commit "to voting against any aid for the state of Israel when you get to Washington". Jackson, in C-SPAN's transcript: "And so yeah, I definitely, you know, not willing to vote for any more bombs, any more aid going. I mean, I've said yesterday that Netanyahu is a war criminal. I would prosecute him." The Algemeiner (2026-09-29), which places the event on a Sunday, and the Daily Wire (2026-09-30) carry the same remarks in their own transcriptions.
[Position, 2026-09-29, interview posted that day] NEWS CENTER Maine candidate interview, recorded Sept. 28 and posted Sept. 29 according to the station. Of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "I don’t want the United States sending money, a blank check, to him anymore," (Bangor Daily News, 2026-09-30). The station's own report, as carried by Yahoo News (2026-09-30), also quotes him: "The United States can't continue to send blank checks to Netanyahu to, you know, continue to perpetrate this."
U.S. aid to Palestinians
[Position, 2026-07-15] Press Herald voter guide answer: "I support a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, full humanitarian access and accountability" (the voter guide page above, since taken down). No statement located on U.S. funding for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or for Gaza humanitarian programs.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, 2026-07-09] Verified verbatim (JPost above): "This is unconscionable. Anybody with eyes and a heart knows the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza. It has to end, and we as Americans have the power to end it". Reporting describes him using "genocide" repeatedly through July 2026.
[Position, 2026-09-29] NEWS CENTER Maine interview, as quoted by Jewish Insider (2026-09-29): "It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust," and, asked about Hamas's role in starting the war: "There’s people that are wrong on both sides of this issue. But in the end, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop." He apologized for the first remark the next day (Safety and antisemitism, below).
[Position, 2026-09-30] Written statement (Bangor Daily News): "I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews," he said.
[Position, 2026-07-09, context] The Jewish Chronicle/JTA survey of possible Platner replacements (read) paraphrases the field's positions and notes none of the possible nominees responded to JTA's requests for comment; it contains no direct Jackson quotes.
[Position, 2026-08-05, context] His campaign adviser told the Bangor Daily News that the war in Gaza has led to a "staggering loss of civilian life, mass displacement" and that Jackson condemns Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack and supports a lasting peace with security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians (Bangor Daily News).
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, 2026-07, verified via JPost] "That means rejecting all money from corporate PACs, AIPAC, and lobbyists from Big Oil and Big Pharma." A money-refusal pledge, carried as campaign finance, never as a weapons/funding position (his aid position is separately stated in his own words above).
[Position, 2026-07-25] Convention acceptance speech omitted Israel and foreign policy, focusing on economic issues, labor, and Collins (JPost, JTA, ToI coverage above).
[Position, 2024-05-31] As state convention chairman, tried to quiet pro-Palestinian protesters who chanted during a video celebrating Rep. Jared Golden: "I believe in the ability of people to demonstrate and protest," he said. "There is a time for that." (Bangor Daily News, 2024-06-01)
[Position, 2026-09-22, third-party report] Drop Site News, relaying a New York Magazine report that was not opened, says national consultants urged him to soften his Gaza messaging, and that at a September town hall he spoke of people suffering on "both sides" and said Gaza and Israel both "deserve to be there, be protected" (Drop Site News). Reporting about him, not his published position.
[Position, 2026-09-25, third-party report] Drop Site News reports an internal campaign document it reviewed in which consultants tell him to move away from calling the war a genocide and to call for a block on "offensive weapons". The document's suggested line, as Drop Site prints it: "I think Israel has the right to defend itself, but I do not support the United States sending offensive weapons that enable more killing." Drop Site also reports volunteers' accounts that town halls with open audience questions were canceled; the campaign told Drop Site that no publicly announced event of that kind was canceled. Reporting about him, not his published position.
[Position, 2026-09-25, third-party report] The same Drop Site report says he posted a new condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X that afternoon; the post itself was not read.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
[Position, 2026-09-30] Apology for his NEWS CENTER Maine remark about Jewish Mainers' views (Characterization, above). His written statement, after its first sentence: "In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say. I apologize for the pain that caused." (Bangor Daily News). In the statement as sent to Newsweek (2026-10-01) he added: "In the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis". The apology was carried widely, including by CNN and the Portland Press Herald.
[Context, 2026-09-30] Reactions in the Bangor Daily News: the president of Congregation Beth Israel in Bangor said, "If he’s apologizing for anything to the Maine Jewish community, he should apologize for calling it a genocide." J Street, a liberal Zionist group that supports a two-state solution, said it was "proud to stand with Troy Jackson".
Pages that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them
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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