Todd Achilles
I · U.S. Senate, Idaho · Tier 3
Tier 3, “Pro-Israel, critical”
On The Ranch Podcast (Aug 31, 2026), asked about Israel and Gaza, he said some say “we have to 100% separate ourselves from Israel or we have to give Israel a blank check” but “there’s a lane right in the middle”: “holding the IDF accountable for war crimes that they committed at Gaza, the West Bank, and in southern Lebanon, right? I mean, 11 folks were killed in an Israeli strike yesterday. Three of them were kids. You know, you can’t allow an American ally to do that.” He said “the blank checks that we’ve enabled to the Israelis from the 2016 agreement have just created this kind of situation that we’re in right now, which is we’re funding, you know, this aggressive Netanyahu regime. So hold them accountable, remove the blank checks, treat them like any other ally. But they do have an important place in the Middle East. I mean, it is the only democracy there,” and that “the Gazans, the folks in the West Bank, the Palestinians, they’ve got a right to live in peace and security. They have a right to not like be run over by these warlords. So let’s help them get there. And the Israelis have to be a part of that solution.” A former Idaho state representative (D, District 16B, 2024–25), Army veteran and tech executive now running as an independent against Sen. Jim Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he campaigns on ending “endless wars” and the Iran war, reasserting Congress's war powers, corruption and public lands.
A 3, on a thin record: one podcast answer. On The Ranch Podcast (August 2026) he called for “a lane right in the middle” between separating from Israel and a blank check: “holding the IDF accountable for war crimes that they committed at Gaza, the West Bank, and in southern Lebanon,” since “you can’t allow an American ally to do that.” The “blank checks … from the 2016 agreement,” he said, fund “this aggressive Netanyahu regime,” so “remove the blank checks, treat them like any other ally.” That names war crimes in his own voice and would end the unconditional terms of Israel’s aid, but it conditions the aid rather than ending it and names no step on weapons. His policies page, newsroom and Ballotpedia entry are silent on Israel, he left iVoterGuide’s Israel question unanswered in 2024 and 2026, and his Idaho House record has no Israel measure. Counter-cases: 3/4, since naming war crimes and removing the blank checks go past bare conditioning; 2/3, since he keeps Israel an ally with “an important place” and “the only democracy there.”
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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).