Houston Gaines
R · U.S. House, GA-10 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
An Athens state representative since 2019 and the Trump-endorsed nominee for the open GA-10 seat. His issues page credits Trump's handling of Iran because "we eliminated the nuclear threat, kept our troops out of harms way, and stood with our ally, Israel." In the Georgia House he voted for HB 383, which kept the requirement that state contractors certify they are not boycotting Israel (March 2021, passed 150-18), and for both bills to write the IHRA antisemitism definition into state law, HB 1274 (2022), which died in the Senate, and HB 30 (2023), signed in January 2024.
A 1/2, not a clean 1. His record is consistent and zero-daylight: an "ally, Israel" line on his campaign page plus Yea votes for Georgia’s anti-boycott-of-Israel contracting law and for writing the IHRA definition into state law, and his name on a January 2024 ALEC letter urging President Biden not to press Israel into “a premature ceasefire” and to “maintain and increase your support for the State of Israel.” But he sponsored none of those bills. The measure he did lead, HB 1379 (signed in May 2026), requires Georgia’s public schools, technical colleges and public universities to report funding from foreign countries and entities of concern; the pro-Israel Georgia Solidarity Network crafted it after a report on Qatari funding of Georgia schools, and he told Jewish Insider such funding had sought to push anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages into school curricula, by the outlet’s account, though the law itself never names Israel. With no hardline brand and no role driving anti-BDS enforcement, he is not a clean 1; and with no word of concern for Palestinian civilians, there is no case for a flat 2. Beyond the ALEC letter he is thin on federal specifics (nothing on military aid by name); a statement on aid could sharpen the call.
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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).