Common Dreams, on Gaza, 21 October 2026

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Majority of Swing State Voters Say Stop Sending US Bombs to Israel

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Polling published Wednesday revealed that a majority of voters in six key swing states that are expected to decide who controls the Senate after next month's midterm elections want their senators to block the transfer of US bombs to Israel as it wages a genocidal war on Gaza.YouGov queried more than 3,200 voters in Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas for the Institute of Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project poll.

A majority of respondents in all six states said they approve of "Senate measures to block the transfer of bombs to Israel." Approval ranged from 51% in North Carolina to 65% in Maine. In no state did the percentage of people who disagreed with blocking bomb transfers to Israel exceed 31%.Respondents were also asked if they "approve or disapprove of cutting $3.3 billion in taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel." In all six states, approval of cutting armed aid far exceeded disapproval.

Two states—Georgia and Ohio—had a margin of 22%, while the gap between those who support and oppose cutting off weapons transfers to Israel was widest in Maine, at 40 percentage points.NEW POLLS: A majority of likely voters in six states expected to decide control of the US Senate - Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas - support Senate measures to block the transfer of bombs to Israel.[image or embed]— IMEU Policy Project (@imeupolicy.bsky.social) October 21, 2026 at 8:11 AMFurthermore, survey respondents in all six states said that President Donald Trump's illegal Iran War benefits Israel more than the United States.Among Democratic respondents, support for blocking bomb transfers to Israel ranged between 75% in North Carolina to 86% in Maine, while independent backing of the policy was lowest in Iowa and Maine (54%) and highest in Ohio (75%).

Republican approval of cutting off bomb transfers to Israel ranged from 26% in North Carolina to 45% in Maine.“Not only has ending weapons to Israel become the near-consensus view of Democratic voters, but we’re now seeing that voters across the spectrum, including most independents and a substantial number of Republicans, are tired of seeing their government use our tax dollars to supply Israel with bombs when millions struggle to afford the basics here at home,” IMEU Policy Project executive director Margaret DeReus said in a statement.“These results are strong evidence that the endless giveaways to Israel will be a liability this November—and in 2028," she said, looking forward to the next presidential election."Politicians who prioritize winning over catering to the fringe demands from AIPAC should take note," DeReus added, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation's largest Israel lobby.

According to the political intelligence platform PoliStack, the Senate candidate in the six surveyed states who has received the most campaign contributions from AIPAC's United Democracy Project (UDP) during the 2026 election cycle is Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who took in over $410,000. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) received more than $130,000.While AIPAC's largesse has proved decisive in some races, it has also been increasingly ineffective in others.

For example, UDP spent roughly $30 million this year in Michigan's US Senate Democratic primary, including about $10.5 million supporting Congresswoman Haley Stevens and more than $20 million opposing Abdul El-Sayed, who won.

The IMEU Policy Project survey adds to the growing body of polling showing a significant shift in US attitudes toward Israel amid the Gaza genocide, which has left more than 250,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, as well as increasing violence by Israeli troops and Jewish settler colonists in the West Bank, where Israel is ethnically cleansing Palestinians in pursuit of what critics—and even some Israeli leaders—say is the annexation of the illegally occupied territory.

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About this analysis

Common Dreams reports a YouGov poll for the IMEU Policy Project finding that majorities in six Senate battleground states back blocking bomb transfers to Israel. It gives state-by-state figures, quotes the poll question, and attributes the advocacy view to the group's director. It names the genocide and the illegal occupation plainly, and nothing in it misleads its reader.

What it gets right

  • “as it wages a genocidal war on Gaza”

    The outlet names Israel's genocide in Gaza in its own voice, as the UN Commission of Inquiry found (R1), rather than softening it to a conflict.

  • “the Gaza genocide, which has left more than 250,000 Palestinians dead or wounded”

    The outlet gives the scale of the killing and wounding, matching its own earlier reporting of a toll of 250,000 Palestinians killed or wounded.

  • “the annexation of the illegally occupied territory”

    The outlet calls the West Bank occupation illegal, as the ICJ's 2024 advisory opinion holds (R4), and does not call it disputed territory.

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