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

Lauren Peña

Republican · U.S. House, Texas District 37
–
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.

No position located for Peña on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. Her one located foreign policy statement, on sovereignty and international cooperation, does not mention Israel or the Middle East.

✉  Email the campaignWebsite ↗

The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.

Deep Dive

Peña is the Republican nominee in Texas’s 37th District, having won the May 2026 primary runoff. Her platform is domestic: human trafficking, criminal justice accountability, public safety and social conservatism.

The nearest thing located is a post of August 2026 on the "Liberal International Order", saying the United States should cooperate with other nations but that "cooperation must never come at the expense of American sovereignty, constitutional authority, or the interests of our citizens". It names no country and does not mention Israel, Gaza or foreign aid.

You are better placed to change that than we are. Ask Peña 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

An initial search returned an explicit not-found verdict on all four questions:

  • **U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel:** "No relevant public statements or actions found on this topic. Lauren Peña’s official campaign materials, speeches, and candidate survey responses do not address U.S. military assistance, arms sales, or weapons transfers to Israel."
  • **U.S. aid to Palestinians:** Nothing located.
  • **Characterization of the conflict:** "Peña has not published platform positions or issued public statements defining, characterizing, or taking a stance on the Israel/Palestine conflict."
  • **Rhetoric and lobbying:** Nothing located on lobbying groups or advocacy organizations.
  • **Safety and antisemitism:** Nothing located. Her platform emphasises community safety and law enforcement in domestic terms.

Adjacent, and deliberately not treated as a position

  • 2026-08-06 [Current position; not in scope]: A post on her own account about the "Liberal International Order", stating that the United States should cooperate with other nations but that "cooperation must never come at the expense of American sovereignty, constitutional authority, or the interests of our citizens". An initial search itself notes that it does not mention Israel or Middle Eastern policy. A general statement about international cooperation is not a position on what America sends to this conflict, and rendering it as one would be inventing her view.

Sources consulted and read

Consulted, could not be reached

  • Two sources found are localcandidates.org pages for her, and both would not open. That host is already recorded here as returning nothing usable however it is reached, and it did so again.

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. ? Greg Casar (Democrat)

All Texas 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.