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United States House of Representatives
John Cappello
U.S. Representative NY-17 (2026 D Candidate · challenger · Lawler challenger (AF veteran))
Democrat
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
0
/ 100
F
Raw: 0 of 12 dynamic max
· 6 of 50 answered
Last verified: · from claim evidence
✝ God First
0/ 60
🇺🇸 America First
0/ 40
National Rank
#8,631 of 8,966 · bottom 3.7% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
💡 U.S. Capitol switchboard — ask for Representative John Cappello.
Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Next Election
June 23, 2026
Primary · Seat up at next election
— until
Registration deadline: 2026-10-24
Early voting: 2026-10-24 – 2026-11-01
Elections office: (518) 474-8100
Voter status: Check registration
State elections site: New York State Board of Elections
Official Profile
Background: Retired USAF (20+ yr B-1 pilot; Air Force attaché Tel Aviv/Belgrade); Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow. Rockland County native.
John Cappello — ACTIVE in the June 23, 2026 NY-17 Democratic primary (one of 5 Democrats challenging Rep. Mike Lawler R); AF veteran, lowest-funded of the field. Defense-hawk Democrat: reaffirms ironclad NATO Article 5, continued military aid to Ukraine, continued US-Israel MOU military assistance, opposes conditioning Israel aid (cross-party hawkishness vs. restraint rubric). 'Reject Mass Deportations'; supports Earned Path to Citizenship. No cited position on abortion, marriage/LGBTQ, family, religious liberty, guns, or election integrity — nulled.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for or actively advocates abortion abolition (not merely restrictions)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing
Not yet verified
Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law
Not yet verified
Candidate rejects transgender ideology and affirms biological sex (male/female) as immutable and God-given
Not yet verified
Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes promotion of LGBTQ+ identity in public policy, schools, military, and corporate-government partnerships
Not yet verified
Candidate supports universal school choice, homeschool freedom, and opposes compulsory public-school attendance
Not yet verified
Candidate supports parental notification and consent on all medical, mental-health, and gender-related interventions for minors
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes CRT, SOGI, "comprehensive sex ed," and gender-ideology curricula in K-12 public schools
Not yet verified
Candidate supports age-verification on pornographic content and criminal penalties for sexualized content marketed to minors
Not yet verified
Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes compelled speech against Christian conviction (pronoun mandates, gospel-proclamation hate-speech laws)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports public-square Christian symbols, prayer in public bodies, and Sabbath/Sunday closure protections
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-funded promotion of non-Christian religious displays, curricula, or holidays in public institutions
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and supports cash and decentralized crypto as legal tender
Not yet verified
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes deficit spending and supports a balanced-budget constitutional amendment
FALSE (0)
1 claim
In a June 2026 WAMC radio segment covering the NY-17 Democratic primary, Cappello named 'universal healthcare' as a top legislative priority and called for restoring and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, saying 'We're talking about people's well-being, and I think that we can figure out a way to provide universal coverage and choice.' Expanded government healthcare entitlement programs add to the federal deficit and run counter to balanced-budget fiscal principles.
- wamc.orgUnclassified
- BallotpediaCenter
Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes WEF/ESG/Davos economic capture and supports anti-trust action against monopolistic financial cartels
Not yet verified
Candidate supports hand-counted paper ballots and opposes electronic voting machines
Not yet verified
Candidate supports photo voter ID with citizenship verification
Not yet verified
Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes private election funding ("Zuckerbucks") and foreign-government election interference
Not yet verified
Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence
Not yet verified
Candidate supports mandatory deportation of all illegal aliens, including those who entered as minors
FALSE (0)[1]
Candidate opposes sanctuary city/state policies and supports federal preemption against them
Not yet verified
Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland
Not yet verified
Candidate supports constitutional carry without permit requirements
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes red-flag laws, magazine limits, "assault weapons" bans, and gun registries
Not yet verified
Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations
Not yet verified
Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation
Not yet verified
Candidate supports Article I congressional war-powers requirement before any U.S. military action
FALSE (0)
1 claim
Served as Senior Fellow for Military Affairs at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a hawkish think tank that consistently advocates for forward U.S. military engagement, escalating sanctions, and sustained confrontation with adversaries — the opposite of the Article-I/restraint posture the rubric requires.
- BallotpediaCenter
Candidate supports immediate withdrawal from forever wars and repeal of standing AUMFs
Candidate opposes foreign aid to nations hostile to U.S. interests or actively persecuting Christians
Not yet verified
Candidate has never accepted donations from foreign-backed lobbies (e.g., AIPAC) or foreign-linked PACs
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes U.S. participation in WHO, U.N. governance overreach, NATO expansion, and supranational governance
FALSE (0)[1]
Candidate opposes pharmaceutical mandates of any kind (COVID, childhood, employer-required) and supports informed consent
Not yet verified
Candidate supports repeal of pharma liability shields (1986 NCVIA, PREP Act) and restoration of tort accountability
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes Big Ag consolidation (Bayer/Monsanto/Cargill) and supports anti-trust action against agricultural cartels
Not yet verified
Candidate supports raw-milk freedom, small-farm protections, and opposes USDA / EPA overreach against family farms
Not yet verified
Candidate supports defense-contractor accountability, completion of Pentagon audits, and ending revolving-door appointments
FALSE (0)
1 claim
A 20+ year Air Force career officer (B-1 pilot, Defense Attaché in Tel Aviv) and FDD military-affairs fellow who champions increased U.S. defense-technology investment; his career and affiliations align with expanding, not auditing, Pentagon and defense-contractor spending.
- BallotpediaCenter
Sources & Evidence
1 Center3 Other
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
www.cappelloforcongress.com/prioritiesUnclassified
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]Campaign 'Reject Mass Deportations and Political Stunts' and supports an 'Earned Path to Citizenship' plus expanded legal pathways — contrary to mandatory deportation of all illegal aliens. Unclassified
Campaign 'Reject Mass Deportations and Political Stunts' and supports an 'Earned Path to Citizenship' plus expanded legal pathways — contrary to mandatory deportation of all illegal aliens.
- [2]Supports continued military, intelligence, and economic assistance to Ukraine and the US-Israel MOU; opposes conditioning Israel aid — contrary to immediate withdrawal from forever wars. Unclassified
Supports continued military, intelligence, and economic assistance to Ukraine and the US-Israel MOU; opposes conditioning Israel aid — contrary to immediate withdrawal from forever wars.
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