But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Addison P. McDowell
- Backed with $20K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by AIPAC
McDowell's located record is about Hamas and domestic protests, not about aid. Introducing a bill on masked offenders he called October 7 "the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust." No position on U.S. weapons or funding was located.
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You asked Addison P. McDowell where they stand.
Deep Dive
McDowell has represented North Carolina's 6th District since 2025.
His fullest located statement is in his March 2025 release introducing the Unmasking Hamas Act, which would raise penalties for people who wear masks or disguises while destroying federal property or violating others' civil rights. It says that on October 7, 2023, "the world saw over 1,200 men, women, and children, including 46 Americans and citizens of more than 30 countries, slaughtered by Hamas," that this "marked the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust," and that 254 people were taken hostage. Its subject is protests on American campuses and federal land rather than U.S. assistance.
In May 2025 he led a House resolution honouring Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two Israeli embassy employees murdered in Washington, and condemning antisemitism.
His recorded votes appear as badges on this card.
What is not on the record is his reasoning. No statement of his was located on U.S. weapons or funding for the government of Israel, on conditioning assistance, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. The research turned up a general line about standing with Israel; it could not be found on the page cited for it, so it is not quoted here.
If you want his answer on the record, ask him directly and send us the reply.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes
• Vote record imported from official House Clerk roll calls for H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034, and H.R. 8369. Other position fields remain under investigation.
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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Voted to send weapons or funding in more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes.)
The money
$20K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
AIPAC (2026 endorsement)
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 statement located on U.S. weapons transfers, funding measures or conditioning assistance to the government of Israel, apart from his recorded votes, which appear as badges on this card.
- [Position, undated, reported] He is reported to have said "Israel has the absolute right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I will always stand with Israel and its people." **His Ballotpedia page was opened and does not contain that sentence, and no other source for it was located.** It is not quoted on the card or in the deep dive.
- [Position, 2025-02-12, reported] Described as supporting House legislation on bilateral U.S.-Israel defence cooperation as part of his legislative posture. The research names no bill number and no source statement by him; recorded, not stated as his position.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- No statement or documented position located.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-03-11] His release introducing the Unmasking Hamas Act, opened and confirmed word for word: "On October 7, 2023, the world saw over 1,200 men, women, and children, including 46 Americans and citizens of more than 30 countries, slaughtered by Hamas. This marked the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust and included 254 victims taken hostage, including 12 Americans." And: "While we stand strong in the face of terrorism and work to bring the hostages home, Hamas-inspired protests continue to ravage throughout our universities, college campuses, and federal lands."
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2025-03-11] The Unmasking Hamas Act, H.R. 1952, would increase federal criminal penalties for wearing a mask or disguise while destroying federal property or violating civil rights (confirmed above). A domestic criminal-penalties bill named for Hamas; it is recorded here rather than as a position on assistance.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Position, 2025-05-23] Led a House resolution honouring Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, Israeli embassy employees murdered in Washington, and condemning antisemitism. Safety context, never an answer about U.S. weapons or funding. Not opened.
Consulted
- Ballotpedia, opened; Wikipedia; a freshman-class profile; LegiScan; Legistorm. Of eleven sources found, seven are duplicates of two of his own releases.
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Cyril Jefferson (Democrat)
All North Carolina candidates.
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