Derrick Van Orden
R · U.S. House, WI-3 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
A firmly pro-Israel Republican with no criticism of Israel anywhere in his record: AIPAC-, RJC-, and Trump-endorsed, he voted Yea on the Israel aid supplemental and cosponsored the House anti-Hamas / stand-with-Israel resolution, and, after Iran’s Oct 2024 missile attack, said “I stand strong with our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel” and called on the Biden administration to state publicly that Israel does not only have the ‘right to exist’ but ‘the right to live in peace.’ A Navy SEAL veteran and Trump ally in a genuine swing seat (WI-3); in 2026 his general-election opponent is J Street-backed Democrat Rebecca Cooke, the Aug 11 primary winner, who calls for halting some arms to Israel and rejects AIPAC — so here Van Orden is unambiguously the pro-Israel side. In January 2024 he signed the Smith–Manning letter, whose signers “thoroughly reject” South Africa’s “charge of genocide” against Israel.
A firm 1/2, evidenced. An incumbent with a pro-Israel voting record (Israel aid supplemental Yea), an anti-Hamas resolution cosponsorship, and AIPAC, RJC, and Trump endorsements, with zero Israel daylight. He sits at 1/2 rather than a clean Tier 1 because Tier 1 is for leaders: no daylight, but no leadership either. A cosponsorship among many on an anti-Hamas resolution is joining, not leading. He has spent some capital on Israel: in October 2023 he left Washington mid-Speaker fight for a trip to Israel he called keeping “a solemn promise to the Jewish people,” the only Republican not to vote when Mike Johnson was elected Speaker, and came back urging “a comprehensive aid package for the country of Israel, everything from bullets to band-aids.” But that is advocacy for aid others wrote, not leadership that moved Israel policy.
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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).