Fact Check: Candidate claims and analysis of their truth or falsity. Analysis by FactCheck.org, and CNN.

EXPLANATORY NOTE by OnTheIssues.org:

FactCheck.org analyses the veracity of statements made during political races. OnTheIssues.org summarizes two sets of analyses:
1. From debates and public speeches
2. From TV & radio advertisements

Following is the self-description of how FactCheck.org works:

[FactCheck.org is] a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Steve Daines: No exceptions for rape nor incest, but no criminalization.     Chris Christie: FactCheck: No, Dems allow plenty of pro-life speakers.     Rick Santorum: FactCheck: Under 1/4 of pregnancies end in abortion, not 1/3.     Rick Santorum: FactCheck: No, female suicide & crime not worse under Roe.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Abortions HAVE gone down under Pres. Bush.

Budget & Economy     Steve Daines: Obama stimulus shipped American jobs to China.     Rand Paul: FactCheck: US borrowing $30,000 per second, not $50,000.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: $2.5T deficit reduction is a debatable estimate.     Paul Ryan: FactCheck:Stimulus spending created between 1.4M & 3.6M jobs.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama's estimate of $8T deficit is closer to $3T.     Bob McDonnell: FactCheck: No, Obama won't double debt; only 55% increase.     Bob McDonnell: FactCheck: Yes, federal debt is over $100,000 per household.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: National debt up from $6T to $10T under Bush.     John McCain: FactCheck: Rescue package already has mortgage renegotiation.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama’s new programs cost $286B; McCain’s $211B.     John McCain: FactCheck: Said--then denied--he needed economics education.     Barack Obama: Voted against limiting credit to 30%, because 30% too high.     Hillary Clinton: Voted to limit credit card interest to 30%.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Consistently against making bankruptcy stricter.     George W. Bush: Fact Check: Deficit didn’t exist at end of Clinton term.     Joseph Lieberman: Fact Check: Implies economy not growing-really it grew 8.2%.

Civil Rights     Terri Lynn Land: Equal pay good; but Paycheck Fairness Act bad.

Corporations     Republican Party: FactCheck: Obama didn't say "you didn't build that".     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Many steps until companies can bankroll elections.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: No, Obama’s plan won’t tax millions of businesses.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Pushed Wal-Mart for women managers & environment.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Closed $174M in corporate tax loopholes.

Education     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Race to the Top has only rewarded 12 states.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Yes, NCLB has raised test scores.     George W. Bush: Fact Check: NCLB increased school funding, but shy by $5.4B.

Energy & Oil     Gary Peters: FactCheck: Mich. gets back more in gas tax than it collects.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, US reduced CO2 tonnage, but that's only 6%.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, more domestic oil, but due to new technology.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Wind & solar doubled, but now only 1.4% of energy.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Oil dependence low; but gas prices highest ever.     Newt Gingrich: FactCheck: US has 110-year supply of gas, not 1,100 years.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: clean coal isn't ready; nuke waste is unresolved.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: US imports less oil today than in 2005.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Chevy Volt uses Korean battery, but Ford's don't.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: McCain rejected alternatives 11 times, not 23.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Reluctant on nuclear power in past; now favors it.     John McCain: FactCheck: No, Obama voted for $300M oil tax INCREASE.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Both McCain & Obama plans kill oil tax loopholes.     John McCain: FactCheck: US sends $357B to hostile countries, not $700B.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama not opposed to nuclear energy; just Yucca.     John McCain: FactCheck: Voted against new investments in renewable energy.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, FTC is investigating gas price manipulation.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Self-contradictory on Bush’s clean-energy plan.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Oil & gas giveaways stripped from final 2005 Bill.     John Edwards: FactCheck: Changed to anti-Yucca before forged documents.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: No, NH gas prices are not highest ever.

Environment     John Kerry: Fact Check: Contaminated home uses city water, not bottled.

Foreign Policy     Joe Biden: FactCheck: McCain did not refuse to sit down with Spain.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Kissinger opposes presidential meetings with Iran.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Campaign prevented committee meetings, not rules.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama sought restraint in Georgia; so did Bush.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Accomplished but exaggerated foreign experience.

Free Trade     John Edward Walsh: Don't ship American jobs to China.     Steve Daines: Worked for 6 years bringing U.S. consumer products to China.     Tammy Baldwin: FactCheck: Tried but failed to require US-made ship engines.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Chinese tire import ban replaced by other imports.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, exports up; but not enough to double by 2014.     George W. Bush: Fact Check: Free trade tempered by steel protectionism.

