Emilia Sykes
D · U.S. House, OH-13 · Tier 2
Tier 2, “Mainstream pro-Israel”
With Rep. Nikema Williams, Sykes co-led a May 2025 letter to Israel’s ambassador asking how Israel would manage aid after “your two-month blockade” and urging it to “thoughtfully, humanely, and effectively facilitate the provision of a significant amount of humanitarian aid in a way that benefits the people of Gaza,” while accepting “the need for additional vetting and security around aid”; that month she also signed the Democratic statement crediting Israel with having “facilitated the entry of 1.78 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza.” She split from most Democrats to vote for the January 2025 ICC-sanctions bill and No on the July 2026 Massie amendment — “Israel is one of our most important allies and I strongly support its security and right to defend itself” — signed the April 2024 letter urging Speaker Johnson to put the Senate’s aid package, with its aid to Israel, to “an immediate vote,” and voted for that package and H.Res.894, but against the February 2024 Israel-only bill (which, her office said, “delays Congress’ ability to help Israel defend itself and fails to include funding for humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza”), H.R.8369, the 2024 ICC bill and the September 2026 anti-boycott bill. Her statements pair Palestinian suffering with Israel’s defense (Nov 2023, Oct 2024, Jan 2025) and back “a two-state solution that recognizes the rights of both the Jewish and Palestinian people”; in October 2025 she welcomed a deal that “stops the fighting in Gaza, giving Palestinians a measure of reprieve”; with most House Democrats she signed the September 2025 letter urging Netanyahu’s government “to refrain from steps toward unilateral annexation” of the West Bank; and she cosponsored the West Bank Violence Prevention Act (Nov 2025) and the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act (2025).
A flat 2, with a case for 1/2. Her votes are mainstream pro-Israel with two splits toward that end (the 2025 ICC-sanctions bill and No on Massie), and nearly every line of concern for Palestinians in her own statements comes paired with Israel’s right to defend itself or its security. What holds her at 2 is the May 2025 aid letter she co-led, which presses Israel on aid after its blockade without invoking its self-defense, together with her cosponsorship of the West Bank Violence Prevention Act; the September 2025 letter against West Bank annexation, which she signed with most House Democrats, adds little. Counter-case: a 1/2, because that letter accepts Israel’s aid-vetting rationale and blames Hamas, and she signed the same month’s statement crediting Israel’s aid record; there is no leadership on the issue that would reach toward 1.
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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).