But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Debra Haaland

Asked in April 2026 whether she would oppose U.S. military aid to the government of Israel, Haaland answered: "those aren’t issues that would come up for a governor of a state." Her House record ran both ways: scrutinizing weapons use, and signing as "strong supporters of Israel."

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Deep Dive

Haaland, the former Interior Secretary and two-term House member, is the Democratic nominee for governor. Her one located answer on this issue is a declination: at a UNM Law School forum in April 2026, asked whether she would be a voice against U.S. military aid amid the war in Gaza, she said "those aren't issues that would come up for a governor of a state," while acknowledging she holds personal views. A law professor challenged the answer in the room, citing former Gov. Toney Anaya's stand against South African apartheid as precedent that governors can take international positions. Both halves of that exchange are on the record.

Her House record, all before October 2023, points in two directions. In April 2019 she joined a letter to the Secretary of State over U.S.-supplied weapons used against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, and in March 2020 co-signed a letter seeking information on Israeli home demolitions for aid-oversight purposes. In April 2020 she co-signed a letter as one of the "strong supporters of Israel and the United States-Israel [relationship]" (an existing record quote), and in 2019, during the Ilhan Omar controversy, said "Any type of anti-Semitism in any form needs to be soundly rejected... because the Democrats, we support Israel. We support Israel's right to exist." In 2018 she called the deaths of 60 Palestinian protesters "murder," adding "Violence is never the answer. I believe in diplomacy-first."

A voter who wants her actual position on the aid gets, so far, her answer that the question is not the office's. If you can get more, ask Haaland directly and send us the reply.

The record

Notable actions

• 2019-07-23: As U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 1st District, Haaland voted Yea on H.Res.246, 'Opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel.' The resolution passed 398–17.

• 2019-12-06: As U.S. Representative, Haaland voted Yea on H.Res.326, expressing the sense of the House that U.S. efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be through a negotiated two-state solution and that unilateral Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank would make peace more difficult. The resolution passed 226–188.

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.

See a dash? Ask the candidate where they stand, then send us their answer and we'll review it and update the mark. Or volunteer to help review candidates.

Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: Asked at an April 2026 forum about U.S. military aid to Israel, she said "those aren't issues that would come up for a governor of a state", without saying where she 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.

In their words

“As strong supporters of Israel and the United States-Israel relationship, we are deeply concerned by reports that the coalition government being formed in Israel intends to move forward with unilateral annexation of West Bank territory. This runs counter to decades of bipartisan US foreign policy and to the will of the House of Representatives as recently expressed in H.Res.326, which opposes unilateral annexation and explicitly warns against the dangers of such an effort for peace in the region and Israel's security.”

Source ↗, 2020-04-08

“those aren't issues that would come up for a governor of a state”

Source ↗, 2026-04-27

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

[Position, 2026-04-27] UNM Law School forum (Daily Lobo, read and verified): asked whether she would be a voice against U.S. military aid and what the questioner called the genocide in Gaza, she said "those aren't issues that would come up for a governor of a state," acknowledged personal views, and pivoted to Indigenous historical injustices. Law professor Ernesto Longa challenged the declination, citing Gov. Toney Anaya's anti-apartheid advocacy.
[Prior, 2019-04-10] Joined a multi-member letter to Secretary Pompeo on U.S. military aid and weapons transfers, citing U.S.-supplied weapons used against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza (letter PDF via CCR, advocacy host; multi-signatory, nothing individual attributed).
[Prior, 2020-03-17] Co-signed a letter seeking State Department information on Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes for congressional oversight of U.S. military assistance (Mondoweiss, advocacy outlet; multi-signatory).
[Prior, 2020-04-08, record's prior research] Existing record quote: co-signed as "strong supporters of Israel and the United States-Israel [relationship]" (the existing record's characterization of her as a mainstream pro-Israel House Democrat rests here; a Rep. Hill release is the resolved source).

U.S. aid to Palestinians

Nothing located in any band.

Characterization of the conflict

[Prior, 2018-05-14] Tweet during her first House run: "The murder of 60 Palestinians in Gaza just as Ramadan begins weigh heavy on my heart today... Violence is never the answer. I believe in diplomacy-first" (reported; Mondoweiss 2018 profile is the resolved source).
[Prior, 2020-06-23] Co-signed a letter opposing planned West Bank annexation as harmful to a negotiated two-state solution (reported; multi-signatory).

Related rhetoric and lobbying

[Prior, 2019-02-12] On the Omar episode (TPR): "really happy" Omar apologized; "Any type of anti-Semitism in any form needs to be soundly rejected... because the Democrats, we support Israel. We support Israel's right to exist."
[Position, 2023-05-23 per resolution date] Her campaign plans page carries no Israel or foreign-policy content, as reported.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

[Prior, 2019-02-12] The soundly-rejected quote above.
[Prior, 2023-09-28] As Interior Secretary, departmental participation in a federal antisemitism initiative (DOI release); institutional act, context only.

Also in this race

– Gregg Hull (Republican)

All New Mexico candidates.