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

Kyle Austin

Libertarian · U.S. Senate, Montana
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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.

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Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: Answering a June 2024 voter-guide question, he said the United States needs "a good relationship with Israel to maintain good foreign policy in the middle east", without saying where he stands on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Nothing located has Austin taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. A Montana Libertarian Party scorecard from his 2024 House run lists him as believing AIPAC should register as a foreign agent, which is about lobbying, not aid.

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Deep Dive

Austin is a pharmacist, farmer and small-business owner from Billings and Havre who won the Montana Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate on June 2, 2026.

Nothing located from him addresses what the United States sends to the government of Israel or to Palestinians. In 2024, when he ran in the Republican primary for Montana’s 2nd District, the Montana Libertarian Party’s Freedom Scores listed among his positions that he believes AIPAC should register as a foreign agent and does not believe the United States should have troops overseas without a formal declaration of war. That is about lobbying and war powers, not aid. The party’s 2026 posts on his Senate run criticize his grasp of libertarian positions and say nothing about Israel. A questionnaire answer from his 2024 House run, which carries no date, is on his research page.

You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Austin directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his 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 2026-07-13) 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

  • No position located on U.S. weapons transfers or funding to the government of Israel, in his own words or in the party's scoring of him.
  • 2024-05-31 [Party scorecard, 2024 House run]: The Montana Libertarian Party's 2024 Freedom Scores entry for "Kyle Austin (R)" lists, among his high-score issues, that he "Does not believe we should have troops overseas without a formal declaration of war" and "Believes AIPAC should register as a foreign agent", and among his low-score issues that he "Believes we should maintain US military bases in an offensive posture against North Korea, Russia, and China." It says nothing about aid to Israel. On the same page, the line "Favors ending foreign aid to Israel" belongs to the next entry, John Driscoll (D), and "End funding of foreign aid" to the entry before his, Ric Holden (R); neither is his.
  • 2026 [Party posts, Senate run]: The party blog explains why the party endorsed his primary opponent, Tom Jandron. It reports that participants at his town hall "noted an uncertainty regarding libertarian non-interventionism and basic war-powers debates" and says the party's view was informed by its 2024 scorecard of him. It says nothing about aid to Israel.
  • [Undated; questionnaire for the June 4, 2024 Republican primary in Montana's 2nd District] On his iVoterGuide profile for that primary, asked "Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?", he answered: "yes.. The United states needs a good relationship with Israel to maintain good foreign policy in the middle east." On the same form, asked which view of American foreign policy most closely resembles his, he chose **A**, "The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened." The page does not show when he answered, so the date could not be fixed beyond that primary. It is general support for the relationship and names no aid or weapons.
  • [Consulted] A Q&A with Yellowstone Public Radio from his 2024 House campaign (2024-05-21), and a Q&A with Montana Public Radio as the Libertarian Senate candidate (2026-05-06). No in-scope claim is taken from either.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • 2024-05-31 [Party scorecard]: The AIPAC-registration line above, as the party recorded it. It is about how a lobby is registered, not about what the United States sends.

Safety and antisemitism

  • Nothing located.

Identity and ballot status

What came back empty or unusable

  • No statement located on U.S. aid to Palestinians, UNRWA or Gaza humanitarian funding.
  • No position on aid to the government of Israel located, in his own words or in the party's scoring of him.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Kurt Alme (Republican)
  2. – Seth Bodnar (Independent)
  3. ✓ Alani Bankhead (Democrat)

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.