Candidates in Iowa, New Hampshire and North Carolina are spending millions on campaign ads ahead of the November midterms. These ads focus on the rising cost of living and attack opponents for missing legislative votes. Fact-checkers noted that some claims about absenteeism are misleading due to how votes are counted.
We assess three campaign ads in the battleground states that have focused on the cost of living.
With less than a month to go until the November midterms, both parties have blanketed the airwaves with campaign ads in battleground states as they seek control over Congress.
In Iowa, New Hampshire and North Carolina -- three of the most competitive Senate races in the country -- candidates and groups supporting them have all spent millions on ads faulting their opposition with failing to curb the cost of living, a top issue for voters, among other attacks.
Here's a fact check of some of those claims.
What Was Said
"Here are the facts. It's Ashley Hinson who's missed nearly 200 votes in Congress. Votes to crack down on child pornography, reduce crime and lower health care costs."
-- Senate Majority PAC, a top Democratic super PAC, in an ad that began airing in September
This is misleading. Representative Ashley Hinson, the Republican Senate candidate in Iowa, and various groups supporting her candidacy have spent millions of dollars on ads attacking Josh Turek, a state representative and the Democratic nominee, for missing 58 percent of votes in the Iowa legislature this year (the claim is accurate).
In response, Mr. Turek and groups that support him have retorted that Ms. Hinson, too, has a record of absenteeism in the House -- including missing votes to lower health care costs -- by making an apples-to-oranges comparison.
The Senate Majority PAC cited Ms. Hinson missing 33 roll-call votes -- or recorded votes on the House floor -- as well as 163 votes in various committees she sits on since January 2021, when she first entered office.
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