But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Lydia Christensen
Christensen, the Libertarian nominee, says she "would vote against continued military aid to Israel until there is independent verification of compliance with the Genocide Convention and full, unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza." She would also force floor votes on major arms sales to the government of Israel.
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You asked Lydia Christensen where they stand.
Deep Dive
Lydia Christensen is the Libertarian Party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan. Her platform plank, "Ending U.S. Complicity in Gaza", treats her vote against further military aid to the government of Israel as a condition, not a permanent position: it holds until there is independent verification of compliance with the Genocide Convention and full humanitarian access into Gaza, and "If the conduct changes, the vote changes." She writes that U.N.-appointed experts, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and two Israeli human rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have concluded that Israel committed genocidal acts in Gaza, that she finds their conclusion credible, and that "American tax dollars don't have to wait" for an International Court of Justice ruling.
As senator she says she would enforce the Leahy Law, which bars U.S. security assistance to any foreign military unit credibly implicated in gross human rights violations, whatever country's flag it serves under; force floor votes on major arms sales to Israel under the Arms Export Control Act; and oppose Section 219 of the NDAA, which she says merges U.S. and Israeli military supply chains. The plank closes: "This isn't about abandoning an ally. American taxpayers don't fund atrocities, and Congress decides what this country underwrites, not a president alone." It names humanitarian access into Gaza but no U.S. aid program for Palestinians.
Ask Christensen directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in her own words.
The record
• Her campaign platform carries a foreign-policy plank, 'Ending U.S. Complicity in Gaza', in which she says she would vote against continued U.S. military aid to the government of Israel until there is independent verification of compliance with the Genocide Convention and full, unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza, and states this is a condition rather than a permanent position.
• In the same plank she commits, as Senator, to three further acts on what the United States sends the government of Israel: enforcing the Leahy Law, which bars U.S. security assistance to a foreign military unit credibly implicated in gross human rights violations, rather than waiving it; forcing a Senate floor vote on major U.S. arms sales to Israel under the Arms Export Control Act instead of letting them proceed without Congress on record; and opposing Section 219 of the NDAA, which she says merges U.S. and Israeli military supply chains.
• Her campaign platform's Gaza plank sets out her reason for conditioning U.S. military aid to the government of Israel: she writes that United Nations-appointed independent experts, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Israeli organizations B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have concluded that Israel committed genocidal acts in Gaza, that she finds that conclusion credible, and that American tax dollars need not wait for an International Court of Justice ruling on the merits before the United States stops funding that conduct; the plank closes by saying that Congress, not a president alone, decides what the United States underwrites.
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. In their own words on July 11, 2026.
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found
In their words
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Our research for this card began on 2026-08-06 and was brought up to date on 2026-09-26, when every page linked below was opened and read unless the entry says otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. Christensen has never held federal office, so none of the votes this site tracks is hers. The tracked funding figures are shown as badges on this card and are not restated here.
U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel
- [Position, platform read 2026-09-26] Her Gaza platform plank, "Ending U.S. Complicity in Gaza": "As it stands today, I would vote against continued military aid to Israel until there is independent verification of compliance with the Genocide Convention and full, unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza. That's not a permanent position. It's a condition. If the conduct changes, the vote changes." The page carries no date ("Policies on this page are living documents"), so it is dated here to the day it was read.
- [Position, platform read 2026-09-26] The same plank: "U.S. law already has a tool for this. The Leahy Law prohibits American security assistance to any foreign military unit credibly implicated in gross human rights violations. It should be enforced, not waived."
- [Position, platform read 2026-09-26] Under "As Senator, Lydia will:" the plank lists: "Vote against continued military aid to Israel pending independent verification of Genocide Convention compliance and full humanitarian access into Gaza"; "Support enforcement of the Leahy Law against any military unit credibly implicated in human rights violations, regardless of which country's flag it operates under"; "Force a floor vote on major arms sales to Israel under the Arms Export Control Act, instead of letting them proceed without Congress on record"; and "Oppose Section 219 of the NDAA, which merges U.S. and Israeli military supply chains." It closes: "This isn't about abandoning an ally. American taxpayers don't fund atrocities, and Congress decides what this country underwrites, not a president alone."
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- [Position, platform read 2026-09-26] The plank makes "full, unrestricted humanitarian access into Gaza" a condition of further military aid to the government of Israel. It names no U.S. aid program for Palestinians, and neither her issues index nor her campaign newsroom mentions UNRWA or U.S. humanitarian funding for Gaza.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, platform read 2026-09-26] The plank opens: "Independent experts appointed by the United Nations concluded that Israel has committed genocidal acts in Gaza. The International Association of Genocide Scholars reached the same conclusion. So did B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, two of Israel's own human rights organizations. So did Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. I find their conclusion credible." Then: "The International Court of Justice hasn't ruled on the merits yet. That ruling could be years away. American tax dollars don't have to wait for it to stop funding this."
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- None located. Her issues index and newsroom do not mention AIPAC or lobbying on this question.
What the campaign site and own pages say
- Her issues index groups her platform under a dozen headings. Under Foreign Policy, the Gaza plank above is the only one about Israel; the others, on reckless foreign wars, war powers and the war with Iran, are outside this question.
- Her campaign newsroom lists 11 press releases, from her candidacy announcement on August 1, 2025 to a September 21, 2026 release on White House press access. They cover her Libertarian nomination, a women's prison, the FCC and press freedom, a Justice Department ballot demand, Olympic gene testing, school investigations, denaturalization quotas, the Stonewall flag and a Native American boarding-school report. None addresses U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel or U.S. aid to Palestinians.
- Her Ballotpedia page records that she completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
The race
- Christensen (L), Abdul El-Sayed (D), Mike Rogers (R), Douglas P. Marsh (G), Walter Kristy (Natural Law Party) and Timothy Long (U.S. Taxpayers Party) are running in the general election on November 3, 2026, per Ballotpedia's race page. She advanced from the Libertarian convention on June 28, 2026.
Also in this race
- ✓Opposes Abdul El-Sayed (Democrat)
- ✗Supports Mike Rogers (Republican)
- ✓Opposes Douglas P. Marsh (Green)
- –No Position Found Tim Long (Other)
- –No Position Found Walter P. Kristy (Other)
All Michigan candidates.
See everyone on the Michigan ballot →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.