Government Reform     Elena Kagan: Commerce clause does not apply to non-economic activities.     Rand Paul: FactCheck: No, Kagan never she'd regulate vegetable eating.     Paul Ryan: FactCheck: all-time high government was 1943, not 2009.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, set up first reverse-revolving door policy.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, earmarks total $18B in this year’s budget.     John McCain: FactCheck: Killed corrupt $6.8B contract, but reinstated it.     John McCain: FactCheck: Earmarks have gone down in last 5 years.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Worked with McCain on ethics, but bill fell apart.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Earmark veto threat takes no effect until 2009.     John McCain: FactCheck: $35B in pork meant $484 per child, not $1000.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, Obama cast 130 “present” votes in IL Senate.     John McCain: FactCheck: Claim of “24 years with no earmarks” mostly true.

Gun Control     Bernie Sanders: 2005: Allow suing gun manufacturers for negligence.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban.

Health Care     Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: US pays twice OECD average, but not every country.     Pete Buttigieg: 2018: Medicare-for-All; 2020: only for those who want it.     Marco Rubio: FactCheck: ObamaCare is not now forcing loss of insurance.     Tammy Baldwin: Supports single payer, public option, and Medicare for all.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: healthcare reform saves $2B to $10B, not $250B.     Michele Bachmann: FactCheck: pre-ObamaCare system was 49th, not best in world.     Paul Ryan: FactCheck: costs go up just a bit; jobs go down just a bit.     Paul Ryan: FactCheck: No evidence that healthcare reform explodes debt.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama's estimate of $1T saved is closer to $132B.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Healthcare costs cause one bankruptcy per minute.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Exempts small business, but no $2,500/yr savings.     John McCain: FactCheck: Plan is $5,000 per family, not $5,000 per person.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: Obama’s plan does not remove private insurance.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: McCain’s plan costs $14B/year; not budget-neutral.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: McCain’s plan taxes employees, not employers.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama’s plan is voluntary for adults.     John McCain: FactCheck: McCain’s $5,000 health tax credit would be taxed.     Hillary Clinton: AdWatch: Got health insurance for six million kids.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, she deserves credit for SCHIP.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Tax deduction insures at most 9M, & not poorest.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, Obama favored single-payer, despite denial.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: No, US costs are not twice as much as others.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Untrue that 47M uninsured want to “not play”.     Howard Dean: Fact Check: Dean agreed with Clinton on cuts, not Gingrich.

Homeland Security     Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: $1.8 trillion on all military, not just weapons.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: F-22 Raptor costs $140M and has never been used.     John McCain: FactCheck: Pushed for immediate withdrawal from Somalia.     John McCain: FactCheck: Voted against Lebanon deployment, but post-hoc.     Ron Paul: FactCheck: US spends $572B on foreign operations, not $1T.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Wiretapping authority foiled no terrorist plots.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Promised to repeal Patriot Act, then voted for it.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Claimed Clinton cut army by 25%; actually was 16%.

Immigration     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Fewer border crossings mostly due to economy.     John McCain: FactCheck: Yes, he has used the word “amnesty” in the past.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Yes, his ads DID accuse McCain of “amnesty”.

Jobs     Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: Unemployment under Trump is lowest in decades.     Donald Trump: FactCheck: Unemployment under Trump is lowest in decades.     Mike Pence: Indiana's unemployment rate was cut in half since 2013.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, 500K manufacturing jobs since 2010, but...     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Briefly supported tying minimum wage to inflation.     Tommy Thompson: FactCheck: Unemployment down while governor, but not 2.1%.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Jobs increasing, but still lower than in 2008.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: No, fewer US unemployed than Canadians employed.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: No, more jobs lost under Bush than under Obama.     Michele Bachmann: FactCheck: bailout cost $25B, not $700B; and no IRS police.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama's estimate of 2M jobs saved is closer to 1M.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Economic plan may create only 2.2M jobs, not 3.5M.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Yes, 52 months of job growth, but at lower wages.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Cut unemployment substantially, but not in half.     Howard Dean: Fact Check: Claims Bush cost US 3M jobs - really only 2.7M.     Joseph Lieberman: Fact Check: Claims Bush cost US 3.5M jobs - really only 2.7M.

Principles & Values     Tammy Baldwin: FactCheck: Only 3 bills out of 105 sponsorships became law.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama treats Secret Service members with respect.     Bob McDonnell: FactCheck: No, Thomas Jefferson was a Democrat.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: William Ayres never killed anyone with bombs.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, refused to wear a flag pin, last year.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Ranked most liberal in Senate, based on 99 votes.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Ranked 16th most liberal in Senate.     John McCain: FactCheck: Won NH & SC via independents, but lost GOP vote.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama praised GOP for having ideas, not GOP ideas.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Took Rezko’s donations, but never represented him.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Obama, Bill, & Hillary all praised Ronald Reagan.     Dennis Kucinich: Excluded from debate by Nevada Supreme Court ruling.

