Derek Merrin
Merrin has taken no public position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. After Netanyahu's July 2024 address to Congress he said Hamas had "repeatedly rejected ceasefire agreements" and "I continue to stand with Israel against the evil espoused by Hamas."
Merrin is the Republican nominee in Ohio's 9th District, a former state representative and Waterville mayor running a rematch against Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who defeated him in 2024.
His one located statement on the conflict came in the days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July 24, 2024 address to Congress. In a campaign statement criticizing Kaptur's reaction to the speech, reported by the Sandusky Register and The Blade, he wrote: "Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian people will be able to live in peace with Iranian backed terrorist organizations fomenting chaos and death. Hamas has rightfully been designated a terrorist organization and has repeatedly rejected ceasefire agreements that would include the return of hostages. I continue to stand with Israel against the evil espoused by Hamas and other Iranian proxies." He did not say what the United States should send the government of Israel, and nothing located since has him addressing U.S. weapons, military funding or aid to Palestinians. His campaign site, read on September 4, 2026, describes his record on taxes, regulation and school choice and does not mention the conflict.
As a state representative he cosponsored a 2017 Ohio resolution condemning the boycott movement against Israel and rising antisemitism. If you can ask him where he stands on U.S. weapons and money for the government of Israel and on aid to Palestinians, send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.
Research
Two searches were read as one lead list for this card: one run 2026-08-11 and one run 2026-09-03. Every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-04 unless marked otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- Nothing located has Merrin stating a position on U.S. weapons, arms sales or military funding for the government of Israel, in the Ohio House, in his 2024 campaign or in the 2026 campaign. Both searches returned a not-found verdict on this dimension. His campaign site (home and About, 973 words retrieved) covers his state legislative record, taxes, regulation and school choice; nothing on Israel, Gaza, aid or foreign policy. The AP report of his June 2025 campaign launch (2025-06-23) and his Wikipedia article carry nothing on the subject.
- [Position; read 2026-09-04] iVoterGuide's profile for the May 5, 2026 Republican primary records "Did not answer" against every questionnaire item, including the foreign-policy multiple-choice question and "Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?" A fact about the guide's coverage, not a statement by him.
- [Position, 2024-07-25] His July 2024 statement (below) says "I continue to stand with Israel" without saying what the United States should send.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- Nothing located on UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2024-07-25] After Prime Minister Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024, Merrin's campaign issued a statement responding to Rep. Marcy Kaptur's video reaction to the speech. The Blade (Alice Momany; page metadata datePublished 2024-07-25) reports: "State Rep. Derek Merrin (R., Monclova Township) condemned Ms. Kaptur’s statement, calling it “misguided.”" and carries the statement with two elisions: "Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian people will be able to live in peace with Iranian-backed terrorist organizations fomenting chaos and death ... I continue to stand with Israel against the evil espoused by Hamas and other Iranian proxies." The Sandusky Register (Tom Jackson; datePublished 2024-07-26) carries the fuller text: "Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian people will be able to live in peace with Iranian backed terrorist organizations fomenting chaos and death. Hamas has rightfully been designated a terrorist organization and has repeatedly rejected ceasefire agreements that would include the return of hostages. I continue to stand with Israel against the evil espoused by Hamas and other Iranian proxies," he said. Both pages render behind a subscriber wall; the article text is present in each page's source and was verified there character for character. The quotes on the card follow the Register's text.
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-11] As a state representative he was one of 84 sponsors and cosponsors of Ohio House Resolution 292 (135th General Assembly), "To express the 135th General Assembly of Ohio's unwavering support for the people of Israel and condemnation of recent attacks against the state of Israel"; introduced October 10, 2023 and adopted October 11, 2023 (BillTrack50 record). Primary sponsors Justin Pizzulli and Dani Isaacsohn. Off the card (C1).
- The 2026-08-11 search attributed to him an October 2023 remark about "horrific and cruel attacks on Israelis by Hamas terrorists" and 2024 remarks calling campus demonstrations "dangerous ignorance" and warning of a "disturbing spread of antisemitism". Its only source for all three is a Facebook post on the page of a different candidate's Ohio Senate campaign (https://www.facebook.com/SteveforOhioSenate/posts/anti-semitism-has-no-place-in-our-society-terrorism-is-reprehensible-and-anyone-/725166960026982/, status 400, unread). Those are not established as his words and are not attributed to him.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2024-07-25] The same statement opened with criticism of his opponent: "Marcy Kaptur's misguided criticism of key U.S. ally Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's address before a joint session of Congress and expression of her disapproval of Hamas being designated a terrorist organization should be a wakeup call for every Ohioan who hopes for peace in the Middle East," per the Sandusky Register (The Blade prints the sentence with the middle clause elided). The Register adds that Kaptur's office said the statement misrepresented her remarks: "Congresswoman Kaptur had repeatedly called Hamas a terrorist organization and it is a lie to imply otherwise," a spokesman said. Her own remarks are on her card, not narrated here.
