But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Brinker Harding
Republican · U.S. House, Nebraska District 2
✗SupportsFrom an endorsement
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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Harding, an Omaha City Council member, is the Republican nominee in Nebraska’s 2nd District.
His fullest record is his own written answers in the Jewish Federation of Omaha JCRC 2026 voter guide, verified against the published questionnaire. Asked whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state: "Unequivocally yes. Israel is a democratic state with deep historical, religious, and cultural roots. The October 7th Hamas attacks reaffirmed that Israel’s survival is not a given; it must be actively defended." The same answer backs continued security assistance and renewal of the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding providing $3.8 billion annually in military aid.
On the Palestinian side he supports the Taylor Force Act and opposes "any U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority until it ends its ‘pay-to-slay’ program", and writes that "The BDS movement’s goals are rooted in antisemitism and have no place in American institutions." He calls the U.S.-Israel relationship "one of America’s most important alliances" and endorses the IHRA working definition of antisemitism as "a sound framework", saying political speech crosses into antisemitism when it "singles out Israel with a double standard not applied to other nations, or seeks to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist altogether".
In December 2025, he opened an Omaha City Council meeting with a statement he had first delivered at the Jewish Community Center, commemorating victims of the Sydney Hanukkah attack and condemning antisemitism.
His comments on the 2026 U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran sit on the research page.
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.
Endorsed by Republican Jewish Coalition
Republican Jewish CoalitionThe Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC; it financially supports Republican candidates who reflect its priorities, including strong U.S. backing of the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.
In their words
“Unequivocally yes. Israel is a democratic state with deep historical, religious, and cultural roots. The October 7th Hamas attacks reaffirmed that Israel’s survival is not a given; it must be actively defended.”
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, 2026-04] The JCRC 2026 voter guide (landing page), verified in the published PDF: continued security assistance and MOU renewal, quoted on the card. His listing of specific missile-defense systems in the same sentence is held off the front.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
[Position, 2026-04] The same guide, verified: Taylor Force Act support and opposition to Palestinian Authority funding until "pay-to-slay" ends.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, 2026-04] The guide’s right-to-exist answer, verified and quoted on the card, including the October 7 framing.
[Position, 2025-06-13, read by a volunteer] A photo caption on his campaign Facebook page frames Israel as fighting for its right to exist and protecting not only its own citizens but freedom-loving people generally; a volunteer read it in September 2026 and confirmed it. The wording was not transcribed, so nothing is quoted.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, 2026-04] The guide: "peace through strength, not appeasement", opposing revival of the Iran nuclear deal and backing Abraham Accords expansion.
[Iran, 2026-03] Nebraska Public Media’s candidate survey on the Iran war, verified: he backed the U.S.-Israeli operation and called Iran "a radical theocratic state" that "funded terror around the world". Iran material, research page only.
Safety and antisemitism
[Position, 2026-04] The guide, verified: his definition of antisemitism, IHRA endorsement ("a sound framework"), and the double-standard test, quoted in the deep dive.
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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