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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

FactChecking the Alaska Senate Race

FactChecking the Alaska Senate Race

Sen. Mark Begich has portrayed his Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, as soft on sex offenders and tough on women’s rights. Sullivan has accused the Democrat of hurting taxpayers and ignoring veterans. Both candidates and their allies have twisted the facts.

Begich’s Bogus Tax Boast

Begich’s Bogus Tax Boast

Sen. Mark Begich makes the bogus claim in two ads that he “voted against President Obama’s trillion-dollar tax increase.” He voted against a GOP resolution that set forth Obama’s spending levels for fiscal year 2013 but without the president’s policy language.

Midterm Medicare Mudslinging

Midterm Medicare Mudslinging

Democrats, Republicans spend nearly $50 million on TV ads that repeat old, scary Medicare claims.

Abortion Distortions 2014

Abortion Distortions 2014

In the 2014 fight for control of Congress, Democrats are sometimes using a tactic they’ve used before: Falsifying or exaggerating the positions their Republican opponents have taken on abortion.

Alaska’s Pension Fight

Alaska’s Pension Fight

The Alaska Senate candidates exaggerate the impact of a $500 million settlement that Republican Dan Sullivan reached as state attorney general in 2010.

The Rest of Alaska’s Crime Story

The Rest of Alaska’s Crime Story

A controversial TV ad from Sen. Mark Begich accuses his opponent, former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan, of letting “a lot of sex offenders get off with light sentences” — specifically one ex-con who prosecutors say killed an elderly couple and raped their infant granddaughter in 2013.

Twisting Begich’s Response to VA Scandal

Twisting Begich’s Response to VA Scandal

Crossroads GPS misuses a quote from Sen. Mark Begich and conflates two separate management problems at the Veterans Administration to insinuate in a TV ad that Begich doesn’t take the current VA scandal seriously.

‘Outright Lies’ in Alaska?

‘Outright Lies’ in Alaska?

In the Alaska Senate race, a radio ad from GOP frontrunner Dan Sullivan complains of “outright lies” in a TV ad from a super PAC supporting Democratic Sen. Mark Begich. The pro-Begich ad complains about the Koch brothers supporting Sullivan’s campaign.