But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Donavan McKinney
Democrat · U.S. House, Michigan District 13
✓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.
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McKinney is a Michigan state representative who won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th District on August 4, 2026, defeating the incumbent, Shri Thanedar.
His position is written down and it points in both directions the content rule asks about. The "Palestine" section of his campaign platform says: "We need to end the military aid and arms that America gives to Israel, and pass legislation like the Block the Bombs Act, which I pledge to co-sign when elected." The same paragraph asks for the opposite movement of American money toward Palestinians: "We must also resume funding for UNRWA and other NGOs that aim to help end the famine, ensure full access to high-quality medical care, and provide full access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians." Those are two separate asks about two different recipients, and the card names both.
On the same page he writes that "Israel needs to immediately end the genocide and release all Palestinians who have been detained", and asks that the remains of the dead be returned to their families.
He ran explicitly against his opponent’s ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and campaigned with Representative Rashida Tlaib, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. After winning he described the result as "the many versus the money". Those are statements about lobbying and money in politics rather than about what the United States sends, and they are on the research page as such.
He has held no federal office, so he has no recorded votes on any of this.
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 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
✓ Endorsed by JVP Action +4 more
JVP ActionJewish Voice for Peace's political arm, which now operates as JVP. It backs candidates who support Palestinian rights and work to end U.S. military funding to the government of Israel.USCPR ActionThe political arm of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Its endorsed candidates commit to block U.S. weapons transfers and military funding to Israel and to refuse AIPAC money.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.A New Policy PACA group backing congressional candidates who want a new U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine grounded in U.S. and international law, including conditions on military aid.Track AIPACA watchdog on AIPAC-linked money. It backs candidates who reject AIPAC support and call for an arms embargo and conditions on aid to 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
“We need to end the military aid and arms that America gives to Israel, and pass legislation like the Block the Bombs Act, which I pledge to co-sign when elected.”
“We must also resume funding for UNRWA and other NGOs that aim to help end the famine, ensure full access to high-quality medical care, and provide full access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians.”
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
Undated [Current position; VERIFIED]: The "Palestine" section of his campaign platform: "We need to end the military aid and arms that America gives to Israel, and pass legislation like the Block the Bombs Act, which I pledge to co-sign when elected." Read on the page. The page carries no publication date, so the date is the read date rather than a claim about when he wrote it.
2026-04-01 [Current position]: In an interview he said Detroit voters raised frustration about federal money going to foreign military action while working families struggled.
2026-08-05 [Current position; press characterization]: JTA reported his lead over the incumbent, describing him as having pledged to end Israel aid. The pledge itself is sourced above, from his own site; this is a news outlet's summary of it.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Undated [Current position; VERIFIED]: Same platform section: "We must also resume funding for UNRWA and other NGOs that aim to help end the famine, ensure full access to high-quality medical care, and provide full access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians."
⚠ **A CLEAN CASE FOR THE DIRECTION RULE.** He wants U.S. money to the Israeli military to stop and U.S. money to Palestinians to restart. A card that said only "opposes U.S. aid" would state the reverse of half his position. Both recipients are named on the card.
Characterization of the conflict
Undated [Current position; VERIFIED]: Same platform section: "Israel needs to immediately end the genocide and release all Palestinians who have been detained, as well as allow the remains to be reunited with the families of their loved ones."
2026-04-01 [Current position]: In the same interview he criticized U.S. involvement in the region, including what he described as a war with Iran for no reason.
2026-07-30 [Current position; press analysis]: The Times of Israel placed his race in a wider account of how Israel featured in Michigan's primaries.
2026-08-03 [Current position; press analysis]: NOTUS on Israel as a defining issue in those primaries.
Rhetoric and lobbying
2026-04-01 onward [Current position]: He criticized the incumbent for aligning with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and argued members of Congress should not depend on pro-Israel lobbying organizations. A criticism of lobbying is not itself a position on weapons or funding, and his funding position is sourced separately above.
2026-07-18 onward [Current position]: Joint rallies with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, reported by Common Dreams. He was also endorsed by MoveOn on 2026-05-28.
2026-08-05 [Current position]: At a post-primary press conference he called the result "the many versus the money" and "people versus the profits" (Bridge Detroit).
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends]: No statement by him on antisemitism or Jewish community safety was located. An initial search notes that press analyses in July 2026 observed his platform carried no section on antisemitism, and that his public safety platform is about gun violence intervention and infrastructure. Recorded because it is what was checked, not as a criticism.
Earlier record
His Wikipedia page covers his state legislative service and carries nothing located on this question.
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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