But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Veronica Fernandez
Independent · U.S. Senate, New Jersey
✓OpposesFrom their own words
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.
No recorded votes on the bills we track. In their own words on August 11, 2026.
Fernandez's campaign platform says she "will NOT vote in any way to continue arming Netanyahu" and that "sending taxpayer dollars to Israel when we have so much need here at home is wasteful". She also refuses AIPAC support in any form.
The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.
Fernandez is an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey, running on the slogan "End the Corruption!". Her position is set out on the policies page of her campaign site, in her own words and at length, and it is explicit about weapons: "Unlike Cory Booker, I will NOT vote in any way to continue arming Netanyahu and I will not be accepting support, money or otherwise from AIPAC in any form. Sending taxpayer dollars to Israel when we have so much need here at home is wasteful." She names the incumbent she is running against in the same sentence.
She sets that alongside condemnation of both sides' conduct: "I condemn HAMAS and their attacks on innocent Israelis. The atrocities committed on innocent Palestinians is abhorrent and must be stopped." On the characterization, she attributes it to the court rather than asserting it herself: "There is substantial evidence provided by the ICC that Netanyahu is committing genocidal acts and he should be charged and brought to trial for war crimes."
Her stated principle is about the form of a state rather than about either people: "I believe PEOPLE have a right to exist and cannot support ANY government that maintains a hierarchy of citizenship based on religion or race."
Separately, an iVoterGuide questionnaire from an earlier House campaign put the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement to her as a statement to agree or disagree with. Her answer is recorded as choosing not to answer.
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.
In their words
“Unlike Cory Booker, I will NOT vote in any way to continue arming Netanyahu and I will not be accepting support, money or otherwise from AIPAC in any form. Sending taxpayer dollars to Israel when we have so much need here at home is wasteful.”
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
2026 [Current position; VERIFIED VERBATIM 2026-08-11 against the live campaign site]: The campaign policies page states: "Unlike Cory Booker, I will NOT vote in any way to continue arming Netanyahu and I will not be accepting support, money or otherwise from AIPAC in any form. Sending taxpayer dollars to Israel when we have so much need here at home is wasteful."
⚠ **An initial search never captured this URL.** It cited the material as "Official Campaign Statement on 'Israel / Diplomacy,' Veronica for Senate platform (2026)" with no link, and its sources array contains no campaign-site entry at all. The page was found by trying the obvious domain and walking its links. Without that, three strong verbatim statements had no publishable source page.
Note on the AIPAC line: a refusal to take money is not in itself a position on what the United States sends, and the standing content rule forbids letting one read as the other. It appears on the card only alongside her explicit statement about arming, which is the position.
Characterization of the conflict
2026 [Current position; VERIFIED VERBATIM]: "I condemn HAMAS and their attacks on innocent Israelis. The atrocities committed on innocent Palestinians is abhorrent and must be stopped."
2026 [Current position; VERIFIED VERBATIM]: "There is substantial evidence provided by the ICC that Netanyahu is committing genocidal acts and he should be charged and brought to trial for war crimes." She attributes the characterization to the court rather than asserting it in her own voice, and the card follows her framing.
2026 [Current position; VERIFIED VERBATIM]: "I believe PEOPLE have a right to exist and cannot support ANY government that maintains a hierarchy of citizenship based on religion or race."
Rhetoric and lobbying
Undated [survey non-response]: An iVoterGuide questionnaire from her 2022 U.S. House campaign in District 7 put the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement to her as a statement to agree or disagree with. Her response is recorded as choosing not to answer. A recorded non-answer is kept as a finding.
Safety and antisemitism
Nothing located beyond the condemnation of Hamas quoted above, which sits under characterization rather than here.
Two localcandidates.orgpages were consulted by an initial search and are unopenable: the domain sits behind a security checkpoint that returns no content when we tried to open it.
Her Ballotpedia page carries no Israel or foreign-policy content.
No statement located on U.S. aid to Palestinians, UNRWA or Gaza humanitarian funding as a budget line.
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.