- [Earlier record, 2017-12-05] Ohio House Concurrent Resolution 10 (132nd General Assembly), long title "To condemn the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and increasing incidents of anti-Semitism." Primary sponsors Andy Thompson and Dave Greenspan; Merrin is listed among the House cosponsors. Introduced June 6, 2017; adopted by the House December 5, 2017; adopted by the Senate November 28, 2018; enrolled December 5, 2018 (status record).
- Nothing located has him commenting on pro-Israel lobbying organizations. The Republican Jewish Coalition's contributions to his campaigns appear on the card's funding badge.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)
- HCR 10 (above) also condemns "increasing incidents of anti-Semitism".
- The 2026-08-11 search said he "authored and filed Ohio House Resolution 508" in the 135th General Assembly condemning support for Hamas on college campuses. HR 508 of the 135th General Assembly is a resolution "Honoring Lexi Tucci as a 2024 Division III State Track and Field Champion", sponsored by Reggie Stoltzfus, Monica Robb Blasdel and Brett Hudson Hillyer; Merrin's name does not appear on it. The claim's source was the other candidate's Facebook page named above. Excluded.
- [Position; read 2026-09-04] iVoterGuide's questions on security and domestic threats: "Did not answer".
Not on the card, and why
- HR 292 (October 2023): off the card (C1).
- The Kaptur-directed sentence of his statement and her office's reply: rhetoric aimed at the opponent, disputed by her office; her answers belong on her card. Research page only.
- The "horrific and cruel attacks", "dangerous ignorance" and "disturbing spread of antisemitism" remarks and HR 508: source belongs to another candidate; HR 508 is a different resolution. Wrong-person material, excluded.
- The Iran clauses inside his statement ("Iranian backed", "Iranian proxies") stay off the front and are quoted in full in the deep dive.
- A 2026-08-21 letter to the editor in The Blade (a retired union leader on Kaptur's record) is a third party writing about his opponent; the rendered page is behind the subscriber wall and nothing about him on this topic was retrieved.
- A Facebook post by WBIR Channel 10, a Tennessee television station, was attached by the 2026-09-03 search to his biography; it does not concern him.
Sources retrieved for this card (URL, HTTP status, date read 2026-09-04)
- https://www.toledoblade.com/local/politics/2024/07/25/area-legislators-react-to-israeli-prime-ministers-address-to-congress/stories/20240725171 (200; article text in page source; rendered page behind a subscriber wall on both routes; a Wayback snapshot of 2024-07-26 is a 347-word shell)
- https://sanduskyregister.com/news/532697/updated-tension-over-gaza-spills-over-into-race/ (200; article text in the page's JSON-LD articleBody; rendered page behind a wall on both routes)
- https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/135/hr292 (200); https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/hr292 (200); https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1644304 (200)
- https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/132/hcr10 (200); https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/132/hcr10 (200, with its status tab)
- https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/135/hr508 (200); https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/hr508 (200)
- https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/29287/race/26057/election/1396?culture=en-us (200)
- https://derekmerrin.com/ (200)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Merrin (200); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Ohio (200)
- https://apnews.com/article/election-2026-derek-merrin-ohio-9th-kaptur-f3e7fc33f348775b149e741f6560ff70 (200); https://mynorthwest.com/national/republican-derek-merrin-launches-bid-for-rematch-against-rep-marcy-kaptur/4102622 (200, the same AP story)
- https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2026/08/21/to-the-editor-retired-union-leader-recalls-kaptur-s-record/stories/20260821005 (200; wall)
Addresses the searches returned that were not read
- https://www.facebook.com/SteveforOhioSenate/posts/anti-semitism-has-no-place-in-our-society-terrorism-is-reprehensible-and-anyone-/725166960026982/ (400; another candidate's page)
- https://www.facebook.com/WBIRChannel10/posts/republican-party-chair-martin-daniel-said-he-wants-da-charme-allen-to-prosecute-/1410695937770340/ (400; unrelated)
- Four ohio.gov addresses in the searches failed to resolve; the legislature's pages were retrieved directly instead.
- This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-04, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.
Also in this race: Marcy Kaptur (Democrat) · 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.