But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Missi Hesketh
Democrat · U.S. House, Missouri District 7
✓Opposes
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.
Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: She says she cannot justify continuing to send bombs and missiles to Israel, and her later call to supply only those acting humanely points the same way, so taken together it reads as a suspension. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-01. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.
Hesketh told a public radio interviewer she has "a hard time justifying the United States continuing to provide bombs and missiles to Israel, when they're focused on hospitals and schools, where the innocents are holed up."
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Hesketh is the Democratic candidate for Missouri's 7th District, running against Rep. Eric Burlison.
Asked about Gaza by KSMU in July 2024, she answered: "I don't know what the perfect fix for it is. But I really have a hard time justifying the United States continuing to provide bombs and missiles to Israel, when they're focused on hospitals and schools, where the innocents are holed up waiting for, you know, a chance to go home, which, they don't even have homes anymore." She called it "a devastating situation," said "if there could be an absolute ceasefire, that would be ideal," and added: "I understand that Hamas is, you know, not trustworthy with that, and that Israel wants retaliation. But there are just too many innocent people being killed."
In a second KSMU interview in October 2024 she generalised the principle rather than naming Israel: "I think that we should be cautious in the amount of money that we and materials that we supply to organizations that are not necessarily following the most humane approaches to preserving their freedoms. So helping those who need help but ensuring that those people are being humane in their approaches would be my stance on American politics there."
She has no federal voting record.
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.
In their words
“I really have a hard time justifying the United States continuing to provide bombs and missiles to Israel, when they're focused on hospitals and schools, where the innocents are holed up waiting for, you know, a chance to go home, which, they don't even have homes anymore.”
“I think that we should be cautious in the amount of money that we and materials that we supply to organizations that are not necessarily following the most humane approaches to preserving their freedoms.”
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, 2024-07-31] KSMU candidate interview, opened and confirmed word for word: "I don't know what the perfect fix for it is. But I really have a hard time justifying the United States continuing to provide bombs and missiles to Israel, when they're focused on hospitals and schools, where the innocents are holed up waiting for, you know, a chance to go home, which, they don't even have homes anymore." Note the interview transcript includes a bracketed editorial note from KSMU that it cannot independently verify the casualty figures cited earlier in the exchange; that note is the outlet's, about its own reporting, and is not part of her answer.
[Position, 2024-10-24] KSMU Informed Voter Coalition interview, opened and confirmed word for word: "When it comes to situations like are going on with Israel and Palestine, and now it's spreading outwards, I think that we should be cautious in the amount of money that we and materials that we supply to organizations that are not necessarily following the most humane approaches to preserving their freedoms. So helping those who need help but ensuring that those people are being humane in their approaches would be my stance on American politics there." A conditionality principle stated in general terms, which is why the card leads on the July answer where she names what is being supplied and to whom.
She has no federal voting record.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
No distinct position located. Her July 2024 answer concerns weapons rather than humanitarian aid.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, 2024-07-31] Confirmed verbatim: "So it is, it's a devastating situation. And if there could be an absolute ceasefire, that would be ideal. I understand that Hamas is, you know, not trustworthy with that, and that Israel wants retaliation. But there are just too many innocent people being killed."
[Position, 2024-10-24] Described the conflict as "spreading outwards" (confirmed verbatim, above).
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[2024-10] CAIR Action Missouri listed her as a "Preferred" candidate in its voter guide, as reported citing the guide. An advocacy organisation's rating of her, not a statement by her; consulted, never a card source, and nothing about her position is inferred from it.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
[Position, 2026-02, reported] After a social media post about Muslims by her opponent, her campaign manager contacted the Islamic Center of Springfield on her behalf. An action by a staff member on her behalf rather than a statement by her, and about anti-Muslim rather than anti-Jewish prejudice; recorded here and not on the card. The research's source is a third party's Facebook post, which is not readable and is not hers.
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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