Mark Harris
Harris's platform says the United States "should continue its unwavering support for the nation of Israel." After an August 2025 trip he told an interviewer it is time to "stop blaming Israel. Israel did not bring this on."
Harris has represented North Carolina's 8th District since 2025, after a career as a pastor.
His campaign platform states his position on assistance: "Our country should continue its unwavering support for the nation of Israel, and should absolutely continue to be pro-active in our defense against radical Muslims that would seek to cause us harm."
In September 2025, after an August congressional trip to Israel, he gave a long interview about what he saw. On the conflict: "You cannot think of Hamas as a legitimate government or as a legitimate group. They are terrorists that are operating in and out of Gaza and controlling that area right now, and it's important for us to continue to emphasize that, and to stop blaming Israel. Israel did not bring this on. They are simply protecting their homeland."
He has a specific position on how aid should reach Gaza. He praised the Gaza Humanitarian Fund initiative as "crucial," said it had "already delivered 110 million boxes of food into Gaza" with none diverted, and contrasted it with United Nations delivery, which he said loses food that is "hijacked, taken, stolen, and then sold by Hamas on the black market." He also described the population: "You've got 2 million Palestinians that are there, maybe 100,000 hardcore Hamas folks," and said of the rest that "they too are being held hostage by these thugs."
His recorded votes appear as badges on this card.
Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 2 of 2 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- [Position, read 2026-08-12] His campaign platform as carried by Ballotpedia, opened and confirmed word for word: "As a former Pastor, I know the history of religious wars, especially between Israel and her enemies. Our country should continue its unwavering support for the nation of Israel, and should absolutely continue to be pro-active in our defense against radical Muslims that would seek to cause us harm." Undated platform text, read at this date. The full sentence is given here because the second half is about domestic defence rather than about Israel.
- No statement located from him on a specific weapons transfer, arms package or funding measure, or on conditioning assistance.
- [Position, 2026-02-28, reported] Posted on X supporting joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, quoting President Trump's stated objectives. Cource not located as a distinct readable URL; recorded, not quoted.
- His recorded votes appear as badges on this card.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- [Position, 2025-09-10] Washington Reporter interview, opened and confirmed word for word. On the Gaza Humanitarian Fund initiative: "I think that's crucial. Who do you know other than Israel that pauses their fighting to make sure that they can get humanitarian needs into the folks?" And: "They'd already delivered 110 million boxes of food into Gaza. Now they're being told by Hamas, don't go to those feeding centers." And on the comparison: "The whole difference between what they're doing versus the UN and how they're doing it is that the UN doesn't carry any weapons, and so their food just gets hijacked, taken, stolen, and then sold by Hamas on the black market at elevated prices in order to buy weapons and pay more terrorist soldiers." He gives figures of 0 percent diversion for the initiative and 87 percent for the UN, attributing them to the trip. This is a position on how aid should be delivered rather than on how much the United States should give, and it is recorded as that.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-09-10] Confirmed verbatim in the same interview: "You cannot think of Hamas as a legitimate government or as a legitimate group. They are terrorists that are operating in and out of Gaza and controlling that area right now, and it's important for us to continue to emphasize that, and to stop blaming Israel. Israel did not bring this on. They are simply protecting their homeland." On the Prime Minister: "the patience with which Prime Minister Netanyahu has operated in trying to do everything he can and the negotiations he has done to get the hostages out is impressive." And: "When the last hostage is out, Hamas is done, that's all they got." He also describes visiting a kibbutz attacked on October 7 as "heart wrenching" and left "exactly the way it was the day after."
- [Position, 2024-10-07, reported] Marking one year since the attack, referred to "the savages of Hamas" and said "Israel's fight against terrorism is our fight for freedom." The source is a Facebook post on his pastoral page; not readable.
- [Prior, 2011, reported 2018-11-03] In a sermon about a trip to Israel he described "incredible tension that is constantly in that land between the Palestinians and the Jews" and said "there will never be peace in Jerusalem until the day comes that every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," adding that neither Jewish nor Muslim residents would find peace until accepting Jesus Christ (the Forward, the Jewish Standard). Fifteen years old and well before the prior-band cutoff, reported rather than opened, and a theological statement rather than a position on U.S. assistance. It is recorded here and does not appear on the card.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2025-08] Travelled to Israel on a congressional delegation sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of AIPAC. The September 2025 interview is his own account of that trip and is the material used. Also a radio appearance on the trip; not opened.
- The research returned a Christians United for Israel Facebook post about members who "chose not to stand with Israel." An advocacy organisation's post about a group of members; not readable, not about him specifically, and nothing is drawn from it.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [After October 7, 2023-10-26, reported] Argued that "the ancient hatred of antisemitism" had spread through elite higher education. the weeks right after October 7 and safety context; never an answer about U.S. weapons or funding.
Also in this race: Colby Watson (Democrat) · All North Carolina candidates.
See the full record →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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.