But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Justin J. Pearson
Democrat · U.S. House, Tennessee District 9
✓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.
Pearson backs halting U.S. military aid to Israel: "I agree with this position 100%. Netanyahu is a war criminal and we should not subsidize his wars nor genocide." Launching his campaign he called Israel's actions in Gaza a "genocide" and said he would support legislation recognizing Palestinian statehood.
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Pearson is a Tennessee state representative from Memphis who won the Democratic primary for Tennessee's 9th District on August 6, 2026, after launching a primary challenge to Rep. Steve Cohen in October 2025.
Asked by the Tennessee Holler in April 2026 whether he supported ending all aid to Israel, his answer in full: "I agree with this position 100%. Netanyahu is a war criminal and we should not subsidize his wars nor genocide."
Launching his campaign he framed the money question around his district: "It always has angered and baffled me that, overnight, billions of dollars can be given to countries for bombs — but if I ask for billions of dollars for poverty eradication in my district, people look at me like I have two heads." Semafor reported he would be reluctant to fund more U.S. military aid to Israel and would support legislation to recognize Palestinian statehood.
In a statement on his campaign page after the primary he called for a permanent ceasefire and a free Palestine and said he would not stay silent about genocide; the post sits behind a login wall and could not be opened, so those words are given without quotation marks.
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 USCPR Action +1 more
USCPR ActionThe political arm of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Its endorsed candidates commit to block U.S. weapons transfers and military funding to Israel and to refuse AIPAC money.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
“I agree with this position 100%. Netanyahu is a war criminal and we should not subsidize his wars nor genocide.”
“It always has angered and baffled me that, overnight, billions of dollars can be given to countries for bombs — but if I ask for billions of dollars for poverty eradication in my district, people look at me like I have two heads.”
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, 2026-04-13] The Tennessee Holler questionnaire asked six TN-5 and TN-9 Democratic candidates: "AOC, J Street, Jon Favreau, Tucker Carlson and others have now called for an end to all aid to Israel. Do you support that?" Pearson's answer, attributed by name on the page and confirmed verbatim: "I agree with this position 100%. Netanyahu is a war criminal and we should not subsidize his wars nor genocide." Note: this is a multi-candidate page; the attribution header ("Rep. Justin J. Pearson:") sits directly above the quote, and Rep. Steve Cohen's different answer follows it.
[Position, 2025-10-08] Semafor, campaign launch: "It always has angered and baffled me that, overnight, billions of dollars can be given to countries for bombs — but if I ask for billions of dollars for poverty eradication in my district, people look at me like I have two heads." Semafor's own framing: "He added that he would be reluctant to fund more US military aid to the Jewish state." Opened and confirmed word for word.
He has no federal voting record; he serves in the Tennessee House.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
No statement or documented position found by the research on U.S. aid to Palestinians, UNRWA, or Gaza humanitarian funding as a distinct policy question.
Characterization of the conflict
[Position, 2025-10-08] Called Israel's actions in Gaza a "genocide" and said he would support legislation to recognize Palestinian statehood (Semafor, confirmed).
[Position, 2026-04-13] Reiterated the genocide characterization and called Netanyahu a "war criminal" in the questionnaire answer.
[Position, 2026-08-07] Post-primary statement on his campaign's Facebook page: reported by the research as calling for "a permanent ceasefire and a free Palestine," refusing to stay "silent about genocide," and saying candidates who oppose an immediate permanent ceasefire are out of touch with the constituency. The post returns a 1.5KB login shell to an attempt to open it; unverified, quotes withheld from the card.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
[Position, 2025-10-08] Framed U.S. foreign policy as prioritizing military funding abroad over poverty at home (Semafor, above).
[Position, 2026-08-07] The research turns up his post-primary statement rejected AIPAC involvement and influence in elections. Indivisible's endorsement release (an advocacy organization; visible here, never a card source) separately describes him "rejecting AI, Crypto, and AIPAC money."
Safety and antisemitism (context)
No public statements or actions found by the research specifically addressing safety and antisemitism.
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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