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Voters line up to cast their ballots in the midterm election at the Aspray Boat House in Warwick, R.I., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP)
Today is the day. The road to 2022 was paved with Pants on Fire, truth and everything in between. PolitiFact is buckled in to continue fact-checking key Senate races we’ve been following all along: Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada and Arizona (more on that later).
We’re also staying plugged in to the drumbeat of election misinformation. It’s been an assault from candidates, a former president, Instagram, the list goes on.
Tonight, and for the rest of the week (month?) you may see claims about election integrity on your television, social media feed, in your email inbox. Please send them to us! Email [email protected] with your fact-check tips or questions.
Fact-checking six key Senate races:
Fact-checking Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker in Georgia's Senate race
Herschel Walker: Warnock "voted with Biden 96% of the time."
This is accurate.
Raphael Warnock: The child tax credit passed under Biden "has helped 97% of the families with children who are living in poverty."
This is Half True.
Warnock: "Black women are three to four times more likely to die (from maternal mortality) even when they have the insurance and the income."
This is Mostly True.
Walker: "Right now, people have coverage for health care. It’s a question of what type of health care do you want? Because if you have an able-bodied job, you’re going to have health care."
This is inaccurate.
Read the full roundup of Georgia claims >>
Fact-checking claims in the John Fetterman-Mehmet Oz Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race
Mehmet Oz: John Fetterman wants to "eliminate life sentences for murderers."
"John Fetterman wants to release one-third of dangerous criminals back into our communities."
We rated each of these claims made in ads approved by Oz as Mostly False.
American Leadership Action: As a mayor, "John Fetterman chased down an innocent, unarmed Black man," wielded a shotgun and "falsely accused the man, triggering a confrontation with police."
This political ad is Mostly True.
Read the full roundup of Pennsylvania claims >>
Fact-checking J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan in Ohio Senate race
Tim Ryan: "J.D. Vance said nothing about" the attack on Paul Pelosi.
This is False.
J.D. Vance: Ryan "wanted to decriminalize fentanyl."
We rated this Pants on Fire! Ryan not only hasn’t advocated for this, he clearly stated the opposite.
Ryan: Instead of fighting opioid addiction, a nonprofit founded by J.D. Vance paid his "top political adviser" and funded "political polling."
We rated this claim Mostly True.
Vance: Ryan said "I do love" Nancy Pelosi and votes with Joe Biden and Pelosi 100%.
This claim, made in a Vance campaign ad, is Half True.
Read the roundup of Pennsylvania claims >>
Fact-checking Catherine Cortez Masto and Adam Laxalt in Nevada Senate race
Catherine Cortez Masto: Adam Laxalt is "anti-DACA" and "fought against the protections for DACA recipients when he was attorney general."
This is Half True.
Adam Laxalt: "Biden and Democrats have dismantled border security."
This is False.
Cortez Masto: Laxalt said it is "good news" that "a lot of those Hispanic small businesses never reopened" after the pandemic.
This is False.
Laxalt: The public health order Title 42 is "the last tool Border Patrol has to stop the overwhelming flood of illegal immigrants pouring into our country."
This is False.
Read the full roundup of Nevada claims >>
Fact-checking Mark Kelly and Blake Masters in Arizona Senate race
Mark Kelly: Masters "wants to pass a national ban on abortion."
This is Mostly True.
Blake Masters: Kelly "voted to legalize abortion up until the moment of birth."
This is Mostly False.
Read the full roundup of Arizona claims >>
Fact-checking Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Val Demings in Florida Senate race
Demings: "Rubio is following his party bosses, like Rick Scott, with his plan to raise taxes on Florida's working families, retirees and veterans."
This was one of the earliest attacks from Demings against Rubio, and it rated False.
Rubio: Demings "called abolishing the police' thoughtful.'"
This is False.
Demings: Rubio has "one of the worst attendance records in the Senate."
This is Mostly True.
Rubio: "Demings supports abortion up until the moment of birth."
This is Mostly False.
Read the full roundup of Florida claims >>
Here are some more strong Election Day reads:
- The attack on Paul Pelosi shows how consumption of radical content can escalate to political violence. Despite social media platforms’ efforts to remove QAnon content, support of the theory often persists unchecked.
- If Republicans take over one or both chambers of Congress, the party is eager to extend 2017 tax cuts passed by former President Donald Trump. But critics say this would add to the same inflation that GOP messaging has targeted in the midterm election.
- President Joe Biden’s final speeches of the midterm election cycle spun the country’s economic gains and warned about Republican plans for Social Security and Medicare. Here are fact-checks of his closing argument >>
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