Cait Conley
D · U.S. House, NY-17 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Won the June 2026 Democratic primary (defeating Beth Davidson and others) to challenge staunchly pro-Israel Republican Mike Lawler for this swing seat in November. A pro-Israel Democrat: DMFI-endorsed and J Street–endorsed, she supports the US-Israel alliance and at a candidate forum distanced herself from Democratic efforts in the Senate to block certain military sales to Israel, while criticizing the Netanyahu government and backing a two-state solution. She has not backed new conditions on aid; asked at a September 2026 debate whether she would withhold or condition it, she said she supports the Leahy laws, which apply to every recipient of U.S. military aid, Israel included. At a Sep 28, 2026 News 12 debate with Lawler she stressed Israel’s “right to exist” and “the safety and security of the people of Israel,” adding, “I also criticize Netanyahu when I believe he’s doing the wrong thing for Israel and for America”; per JTA, she said she would have voted against the Massie amendment cutting Israel’s $3.3 billion in annual aid, agreed with Lawler that Israel’s actions in Gaza do not constitute a genocide and that US recognition of a Palestinian state should be conditioned on Hamas disarming, opposed West Bank settlement expansion, and backed the Jewish American Security Act. At their PIX11 debate, aired October 14, 2026, the moderator asked whether U.S. taxpayer money should still fund offensive and defensive weapons for Israel; JTA reported that she agreed with Lawler that it should, and she said “America has a responsibility to help ensure the safety and security of the Israeli people.” Pressed by Lawler in the same debate, she said “Yes, I do denounce Mamdani’s statement on October 7th,” the mayor’s anniversary statement that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. On October 21 she wrote that in Congress she would ensure “America’s strong support for Israel and the Israeli people.” On October 29, posting a campaign video of Jewish supporters, she vowed to be “a steadfast ally of the Jewish community” and wrote that she would never waver “in my support for Israel as a Jewish, democratic state.” In an interview with The Nation published October 30, 2026, she said, “as someone who has been to war, the last thing I want to see is more human suffering,” that “we have to get to a two-state solution, where there’s equal safety, security, and sovereignty for Israel and Palestine,” and that “America should be pushing to deliver on that and not just give it lip service.”
A 1/2. She calls Israel “America’s strongest ally in the region, the only democracy in the Middle East and a safe haven for the Jewish people” and says it “has an obligation to defend its people” (Jewish Insider, April 2025). At a primary forum she distanced herself from Democratic efforts in the Senate to block certain arms sales to Israel, and in a September 2026 debate with Rep. Mike Lawler she said she would have voted against the Massie amendment cutting Israel’s $3.3 billion in annual aid; JTA and Rockland News reported that she rejected calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. At their October 14, 2026 debate, JTA reported, she agreed that U.S. funding for Israel’s offensive and defensive weapons should continue. She holds no leadership role on the issue and has voiced no concern for Palestinian civilians in her own words. Her criticism is of Netanyahu and of settlement expansion, beside a two-state plank that names Palestinian self-determination. The strongest counter-case is her stated support, at that debate, for applying the Leahy laws to Israel’s aid, though that is existing law for every recipient rather than a new condition.
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elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).