Lindsay James
D · U.S. House, IA-2 · Tier 3
Tier 3, “Pro-Israel, critical”
Asked at a May 2026 KCCI forum of Democratic candidates whether she supports restrictions on U.S. military aid to Israel after strikes on civilian targets, she said what is happening in the Middle East is “absolutely devastating, horrifying, and morally wrong”, that “I know these solutions are imperfect but I would advocate for a two-state solution when it comes to Israel and Palestine”, and that she “would work to defund offensive weaponry and make sure that there is a shift in leadership there that actually brings about lasting peace in the Middle East.” As an Iowa state representative she voted against HF 2220 (February 2022), which wrote the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, including its contemporary examples, into Iowa law and passed the House 66–31, after voting to take up a Democratic amendment that would have replaced it with a religion-based hate-crime provision covering antisemitism and Islamophobia. The same day she voted against HF 2373, which extended Iowa’s restrictions on companies that boycott Israel to their subsidiaries, parent companies and affiliates (passed 61–35), and in March 2020 she voted against HF 2504, an IHRA-based antisemitism bill that passed the House 51–45 but was not enacted. In February 2025 she was recorded absent or not voting on HR 3, the House resolution affirming Iowa’s support for Israel (adopted 76–10); she had not sponsored HR 101 (January 2024), a similar Republican-sponsored resolution adopted without a roll call. Asked at the October 8, 2026 Iowa PBS debate whether ending the Iran war would mean decreased U.S. support for Israel, she answered only about the war: “It is time to end the war immediately, bring our troops home, bring all of those financial resources back to our own country.” A Presbyterian pastor and co-founder of the Loras College Peace Institute, she runs on farm, safety, healthcare and cost-of-living themes.
A 3, on a thin record: one answer at a May 2026 KCCI primary forum, beside three state House votes. Asked whether she supports restrictions on U.S. military aid to Israel after strikes on civilian targets, she called what is happening in the Middle East “absolutely devastating, horrifying, and morally wrong,” backed a two-state solution and said she “would work to defund offensive weaponry” and seek “a shift in leadership there.” Defunding offensive weapons is the Block the Bombs position: a limit on weapons, not an end to aid. As an Iowa state representative she voted against IHRA-based antisemitism bills in 2020 and 2022 and against the 2022 extension of Iowa’s anti-BDS law, each with most House Democrats. Her campaign site says nothing on Israel, and at the October 2026 Iowa PBS debate she answered a question about U.S. support for Israel only on the Iran war. Counter-cases: 3/4, since the three Nays are acts beside her words; 2/3, since she said it once and sidestepped it in the general election.
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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).