But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Da'Shone Hughey
Other · U.S. House, New Jersey District 8
?Mixed
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.
Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: His campaign website says he "has not accepted money from PACs, special-interest groups, or AIPAC", 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.
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Da’Shone Hughey is running in New Jersey’s 8th District as an independent under the ballot label We The People. He is an entrepreneur, educator and author who founded CODEIT Institute of Technology and AI City Robotics, which teach software, artificial intelligence and robotics, and he gives Bayonne as his hometown. He has not held office. He is on the November 3, 2026 ballot with Representative Rob Menendez, Craig Honts and Aristotle Eliopoulos.
What he has written about foreign policy names no country. In his answers to NJ Spotlight News’ guide to the candidates in this district he wrote: “On foreign policy, I advocate strategic independence, diplomacy, protection of civilian life, and reducing reliance on perpetual military solutions.” Asked about the war in Iran and defense spending, he answered “No. I do not support war with Iran.” and said he would use “Congress’s constitutional power to authorize or reject military action and control defense spending.” His campaign site’s foreign policy page, which it calls the Hughey Doctrine, is about energy, technology, manufacturing and supply chains, and says America “should maintain strong relationships with allies and partners around the world” without naming any. The one mention of Israel on his site is biographical: his about page says his work in education and technology has taken him “From Uganda to Israel to communities across Latin America”. None of it says whether he would send, cut or condition U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, and none of it mentions Gaza or aid to Palestinians. An empty record on that question carries no implication either way.
His campaign names one organization connected to this subject, in a statement about its own money. His site says he “has not accepted money from PACs, special-interest groups, or AIPAC”, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying organization that works for close United States and Israel ties. A refusal to take a lobby’s money is not by itself a position on what the United States sends. He has not filled in Ballotpedia’s candidate questionnaire. His personal Facebook account and the business accounts his site links to could not be read here; their addresses are on his research page.
You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Hughey directly, or at a candidate forum, whether he would send, cut or condition U.S. weapons and money for the government of Israel, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about him.
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 2026-09-27) 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
“On foreign policy, I advocate strategic independence, diplomacy, protection of civilian life, and reducing reliance on perpetual military solutions.”
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Every page named below was opened and read on 2026-09-24 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site was read in full: the home page, the about page, the Hughey Plan, the Hughey Doctrine, the page headed Why Vote for Da’shone Hughey, the news page and a leftover sample post, which are all the pages its own index lists. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. Hughey has never held office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks is his, and no funding from the committees this site tracks is recorded on this record.
U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel
Nothing located, at any date. No statement by him about arms transfers, weapons shipments, Foreign Military Financing, security assistance or any bill on those subjects appears on his campaign site, in his NJ Spotlight News answers, in his campaign announcement, or on his Ballotpedia or iVoterGuide pages.
[Position, page updated 2026-09-18; read 2026-09-24] The nearest material names no country. NJ Spotlight News’ guide to the 8th District, in his answer on his top issue: “On foreign policy, I advocate strategic independence, diplomacy, protection of civilian life, and reducing reliance on perpetual military solutions.” In his answer to “Do you support the war in Iran and federal defense spending? If not, what would you change?”: “No. I do not support war with Iran. My approach is strategic independence: America should be strong enough to protect itself without perpetual wars or dependence on foreign energy and vulnerable supply chains. As a member of Congress, I would use Congress’s constitutional power to authorize or reject military action and control defense spending. I would demand a clear national-security justification before committing American forces and scrutinize defense spending for waste. I would redirect resources toward cybersecurity, American manufacturing, energy independence, and critical technology. Congress must decide when America goes to war—not simply provide a blank check after the fact.” The Iran material is about Iran, and neither answer names Israel. The page was first published on 2026-05-05 for the primary and last updated on 2026-09-18; its general-election text was written after the June 2 primary, so the answers are dated to the update.
[Undated; read 2026-09-24] The Hughey Doctrine, headed “A New American Foreign Policy for a Dangerous World”, is about energy independence, domestic technology and manufacturing, workforce training for an economy shaped by artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Its section on alliances reads in part: “America should maintain strong relationships with allies and partners around the world.” and “But partnership must never become permanent strategic dependence.” It names no country, no weapon and no aid program. The page carries no date and is recorded on the date it was read.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located, at any date. Gaza, the West Bank, Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and humanitarian funding appear nowhere in his published material. The phrase “protection of civilian life” in his guide answer names no place.
Characterization of the conflict
Nothing located, at any date. He has not been found describing the war in Gaza or the conflict in any terms.
[Undated; read 2026-09-24] The one mention of Israel on his campaign site is biographical. His about page: “My commitment to service reaches beyond New Jersey. From Uganda to Israel to communities across Latin America, I have worked with innovators, educators, and leaders to prove that technology and entrepreneurship can strengthen communities and expand economic opportunity.” His campaign announcement of June 29, 2026 says in the third person that his international experience in leadership, education and workforce training spans “Latin America, Africa, and Israel.” Neither is a statement about the conflict.
Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying
[Undated; read 2026-09-24] His campaign site’s page headed Why Vote for Da’shone Hughey, under the heading “NOT BOUGHT”: “Washington politics is heavily influenced by political parties, PACs, special-interest groups, lobbyists, and outside organizations.” · “He has not accepted money from PACs, special-interest groups, or AIPAC.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying organization that works for close United States and Israel ties. The statement is about how his campaign is funded; it names no weapons, no aid and no government, and it is recorded here as what it is.
The same page goes on to say that other candidates in this race have had support from that organization and groups aligned with it. That is his campaign’s claim about other people, and it is not repeated on this card.
Our research reported a sentence from his VOTE411 answers: “As an Independent candidate who takes no PAC, AIPAC, or special-interest money, Da'shone Hughey believes elections must be secure, transparent, and accessible to every eligible voter”. The VOTE411 page could not be opened (see below), so that wording is unconfirmed; the substance matches his campaign site, which is what the card cites.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not an answer to what America sends)
Nothing located, at any date. Nothing in his published material addresses antisemitism or the safety of any religious community.
What his campaign site and own pages say
[Undated; read 2026-09-24] His campaign site describes him as “Independent · NJ-08 · We The People” and lists five core priorities: education for the future, workforce development, growing local wealth, strengthening families, and community innovation. The Hughey Plan is a local economic agenda for Hudson County. The news page carries one item, his campaign announcement. The Why Vote page lists ten priorities from the cost of living to restoring trust in government. None concerns U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel.
[Position, 2026-06-29] His campaign announcement, distributed on June 30, 2026, lists six platform points on economic opportunity, small business, workforce development, education, technology and government accountability. It does not mention foreign policy.
[Position, page updated 2026-09-18; read 2026-09-24] NJ Spotlight News’ guide gives his hometown as Bayonne, his occupation as CEO and his age as 52, and carries his answers on the economy, health care, the war in Iran and defense spending, immigration and elections. His top-issue answer lists economic opportunity, housing, workforce development, apprenticeships, small business, technology education and government accountability before the foreign policy sentence quoted above.
[Read 2026-09-24] His Ballotpedia page says he has not yet completed Ballotpedia’s 2026 Candidate Connection survey. His iVoterGuide profile shows “Did not answer” on every question, including the question on the United States’ relationship with Israel. A wall of blanks is a fact about that guide’s coverage and says nothing about him either way.
The race
[Read 2026-09-24] Ballotpedia’s page for the 2026 election in New Jersey’s 8th District: “Incumbent Robert Menendez Jr., Craig Honts, Da'Shone Hughey, and Aristotle Eliopoulos are running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on November 3, 2026.” Menendez won the Democratic primary on June 2, 2026; the Republican primary was cancelled. Ballotpedia lists him as “Da'Shone Hughey (We The People Party)”.
[Position, page updated 2026-09-18] NJ Spotlight News reports that he “lists an address in Trenton that is outside the 8th District”. The New Jersey Division of Elections’ official candidate list for the November 3, 2026 general election, dated September 4, 2026, gives a Trenton address under the label We The People. It is recorded here as a fact about the filing, not as a finding about him.
Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them
The League of Women Voters guide, VOTE411. The candidate page offered for him, https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/candidate-detail.do?id=72945963 , returns a program error on every attempt and does not show whose page it is; the same address was also offered for another candidate in this race.
His personal accounts listed by Ballotpedia, https://www.facebook.com/dashone.hughey and https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashone-hughey , and the accounts his campaign site links to, which are his businesses’ rather than his campaign’s: https://www.facebook.com/citinstitute.tech , https://www.instagram.com/aicityrobotics1911/ and https://www.youtube.com/@AICity1911 . The Facebook pages return an error and LinkedIn requires a signed-in reader. Addresses printed rather than linked because they do not open here.
https://www.localcandidates.org/politicians/da-shone-hughey , a host that does not render for us and that this project does not use.
Not on the card, and why
His campaign site’s claim that other candidates in this race have had support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and aligned groups: a claim about other candidates’ records, which belong on their own cards.
The VOTE411 wording about taking no AIPAC money: unconfirmed, because the page could not be opened. The same substance is on the card from his own campaign site.
His answers on the war in Iran: about Iran rather than what the United States sends to the government of Israel. Quoted in full above.
The biographical mention of Israel on his about page and in his announcement: a line about where he has worked, not a position.
His positions on education, workforce development, small business, housing, health care, energy, immigration and elections: out of scope, and listed above so the absence can be checked.
Rob Menendez’s, Craig Honts’s and Aristotle Eliopoulos’s answers in the same guide: they belong on their own cards.
Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)
https://votedashonehughey.com/hello-world/ (opened; 2026-09-24; a sample post with no campaign content)
https://votedashonehughey.com/wp-sitemap.xml (opened; 2026-09-24; the site’s own index of its pages)
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/special-report/2026-primary-8th-congressional-district/ (opened; 2026-09-24; first published 2026-05-05, updated 2026-09-18)
https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/536361/dashone-hughey-announces-campaign-for-us-congress-in-new-jerseys-8th-district (opened; 2026-09-24; dated 2026-06-29, published 2026-06-30)
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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