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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Dust-Up in Coal Country

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin is under fire from his Republican opponent, John Raese, for supposedly undermining the coal industry. Raese’s ad is misleading, though. Even the coal producers disagree with it.
The two are competing to fill the last two years of the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd’s term.

Raese says that Manchin "passed a law that eliminates 25 percent of coal usage in our power plants." But that’s not true. The Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act,

Crossroads Jam-Up

The latest ads from the American Crossroads “super PAC” attack Democrats running for Senate seats in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Missouri and New Hampshire. The ads contain a number of misleading and false claims. …

FactChecking ‘The Pledge’

The Republican “Pledge to America,” released Sept. 23, contains some dubious factual claims. It declares that “the only parts of the economy expanding are government and our national debt.” Not true. . . .

Toss-ups: Wisconsin

Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is attacking his Republican challenger for denouncing taxpayer aid to businesses after accepting a government subsidy for his own firm. GOP challenger Ron Johnson says Feingold’s ad is “wrong” …

AFSCME’s Misleading Tax Attack

AFSCME, the big labor union, is running a misleading ad attacking one of the GOP’s premier House candidates. In an attempt to protect a vulnerable freshman Democrat, Rep. John Boccieri of Ohio, AFSCME badly misrepresents his Republican challenger’s stance on taxation. AFSCME’s ad …

In N.M., Wildlife Group Mislabels Pearce

This ad says Republican Steve Pearce was "named one of the most corrupt members of Congress." We find that’s a bum rap.
The ad also falsely attacks the former GOP congressman for voting in 2005 to give "big oil giants like BP … billions in tax breaks." Pearce’s vote actually resulted in a net increase in taxes for oil and gas companies.

The ad is by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. It first aired Aug.

Adler Taxes the Truth

Democratic Rep. John Adler calls his GOP opponent an "irresponsible tax dodger" in a campaign flier. His claims are misleading.
Property taxes are a major political issue in New Jersey, which has the highest median tax burden in the country, according to The Tax Foundation. Its median property tax is $6,320 on a home, outpacing runner-up Connecticut by almost $2,000.

‘Fail to pay?’ Not really.

But did Jon Runyan, a former Philadelphia Eagles lineman,

Nevada Blame Game

Republican Sharron Angle’s latest attack ad gets the facts about Nevada’s miserable economy right, but invites a questionable conclusion.

The ad is called "Please Stop," and it mocks Democratic Sen. Harry Reid’s campaign slogan of "no one can do more" for Nevada. In the ad, Angle concedes that Reid "has done more for Nevada," but she doesn’t mean it in a good way. The ad, which began airing July 21, gets the basic facts right:

Angle says in her ad,

Whitman, Unions Swap Misleading Charges

A coalition of labor unions called California Working Families for Jerry Brown has relentlessly attacked Meg Whitman since she won the Republican gubernatorial nomination June 8. Now Whitman is firing back — accusing Democrat Brown of …

Loans to Mobsters, Ties to BP? Kirk’s Attack Ads Go Too Far

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk is attacking his Democratic opponent in the Illinois race for the U.S. Senate with two ads that go beyond what the facts support. The ads make unsupported claims about the role Giannoulias played at his family’s troubled bank and strain  to tie him to BP, among other dubious statements.
Kirk released the new ads less than a day after he apologized for embellishing his own military record.
Bank Shot
According to one of the ads,