Laurie Buckhout
R · U.S. House, NC-1 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Her campaign platform says the United States “must have the strength by all means necessary to protect us from countries like China, Iran, and Russia and to defend our allies like Israel,” and asked in her 2024 and 2026 iVoterGuide questionnaires whether the U.S.-Israel relationship is important, she answered: “Yes. They are the only democracy in the middle east and stand against tyranny and terrorists.” Asked by WITN in October 2024 about concerns over how Israel is fighting in Gaza, she said, “I think what they’re doing in Gaza, quite frankly is what warring nations do,” and in a February 2026 primary debate, WRAL reported, she backed continuing more than $3 billion a year to Israel, calling it “a very powerful ally to us in the Middle East.” A retired Army colonel whose site says she served in President Trump's administration on national security, she is challenging Rep. Don Davis a second time.
A 1/2, not a clean 1. What she has said is zero-daylight support — defending Israel “by all means necessary,” Israel as the region's only democracy, its conduct in Gaza as “what warring nations do” — with no concern for Palestinian civilians expressed. But it is a platform line, a questionnaire answer and a few interview and debate remarks, not leadership: no authored Israel legislation, no lobby fundraising operation, no Israel-centered brand; her questionnaires otherwise lean toward staying out of foreign conflicts unless U.S. interests are directly threatened.
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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).