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

Cooke C. Harvey

Independent · U.S. House, Virginia District 5
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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.

No position from Harvey on U.S. weapons or money for Israel's government, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians, could be verified (source-checked research). An "America First" statement was attributed to him on pages we could not open, at least one of which belongs to a different campaign.

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Deep Dive

Harvey is an independent candidate for Virginia's 5th District. His candidacy is confirmed: the Federal Election Commission lists him as an independent House candidate for Virginia's 5th District, and a race tracker lists him alongside Rep. John McGuire, Rob Tracinski and Chris Register.

What could not be confirmed is the position attributed to him. The research turned up an August 2026 social-media statement in his voice: "I'm not on Israel's side. I'm not on Russia's side. I'm not on Ukraine's side. I'M ON AMERICA'S SIDE." The pages supplied for it include a Facebook page belonging to a campaign called "berryforvirginia," which is not his, alongside one that does appear to be his own; none of them could be opened. One of those pages' own titles points the other way, beginning "my representatives in Congress have not been strong enough in their support for," which is hard to reconcile with the quote.

So the words may be someone else's, and we will not put them in his mouth. Our research has already found a position attributed to the wrong Virginia candidate, so the caution is not theoretical.

You are better placed to get his actual position than we are. Ask Harvey directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.

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.

Research log

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

  • No position could be verified.
  • ⚠ [Attributed but unverified, around 2026-08-02] The research turned up this as his statement: "I'm not on Israel's side. I'm not on Russia's side. I'm not on Ukraine's side. I'M ON AMERICA'S SIDE. That doesn't mean America abandons its friends. It means the first question our government should ask is: HOW DOES THIS HELP THE AMERICAN PEOPLE?" **Every source it supplied belongs to a different campaign:** a login-walled photo post on the page "berryforvirginia", a post on the same page cited twice, and a numeric-id Facebook post. None is Harvey's own page, and none was readable.

**The internal contradiction matters:** the first source's own URL title begins "my representatives in congress have not been strong enough in their support for", which reads as a complaint that support is too weak, while the quoted statement declines to take Israel's side. Those do not sit together comfortably, which is a further reason not to publish either as his.

  • **Identity confirmed, position not.** His FEC candidate record was opened: "HARVEY, COOKE COSTA, Candidate for House, Virginia - 05, ID: H6VA05241, INDEPENDENT." A race tracker lists him as "Cooke Costa Harvey, Independent, U.S. Representative VA-05 (2026 candidate)" alongside Rob Tracinski and Chris Register. Neither page states a position on Israel.
  • He has no federal voting record.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • No statement or documented position located.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing located that can be attributed to him.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • Nothing located.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

  • Nothing located.

Consulted

Also in this race

  1. ✗ John J. McGuire III (Republican)
  2. – Tom S. P. Perriello (Democrat)

All Virginia 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.