But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Ben Ray Luján
Luján's recorded votes run one way: to block proposed U.S. arms sales to the government of Israel, every time. Announcing the latest, he said arming that government "will only enable the destruction of communities" and that the United States must use its leverage.
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Deep Dive
Luján is New Mexico's junior senator, seeking a second term. His votes are on this card and they are uniform: he supported the national security supplemental that carried U.S. military aid to the government of Israel, and after that he voted to advance every single resolution that would have blocked a specific proposed U.S. arms sale to it.
He has explained why, on his own Senate site, in words a reader can check. Announcing his April 2026 votes he wrote: "Equipping the Netanyahu government with hundreds of millions of dollars in additional weapons will only enable the destruction of communities, undermine the prospects for a peaceful two-state solution, and further escalate the illegal war with Iran." In the same statement he set out the lever he thinks Washington holds: "The Netanyahu government has repeatedly rejected pathways to peace and continues to drive deepening humanitarian suffering in the region. The United States must use its leverage to demand action and change from the Netanyahu government."
The position is older than the votes. In February 2024 he and New Mexico's other senator wrote jointly to the president asking that further weapons transfers be made conditional on humanitarian commitments before proceeding. Their letter separated defensive systems from the rest: they backed replenishing Iron Dome while saying they were "extremely concerned about how the Netanyahu government is choosing to prosecute this war." That is a joint document and it is treated as one here, so none of its wording is presented as his alone. Two years later the same pair wrote to U.S. Central Command asking whether American forces were involved in targeting or in mass evacuation zones, and how international humanitarian law was being applied.
On what the United States sends Palestinians, the closing line of his April statement is as far as this record goes: he said he strongly supports efforts to surge humanitarian relief. There is nothing here on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees or on the aid pipeline in its own right.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 1 of 10 tracked votes
• Nov. 20, 2024: voted Yea on all three motions to discharge Israel arms-sale disapproval resolutions from committee - S.J.Res. 111 (roll 292, rejected 18-79), S.J.Res. 113 (roll 293, rejected 19-78), and S.J.Res. 115 (roll 294, rejected 17-80).
• Apr. 3, 2025: voted Yea on both motions to discharge Israel arms-sale disapproval resolutions - S.J.Res. 33 (roll 165, rejected 15-82) and S.J.Res. 26 (roll 166, rejected 15-83).
• July 30, 2025: voted Yea on both motions to discharge Israel arms-sale disapproval resolutions - S.J.Res. 41 (roll 454, rejected 27-70) and S.J.Res. 34 (roll 455, rejected 24-73).
• Apr. 15, 2026: voted Yea on both motions to discharge Israel arms-sale disapproval resolutions - S.J.Res. 32 (roll 80, rejected 40-59) and S.J.Res. 138 (roll 81, rejected 36-63) - and issued a statement explaining the votes.
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.
Voted to send weapons or funding in some, but no more than half, of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 1 of 10 tracked votes.)
The money
$5K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
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, 2026-04-15] Statement on his Senate site, read and verified verbatim, three consecutive paragraphs of one statement: "Equipping the Netanyahu government with hundreds of millions of dollars in additional weapons will only enable the destruction of communities, undermine the prospects for a peaceful two-state solution, and further escalate the illegal war with Iran." / "The Netanyahu government has repeatedly rejected pathways to peace and continues to drive deepening humanitarian suffering in the region. The United States must use its leverage to demand action and change from the Netanyahu government." / "I strongly support efforts to bring an end to the fighting, surge humanitarian relief, and to ensure the safety and prosperity of the Israeli and Palestinian people."
- [Position, 2024-02-24] Joint letter to the president from him and New Mexico's other senator, published on his Senate site, asking for four humanitarian commitments before further weapons transfers proceed, verified verbatim: "We fully support requests to help replenish Iron Dome and support other defensive systems but given the unacceptable level of death, destruction and devastation in Gaza, we remain extremely concerned about how the Netanyahu government is choosing to prosecute this war and urge you to secure these commitments from Prime Minister Netanyahu and hold him firmly accountable to them." Collective document: the wording is the two senators' and is not attributed to him alone.
- [Position, 2026-05-08] With the same colleague he wrote to U.S. Central Command seeking answers on whether American forces were coordinating on military targeting or on mass evacuation zones, and on adherence to international humanitarian law. Opened 2026-08-18. Another joint letter, so again collective wording only.
- [Position, 2024-04-23] His statement on the national security supplemental sets out his support for the package as carrying both security assistance and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. Opened 2026-08-18.
- [Position, 2024-11-20] His votes for the first three disapproval resolutions were covered at the time, including by Mondoweiss, a partisan outlet whose account is used for nothing beyond the fact of the votes, which the roll calls establish anyway.
- [Position, 2024-02-23] He is reported among a group of Democratic senators seeking assurances on civilian protection before operations in Rafah. The only carrier is a subscription news service page; the February 24 letter above is the same position on his own site and is the carrier used.
- [Position, 2024 to 2026] His ten recorded Senate votes are rendered on this card with their own official roll-call sources and are not re-listed here. Their direction is uniform: for the supplemental carrying U.S. military aid to the government of Israel, and for advancing every arms-sale disapproval resolution. Sampled against the official roll calls, for example November 2024 and April 2026.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- [Position, 2026-04-15] The third paragraph of his April statement above: support for surging humanitarian relief. Direction named, in favour of more relief reaching people in the region. Nothing located in which he takes a position on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees or on the aid pipeline in its own right.
- [Position, 2024-02-24] The joint letter's four humanitarian commitments are the other half of this: the senators asked that access for aid be secured as a condition of proceeding with transfers.
- [Position, 2025-07-29] He joined a letter calling for an immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance in Gaza and for renewed diplomacy, and voicing opposition to the permanent forced displacement of Palestinians. Collective wording; our search notes are the only description we have of it, so nothing from it is quoted.
Characterization of the conflict
- Carried inside the statements above: the war with Iran described as illegal, the humanitarian suffering described as driven by the Netanyahu government, and support for a two-state outcome.
- [Earlier record, 2020] In a published candidate questionnaire he described a two-state solution as the best possible outcome and said peace must be negotiated directly between the parties. The file is a scanned document whose text we could not extract, so the answers are described from our search notes and quoted nowhere.
- [Earlier record, 2021-06-11] He is reported saying the United States and Israel share an unbreakable bond and that Israel has been the most important American ally in the region. The carrier is an interview we could not open; described, not quoted, and prior band.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2025-04-23] Pro-Israel advocacy groups ran media campaigns against him over his votes on arms sales. That is other people's campaigning about him, not a statement of his, and nothing on the card rests on it.
- Democratic Majority for Israel lifetime support is a badge on this card and is not restated. No endorsement from any tracked advocacy group is recorded.
- An advocacy compilation site carries a page about him. Campaigning material rather than a record of his words; used for nothing.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Earlier record, 2020] In the same questionnaire he addressed antisemitism directly, saying its rise in American politics is troubling and that bigotry of all forms must be condemned. Described from our search notes because the file's text could not be extracted.
Race and status context
- Incumbent U.S. senator and a candidate in the general election, per Ballotpedia's race page, read 2026-07-12.
- Sources we could not open, written out so a reader can see what is missing: https://api.congress.gov/v3/member/L000570 and https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/s/554/cosponsors?format=json&limit=250&offset=0 . Both returned 403 on 2026-08-17. They are identity and roster lookups, not sources for anything on this card.
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Larry Marker (Republican)
All New Mexico candidates.
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