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

Joshua Ray Ashburn

Independent · U.S. House, Tennessee District 1
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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.

Ashburn has not spoken publicly on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. No statement was found in source-checked research across 2 sources.

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Deep Dive

2 sources checked and resolved, every one listed on the research page. Most candidates at this level have simply never been asked.

You are better placed to change that than we are. Ask Ashburn directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in their own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about them.

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:** There is no recorded public statement or policy position from Joshua Ray Ashburn regarding U.S. military aid or weapons sales to Israel.
  • **Characterization of the conflict:** There is no recorded public statement or action from Joshua Ray Ashburn addressing or characterizing the Israel/Palestine conflict.
  • **Rhetoric and lobbying:** There is no recorded public statement or action from Joshua Ray Ashburn regarding Israel-related political rhetoric or lobbying.
  • **Safety and antisemitism:** There is no recorded public statement or action from Joshua Ray Ashburn explicitly addressing safety concerns or antisemitism.

Sources consulted and resolved (2)

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, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Diana Harshbarger (Republican)
  2. ✓ Kristi Burke (Democrat)
  3. – Billy Cody (Independent)
  4. – Chris Campbell (Independent)
  5. – Richard G. Baker (Independent)
  6. – Tyler Brice Mitchell McClain (Independent)

All Tennessee 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.