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

Jon Husted

Republican · U.S. Senate, Ohio
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Nothing located as of September 2026 has Husted explaining his votes on U.S. arms sales to the government of Israel, or taking a position on U.S. aid to Palestinians. What he has said on the subject concerns antisemitism and campus safety.

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Deep Dive

Husted was appointed to Ohio's Senate seat in January 2025 when JD Vance became vice president, and is the Republican nominee in the 2026 special election against Sherrod Brown. His six tracked votes all let proposed arms sales to the government of Israel proceed; no statement from him explaining any of them was located.

He has not said what he thinks about the aid packages themselves, and nothing was located from him on U.S. money for Palestinians.

What is on the record is adjacent to the question. In April 2025 he co-sponsored the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, aimed at Iran's energy exports, which he tied to Iranian proxies threatening Israel. As lieutenant governor in April 2024 he praised law enforcement agencies on X for "firmly and professionally dispersing the anti-Israel demonstration at Ohio State." In March 2025, at a Senate health committee hearing, he spoke to witnesses about combating antisemitism on college campuses. In April 2026 he joined the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, saying "Antisemitism has no place in our country or anywhere in the world" and pledging to support Ohio's roughly 177,000 Jewish residents.

If you want his position on the aid itself, you are better placed to get it than we are: ask Husted directly and send us the reply.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Committees

Senate Committee on Appropriations

Floor votes
S.J.Res. 26 - disapproving $6.75B sale of bombs and guidance kits to Israel2025-04-03 · Failed 15-83
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
S.J.Res. 33 - disapproving $2.04B sale of 2,000-lb bombs to Israel2025-04-03 · Failed 15-82
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
S.J.Res. 34 - disapproving $675.7M sale of 1,000-lb bombs and JDAM kits to Israel2025-07-30 · Failed 24-73
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
S.J.Res. 41 - disapproving sale of fully automatic assault rifles to Israel2025-07-30 · Motion to Discharge Rejected 27-70
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
S.J.Res. 32 - disapproving $295M sale of D9 Caterpillar armored bulldozers to Israel2026-04-15 · Failed 40-59
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
S.J.Res. 138 - disapproving $151.8M sale of 1,000-lb bombs to Israel2026-04-15 · Failed 36-63
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
Bill sponsorship
S. 554 - United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025Senate companion to H.R. 1229.
Not sponsoringhas not backed this support bill
Notable actions

• Voted Nay (April 3, 2025) on S.J.Res. 33 and S.J.Res. 26, two joint resolutions seeking congressional disapproval of proposed U.S. arms sales to Israel; both motions to discharge were rejected.

• Voted Nay (July 30, 2025) on S.J.Res. 41 and S.J.Res. 34, two joint resolutions seeking congressional disapproval of proposed U.S. defense exports and arms sales to Israel; both motions to discharge were rejected.

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 more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$10K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $5,000 · Republican Jewish Coalition: $5,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$5,000The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.Republican Jewish Coalition$5,000The Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC; it financially supports Republican candidates who reflect its priorities, including strong U.S. backing of the government of Israel.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.
Endorsed by AIPAC +1 more
AIPACThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.Republican Jewish CoalitionThe Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC; it financially supports Republican candidates who reflect its priorities, including strong U.S. backing of the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.

In their words

“Antisemitism has no place in our country or anywhere in the world.”
Source ↗, 2026-04-21
Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement) · Republican Jewish Coalition (2026 endorsement)

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

  • No located statement by him on aid packages or his arms-sale votes; the "supports continued U.S. security assistance" line in earlier research carries no distinct dated source and is treated as that account's claim, not his words. His six Nay votes on the tracked disapproval resolutions (2025-04-03 x2, 2025-07-30 x2, 2026-04-15 x2) are on his vote record; no statement from him about any of them was located.
  • [Position, 2026-02-28] Endorsed the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, citing Iranian aggression and regional threats (reported; the WTOL page could not be opened; one source failed to resolve). Reported.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Reaction window, 2023-10-07] As lieutenant governor: "heinous" and "unprovoked crimes against humanity"; the U.S. "has a responsibility to stand with and assist Israel in protecting itself"; personal travel reflections (as reported). Not on the card summary.
  • [Position, 2026-02-28] Characterized Iranian leadership as an active threat, backing U.S.-Israeli security coordination (reported; same unresolved sources).

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2025-04-07] Co-sponsored the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, energy-export sanctions (his release): "As Iranian proxies continue to threaten Israel’s survival and U.S. shipping in the Red Sea, the U.S. must cut off Tehran’s ruthless regime from the resources it needs to fund its aggression."
  • [Position, 2026-07-29] Race context: Republican nominee in the special election (Ballotpedia; an American Jewish Congress guide page, a directory entry, no longer opens).

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • [Position, 2024-04-25] Praised law enforcement for "firmly and professionally dispersing" the OSU encampment protests (WOSU coverage).
  • [Position, 2025-03-27] HELP Committee hearing on antisemitism on campuses (Forbes Breaking News video, posted 2025-04-01, titled "Jon Husted Discusses Failures Of Colleges To Protect Jewish Students Amidst Uptick In Antisemitism"; its description says he "spoke to witnesses about combating antisemitism on college campuses").
  • [Position, 2026-04-21] Joined the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism (his release, read and verified verbatim): "Antisemitism has no place in our country or anywhere in the world"; support for "177,000 Jewish Ohioans."

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Sherrod Brown (Democrat)
  2. – Stephen Faris (write-in) (Independent)
  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.