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

James Byrd

Democrat · U.S. Senate, Wyoming
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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.

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No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Byrd, a former state legislator, sponsored Wyoming’s 2017 resolution discouraging boycotts of Israel at a Jackson rabbi’s request, telling the Casper Star-Tribune it was “primarily about the Jewish nation, the Jewish culture, but it really does extend fundamentally to everything else.” Nothing located since, on any tracked topic.

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Deep Dive

Byrd is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Wyoming, a former state House member (2009-2019).

His one located record item is from 2017: as a state representative he sponsored a non-binding joint resolution discouraging boycott, divestment and sanctions practices against Israel, asking state agencies to weigh whether contractors participate in such boycotts. He introduced it at the request of Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn of Jackson and told the Casper Star-Tribune, as quoted by the Brandeis Center: "This is primarily about the Jewish nation, the Jewish culture, but it really does extend fundamentally to everything else." The research also rendered him as saying the measure took no stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was meant to oppose discrimination against Jews; those words were not found on any page that opens (the Star-Tribune’s own page sits behind a paywall), so they are described here, not quoted.

Nothing since 2017 was located on any tracked topic: no campaign statement on aid, the conflict, lobbying, or antisemitism. Ask Byrd directly 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 2026-07-13) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

In their words

“This is primarily about the Jewish nation, the Jewish culture, but it really does extend fundamentally to everything else.”
Source ↗, 2017-01-16

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

  • Nothing located at any date.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2017-01, as quoted] His words to the Casper Star-Tribune on the resolution, verified on the Brandeis Center’s reproduction of the January 2017 report: "This is primarily about the Jewish nation, the Jewish culture, but it really does extend fundamentally to everything else." The research’s further rendering, that the measure took no stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was not found on any page that opens; described, not quoted.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Action, 2017-01] House Joint Resolution 4, the state anti-boycott resolution he sponsored at Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn’s request, asking agencies to note whether a company boycotts Israel when contracting; the request and the mechanism verified on Israel-Palestine News’s reproduction of the Star-Tribune report (January 31, 2017). His election-guide profile confirms the candidacy.
  • No tracked committee support.

Safety and antisemitism

  • [Reported, 2017-01] The opposition-to-discrimination framing appears in the Brandeis Center’s account as the resolution’s aim; it is not carried as his words.

Sources retrieved for this card

Race and status context

  • Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. His Republican opponent’s card carries its own record.

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Harriet Hageman (Republican)

All Wyoming 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.