Chris Chaffee
R · U.S. House, MD-5 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
A Calvert County contractor and farmer, the 2022 GOP Senate nominee, he won the June 2026 GOP primary in MD-5; asked by the Baltimore Sun in March 2024 whether the U.S. should speak out more clearly about civilian casualties in Gaza, he answered only: “We must free all hostages and return them to their families.” In iVoterGuide questionnaires as a Senate candidate he answered “Yes, Israel is one of our greatest allies. As a Catholic it is where Christ was born. Having a strong alliance with Israel is good for all of us and is the pathway to peace” (2024); disagreed with supporting BDS, writing that “Removing the separation barrier will only enhance the conflict and loss of life” (2022); and agreed that “The United States should help defend Israel from attack by its enemies” (strongly in 2016, agree in 2018). He left iVoterGuide’s Israel question unanswered in 2026.
A 1/2, on a thin and dated record: questionnaire answers from his Senate runs (2016–2024), with nothing on Israel from his 2026 House race. In iVoterGuide’s 2024 questionnaire he called Israel “one of our greatest allies” and a strong alliance “the pathway to peace”; in 2022 he disagreed with supporting BDS, writing that “Removing the separation barrier will only enhance the conflict and loss of life”; in 2016 and 2018 he agreed the U.S. should “help defend Israel from attack by its enemies.” Asked by the Baltimore Sun in March 2024 whether the U.S. should speak out more clearly about civilian casualties in Gaza, he answered only “We must free all hostages and return them to their families,” with no word for Palestinian civilians. That is support without daylight, and there is no leadership on the issue: he holds no office and has led nothing on it. His FEC filings show no pro-Israel PAC money in 2022, 2024 or 2026. Counter-case: unrated, since every answer predates this race and he left iVoterGuide’s 2026 Israel question blank.
Open the full card, with votes, money and every source, on elect26 →
elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).