Social Security     Joni Ernst: Something like personal savings accounts for younger workers.     Steve Daines: AdWatch: Accuses opponent of considering privatization.     John Edward Walsh: Consider privatization for new employees entering workforce.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: No, teachers & police won’t pay if cap over $102K.     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Slower growth of benefits for future retirees.

Tax Reform     Elizabeth Warren: FactCheck: "2% wealth tax" is 6% on wealthiest billionaires.     Donald Trump: OpEd AdWatch: Trump more liberal on taxes than Democrats.     Donald Trump: FactCheck: Proposed 14% tax on wealthy in 2000, but not now.     Donald Trump: No net increase in taxes, but increases on wealthy.     Tommy Thompson: FactCheck: Tax cuts would save top 1% $87,000 each.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Tax cut only helps 75% or workers, not 95%.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama voted for taxes 76 times, not 94 times.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: McCain did not vote with Obama on tax increase.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: Undoing Bush tax cut only hits families over $83K.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Voted for non-binding tax increase on $42K income.     John McCain: FactCheck: $7,000-per-child tax EXEMPTION, not tax CREDIT.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Expiring tax cuts typically cost $828, not $1,800.     John McCain: FactCheck: Against Bush tax cuts in 2003; for them in 2006.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: To be revenue-neutral, FairTax raises some taxes.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: FairTax does not bring underground into economy.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Never opposed 2003 Bush cuts, but never supported.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Claimed 34% NYC hotel tax cut; actual cut was 14%.     George W. Bush: Fact Check: Tax relief fueled spending, but not job growth.     Howard Dean: Fact Check: Claims 60% got $325 tax cut-really 50% got $470.

Technology     Donald Trump: FactCheck: 24% of our bridges are in trouble, not 59%.     Heritage Foundation: FHA highway funds are skewed because strings are attached.     Rand Paul: FactCheck: Free "Obama phones" actually started in 1984.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: High-speed rail for 80% possible; but not soon.

War & Peace     Joe Biden: FactCheck: removed troops from Iraq, but they went back.     Tom Steyer: Obama got Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Iraqis have $29B surplus, not $79B.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: No, we’re not back to pre-surge troop levels.     Sarah Palin: FactCheck: No, Afghan general did not say a surge would work.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Iraq has at most $59B surplus, not $79B surplus.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Promised 16-month exit; now 16-month reduction.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Opposes surge--hasn’t produced political solution.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Pakistan has lost 1,200 troops fighting Al Qaeda.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Kissinger says Iran meet ok; but only lower level.     John McCain: FactCheck: Admiral did not call Obama’s plan dangerous.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama did declare Republican Guard terrorists.     John McCain: FactCheck: Bush vetoed troop bill that Obama voted against.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Overstated displaced Iraqis; actually 4.2 million.     George W. Bush: FactCheck: Troop drawdown of 20,000 still above pre-surge.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: No, violence in Iraq is LOWER than 2 years ago.     John McCain: FactCheck: Yes, criticized Rumsfeld, but not before invasion.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: Correct that Romney did support timed withdrawal.     George W. Bush: Fact Check: No evidence of bio, chemical, or nuclear WMDs.

Welfare & Poverty     Tommy Thompson: Converted welfare into work-required benefit.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Cannot limit refinancing to responsible borrowers.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Barack Obama Democratic President (elected 2008) Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson New Mexico Former Democratic Governor (2002-2010) and Cabinet Sec'y Bob McDonnell Virginia Republican Governor Chris Christie New Jersey N.J. Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich Ohio Democratic candidate for Governor Donald Trump Republican Presidential incumbent Elena Kagan Democratic Appointee to Supreme Court Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senator Fred Thompson Republican Gary Peters Democratic Jr Senator Michigan George W. Bush Republican Heritage Foundation Hillary Clinton Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean Democrat Joe Biden Democratic V.P. John Edward Walsh Democratic Senate Challenger Montana John Edwards Democrat John Kerry Cabinet Climate Envoy John McCain Republican Joni Ernst Republican Jr Senator Iowa Joseph Lieberman Democrat Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann Republican Mike Huckabee Arkansas Republican Presidential candidate Mike Pence Indiana Republican Vice President Mitt Romney Massachusetts Former GOP Governor (2003-2006); Pres. candidate (2008) Newt Gingrich Republican Paul Ryan Republican Pete Buttigieg Indiana DOT Secretary Rand Paul Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Republican Party Rick Santorum Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul Republican (Libertarian 1988) Rudy Giuliani New York Former Mayor of NYC Sarah Palin Alaska Former Governor (resigned 2009); V.P. nominee (2008) Steve Daines Republican Senate challenger Montana Tammy Baldwin Democratic Challenger Wisconsin Terri Lynn Land Republican Challenger Michigan Tom Steyer Possible Democratic candidate for President from California Tommy Thompson Cabinet-2005