But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Trina Swanson

Democrat · U.S. House, Minnesota District 8
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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. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Swanson, a retired federal official challenging Rep. Pete Stauber, has no verified positions on aid to Israel, aid to Palestinians, or the conflict. Her reported forum statements, conditioning aid and refusing AIPAC contributions, rest on pages that did not yield them; a similarly named columnist’s writing is not hers.

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Deep Dive

Swanson is the DFL nominee in Minnesota’s 8th District.

The research reports that at an April 2026 University of Minnesota Duluth forum she indicated support for conditioning funding to Israel and said she would not accept AIPAC contributions while defending other PAC money as necessary against an incumbent. The pages offered for those statements did not yield them, so they stay reported; her own site carries no Israel content.

Two conflations are excluded by name: a KAXE primary-guide answer calling aid to Israel in Gaza "evil" belongs to a primary rival, not her, and a 2019 student column on the conflict was written by a different person sharing her surname. Neither appears anywhere on this card.

Nothing verified exists on any tracked topic. Ask Swanson directly and send us the reply: it goes on this page in her own words.

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 2026-09-27) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

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

  • [Reported, 2026-04-26] The conditioning-support forum statement; the offered pages did not yield it.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing verified. Excluded conflations: the rival’s "evil" guide answer and the same-surname 2019 column, neither hers.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Reported, 2026-04-26] The AIPAC-refusal and PAC-defense forum statements; same unyielding carriers. No tracked committee support.

Safety and antisemitism

  • Nothing located at any date.

Sources retrieved for this card

Race and status context

  • DFL nominee against Rep. Pete Stauber, whose card carries a detailed record. KAXE’s race report confirms the matchup.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Pete Stauber (Republican)

All Minnesota candidates.

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.