But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Jerrad Christian
Democrat · U.S. House, Ohio District 12
✓OpposesFrom their own words
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.
Christian's platform says the United States "should immediately halt offensive military aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and condition any future assistance on compliance with international law," while saying Israel's government "has the right to security."
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Christian is a Democratic candidate for Ohio's 12th District.
His campaign platform, carried verbatim on his Ballotpedia page, states the position under a heading of its own: "We need to end U.S. funding for what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of civilians are dead. Entire neighborhoods are gone. Children are buried under rubble while our tax dollars continue to fund the weapons."
He rules out two responses: "I do not accept the idea that we are powerless observers. I'm not interested in partisan excuses or geopolitical gymnastics."
And he draws the line explicitly on both sides: "The government of Israel has the right to security. That does not include collective punishment or the destruction of civilian life. If we claim to stand for human rights, that standard applies even when it is uncomfortable."
The operative sentence names three specific steps: "We should immediately halt offensive military aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and condition any future assistance on compliance with international law. American leadership should mean saving lives, not underwriting their destruction."
The heading he chose for that section is "END Israel's Genocide in Gaza."
He has no federal voting record.
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 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
✓ Endorsed by Track AIPAC
Track AIPACA watchdog on AIPAC-linked money. It backs candidates who reject AIPAC support and call for an arms embargo and conditions on aid to the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that push to restrict or end U.S. weapons transfers to the government of Israel. Endorsements from these groups are shown for information; they do not decide the mark.
In their words
“We should immediately halt offensive military aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and condition any future assistance on compliance with international law.”
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, read 2026-08-12] His campaign platform, carried verbatim on his Ballotpedia page and opened and confirmed: "We need to end U.S. funding for what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of civilians are dead. Entire neighborhoods are gone. Children are buried under rubble while our tax dollars continue to fund the weapons. I do not accept the idea that we are powerless observers. I'm not interested in partisan excuses or geopolitical gymnastics. The government of Israel has the right to security. That does not include collective punishment or the destruction of civilian life. If we claim to stand for human rights, that standard applies even when it is uncomfortable. We should immediately halt offensive military aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and condition any future assistance on compliance with international law. American leadership should mean saving lives, not underwriting their destruction." Read as one contiguous block under his own platform heading, which is why several sentences can be quoted together.
Note the position is specific and has three parts: halt offensive military aid now, demand a permanent ceasefire, condition future assistance on international law. It is not a blanket cut-off, and the card quotes the operative sentence rather than summarising it.
He has no federal voting record.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
No separate statement located. His platform addresses U.S. funding of weapons rather than humanitarian assistance.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, read 2026-08-12] The section heading is "END Israel's Genocide in Gaza" (confirmed verbatim). In the body: "The government of Israel has the right to security. That does not include collective punishment or the destruction of civilian life." Both are his own platform wording, and the card carries the security sentence alongside the aid position because dropping it would misstate him.
[Reported, 2026-03-05, unverified] As reported, a Facebook statement on an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza: "You don't have to pick a side in a war to say this: killing civilians is wrong. Always. No matter who's doing it." Not readable; see the source note below.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, reported] Has campaigned in 2024 and 2026 against corporate and foreign lobbying influence. No statement located naming a pro-Israel organisation.
[Reported, 2026-03-05, unverified] Per the research he said: "It's not antisemitic to call out Israel for indiscriminate bombings, war crimes, and killing civilians."
⚠ **The source is a post on another organisation's page.** The research cites a Facebook post by JFREJ NYC, an advocacy organisation in New York, whose own post text begins with that exact sentence. It is at least as likely to be the organisation's wording as his. The post is not readable, and on a page belonging to somebody else the attribution cannot be established, so it is recorded here and not used. This is the same source shape that produced two misattributions on other cards.
An NRA video about Rep. Haley Stevens, which concerns a different member of Congress and a different subject entirely. Nothing to do with this candidate.
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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