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

Stephen Faris

Independent · U.S. Senate, Ohio

Declared write-in candidate. Not printed on the ballot.

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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.

No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Nothing located as of September 2026 has Faris, a write-in candidate, taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. His campaign site calls him a single-issue candidate, running to abolish abortion.

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Deep Dive

Stephen Faris is an independent and a write-in candidate in the November 3, 2026 special election for the Senate seat Jon Husted holds: his name is not printed on the ballot, and his campaign site asks voters to remember it and write it in. He has run for the Senate from Ohio before, and his site keeps a messages page for his 2018, 2022 and 2024 races.

He describes himself as a single-issue, no-party, write-in candidate, and his site says "Abortion must be abolished immediately and totally." In his 2018 answers to Ballotpedia's candidate survey he listed four legislative priorities, all of them about abortion, and he has not filled in the 2026 survey. Nothing on his campaign site or in those answers mentions Israel, Gaza, Palestinians or foreign aid. An empty record carries no implication either way.

You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Faris directly, or at a candidate forum, 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 2026-07-13) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

What was looked for, and what came back

  • **U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel:** No position located.
  • **U.S. aid to Palestinians:** No position located.
  • **Characterization of the conflict:** No position located.
  • **Rhetoric and lobbying:** No position located.
  • **Safety and antisemitism:** No position located.

What the campaign site and own pages say

  • [Position, 2026-09-25] His campaign site, WriteInFaris.com, describes him as "A single-issue, no-party, write-in candidate for U.S. Senate for Ohio" and says "Abortion must be abolished immediately and totally." It asks voters to write his name on the November 2026 ballot. Its messages page lists his 2018, 2022 and 2024 Senate races and marks the 2026 messages "coming soon". Each page ends with the lines "A single-issue candidate: / Without the right to life and equal protection of law for ALL, / No other right, / No other issue, / No other conversation / makes sense." No page on the site mentions Israel, Gaza, Palestinians or foreign aid.
  • [Prior, 2018-09-16] Ballotpedia candidate survey: "My legislative priorities are: 1) legally define unborn human beings as persons; 2) protect unborn persons; 3) prosecute organizations that deprive unborn persons of their right to life or right to equal protection of our laws; 4) preserve families of unborn persons." Ballotpedia says he has not yet completed its 2026 survey.
  • [Position, 2026-09-25] His Facebook profile describes him as "Write-In Candidate for U.S. Senate for Ohio".

The race

  • Ballotpedia's profile: "He is a write-in candidate in the special general election on November 3, 2026." The race page lists Jon Husted, Sherrod Brown, Bill Redpath and Gregory Levy, and marks Faris and two other independents as write-in candidates.
  • [Prior, 2018-10-18] Richland Source reported his 2018 write-in run for the Senate against Sherrod Brown and Jim Renacci.

Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them

  • His X account (x.com/Stephen_Faris) did not open here.

Sources retrieved for this card

Not found

  • No position located on U.S. weapons, arms sales or military funding for the government of Israel.
  • No position located on U.S. aid to Palestinians, UNRWA or Gaza humanitarian funding.
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-08-11 and again on 2026-09-25, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Sherrod Brown (Democrat)
  2. ✗ Jon Husted (Republican)
  3. ✓ Greg Levy (Independent)
  4. ? William B. Redpath (Libertarian)

All Ohio candidates.

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.