But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Brian Judd
Independent · Governor, Vermont
–No Position Found
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.
Brian Judd was born and raised in Barre City, where his family owned a funeral home for more than a century, and served in the Navy from 1978 to 1983. He was a member of the actors' union SAG-AFTRA for almost 30 years before moving home to Barre in 2019. He ran for the Barre City Council in 2021 and, as a Republican, for the Vermont House in 2022, finishing fourth of four in the two-seat Washington 3 district. He is on the November 3 ballot as an independent, with Governor Phil Scott, the Republican; Amanda Janoo, the Democrat; June Goodband of the Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party; and Dean Roy of the Freedom and Unity Party.
His campaign is about state government and taxes. In a campaign statement reported in August, he said he would be guided by the Vermont Constitution and would work to stop tax increases and lower existing taxes, and he named three executive orders for the start of his term: the "complete and total repeal" of Act 181, the state's 2024 land-use and housing law; bringing back state psychiatric hospitals to address homelessness; and an audit of state government and of nonprofit organizations across the state. "There’s much, much, much more," he said.
On the question this site asks, the record is empty rather than thin. Nothing located, at any date, has him taking a position on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians, or saying anything about the war in Gaza. No campaign website for him could be found, and the words Israel, Gaza and Palestinian appear nowhere in his campaign statement or in the column he wrote for his 2022 House race. A governor casts no federal votes on any of this. An empty record carries no implication either way.
A 2026 radio interview with him on WVMT was not heard. Its address is on his research page.
You are better placed to change this than we are. Ask Judd directly, or at a candidate forum, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words, which is worth more than anything we could write about him.
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Every page named below was opened and read on 2026-10-05 unless the entry says otherwise. No campaign website for him was found: the Secretary of State's candidate list, Ballotpedia, iVoterGuide and both Vermont Daily Chronicle pieces list none, and he gives a telephone number and an email address instead. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. Judd has not held federal office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks is his; the federal funding badges do not apply to a state office.
U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel
Nothing located, at any date.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located, at any date.
Characterization of the conflict
Nothing located, at any date.
Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying
Nothing located, at any date. iVoterGuide's profile of him includes the question "Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?" and records "Did not answer" for it, as for every other question on the form, and "Candidate did not provide" for every biography field. A blank form says nothing either way about his views.
Safety and antisemitism
Nothing located, at any date.
What the campaign site and own pages say
No campaign website was found.
[Position, 2026-08-24] The Vermont Daily Chronicle reported his campaign statement: he would be guided by the Vermont Constitution, emphasizing the governor's duty to see laws faithfully executed and the governor's role as commander-in-chief of the state's forces; he would work with the Legislature, and when necessary the courts, to stop tax increases, lower existing taxes and return money to taxpayers; and his first three executive orders after his inauguration on January 14, 2027 would seek the "complete and total repeal" of Act 181, bring back state psychiatric hospitals to address homelessness, and audit state government and nonprofit organizations. The report notes he gave no details on how the hospitals would be funded or which nonprofits would be audited. It quotes him: "There’s much, much, much more," and "Save Vermont, Vote Judd". It gives his biography: born and raised in Barre City, his family's Hooker & Whitcomb Funeral Home, Navy service from October 1978 to December 1983, more than 35 years sober, almost 30 years in SAG/AFTRA, a 2021 run for Barre City Council and a 2022 run for state representative. Nothing on this subject. His own comments under the article thank readers and give his contact details; nothing on this subject.
[Earlier record, 2022-07-07] A column he wrote for his 2022 House race, published by the Vermont Daily Chronicle under his name, describes him as "a conservative first and a Republican second" and covers his upbringing, Navy service, recovery from alcohol, acting career, an associate degree earned in 2016, his return to Barre in 2019 and his role in the Barre American Legion. His platform there was no new taxes and more police and school resource officers. Nothing on this subject.
The race
[Read 2026-10-05] His Ballotpedia page records that Phil Scott (R), the incumbent, Amanda Janoo (D), Dean Roy (Freedom and Unity Party), June Goodband (Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party of Vermont) and Brian Judd (Independent) are running in the general election for Governor of Vermont on November 3, 2026. In 2022 he won a place on the Republican ticket in the primary for the two-seat Vermont House Washington 3 district and finished fourth in the general election with 926 votes, 18.6 percent. He has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey and did not complete its 2022 survey.
[Read 2026-10-05] The Secretary of State's 2026 general election candidate list, a spreadsheet, gives his ballot line as "BRIAN JUDD", town of residence "BARRE CITY", party "INDEPENDENT", one of five candidates for governor. Its website column is blank for him.
[Read 2026-10-05] VTDigger's 2026 general election guide lists him as the independent candidate for governor, with a link to his financial disclosure. It carries no questionnaire answers.
Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them
A 2026 interview with him on WVMT radio, 33 minutes 50 seconds, linked from iVoterGuide: https://post.futurimedia.com/wvmt/playlist/listen-2985.html . The page is an audio player with no text; not heard.
A reader comment under the Vermont Daily Chronicle article says he would be a guest on WDEV's "Hot Off the Press"; his reply says "See you in October." No recording was found; not heard.
His Facebook account, named in his 2022 column as "Brian Alan Judd". No address was given and none was found; not read.
Not on the card, and why
His state platform in detail (Act 181, psychiatric hospitals, audits, taxes): out of scope, summarized above so the absence can be checked.
His 2022 House platform: earlier record and out of scope.
His personal background beyond the outline in the deep dive: about him, not about this question.
Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/barre-independent-running-for-governor/ (opened; 2026-10-05; published 2026-08-24)
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/barre-native-navy-vet-judd-runs-for-house/ (opened; 2026-10-05; published 2022-07-07)
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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