Don Leonard
Leonard said he would support halting U.S. offensive weapons exports to Israel during its operations in Gaza, and said of pro-Israel lobbying money: "We would never accept money from AIPAC."
Leonard is a Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th District, a former Peace Corps volunteer who taught at Ohio State.
In a March 2026 interview with the Hilliard Beacon, the write-up records that he "said he would support halting U.S. offensive weapons exports to Israel during ongoing military operations in Gaza and pledged independence from pro-Israel lobbying groups." Asked directly about accepting funding tied to AIPAC, he answered: "We would never accept money from AIPAC."
In an April 2026 interview he discussed how to classify the conflict, weighing an act of war against crimes against humanity against genocide. Asked what settled it for him, he said: "What brings me clarity is that my Jewish wife is telling me, yes, it is a genocide, right? Yes, it's an apartheid state." A critic has argued that in the same interview he moved from those distinctions to describing conditions in Gaza in terms of the Warsaw ghetto, and has written a published essay objecting to how he reached his conclusion. The research section records both his words and that objection.
He has no federal voting record.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- [Position, 2026-03-06] Hilliard Beacon interview write-up, opened and confirmed word for word: "Leonard said he would support halting U.S. offensive weapons exports to Israel during ongoing military operations in Gaza and pledged independence from pro-Israel lobbying groups." That sentence is the write-up's summary of his position rather than a quotation of him, and the card marks the distinction by attributing it to the interview.
- He has no federal voting record.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- No statement located.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2026-04, as quoted in a third-party essay] The research turns up an interview with a political commentator in which he weighed the distinctions between an "act of war," "crimes against humanity" and "genocide." The words located verbatim, in a July 2026 essay quoting that interview, are: "What brings me clarity is that my Jewish wife is telling me, yes, it is a genocide, right? Yes, it's an apartheid state."
**What is quoted and what is not.** The words "genocide" and "apartheid state" are, in that sentence, his account of what his wife told him rather than his own formulation, and this record does not convert them into his own words. What is his is the statement that her view brings him clarity. The primary interview was not located or opened; the quotation is verified as appearing in the essay, which presents it as a direct quotation from the interview.
- The same essay states that by the end of the interview "Leonard has traveled from cautious distinctions to the claim that Israelis are running a Warsaw ghetto." **That is the essayist's characterisation of where the interview arrived, not a quotation of Leonard**, and the underlying words were not located. It is recorded and not attributed to him as a quotation.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2026-03-06] "We would never accept money from AIPAC" (confirmed verbatim in the Hilliard Beacon write-up, which presents it as his direct answer to a question about AIPAC-linked funding). A campaign-funding pledge, recorded separately from his position on what the United States sends.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- This heading carries the record in full, per the project's standing ruling of 2026-08-12 that nothing is suppressed and that behaviour is described rather than labelled.
- [2026-07-07] An essay published on a Substack site, written under the initials J.S. and cited twice by the research, objects to how Leonard reached his conclusions in the April 2026 interview. Its own framing is that he "reached for the oldest accusation," it describes his citing of his wife's view as using her "as a credential," and it argues he moved from cautious distinctions to a Warsaw ghetto comparison without acknowledging the distance travelled. **The essay applies a label; this record does not repeat it.** Under the standing ruling the behaviour is described and quoted, the objection is recorded as an identified critic's published argument, and no verdict is offered here.
- The essay also records the parts of his record it does not dispute: Peace Corps service and a decade teaching at Ohio State.
- [Position, 2026-04, reported] In the same interview he recounted first connecting emotionally to Holocaust history. No verbatim span located.
Consulted
- Ballotpedia. Four source entries in total, two of which are the same essay.
Note on what is missing
- The April 2026 interview is the most consequential item on this record and **no source for it was supplied**. Everything known about it comes through an essay written to criticise it. A record of this kind should rest on the interview itself, and obtaining it is the obvious next step.
Also in this race: Mike Carey (Republican) · All Ohio candidates.
See the full record →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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.