A television ad attacking Republican congressional candidate Tyler Kistner’s stance on abortion received a failing grade from fact-checkers last week.
The ad was produced by the House Majority PAC, a Pelosi-aligned group helping Democrats in many of the nation’s swing districts, including Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, where Kistner is in a close race with Democrat Angie Craig.
The ad claims Kistner doesn’t support abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk. The opposite is true.
KSTP’s “Truth Test” gave the ad an “F” grade. A Fox 9 fact check called the ad “misleading,” taking issue with its claim that Kistner “would help Republicans ban abortion for the whole country.”
“Last night, Tom Hauser of KSTP gave House Majority PAC’s ad an ‘F’ on his well-respected truth test, saying the ad is outright false. It’s clear Congresswoman Craig, Nancy Pelosi and their Washington allies know they are losing this race,” Kistner told Alpha News. “Pelosi and Craig are running from their disastrous agenda and are resorting to lying about my position. I encourage the TV networks that are airing these ads to listen to Mr. Hauser’s reporting and take these categorically false ads off the air.”
In an interview with MinnPost before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Kistner said he is pro-life but would support abortion in the cases referenced above.
“After an extensive online search and even email exchanges with Democratic Rep. Angie Craig’s campaign — which did not produce this ad but has made similar claims — there is no evidence Kistner has been caught on video or in written form saying he opposes abortions under those extreme circumstances,” says KSTP’s Truth Test.
To get an “F” grade, more than half the information in an ad must be “outright false or misleading or out of context.”
The Minnesota GOP also released a statement on the ad, calling it a “blatant lie.”
“We are glad KSTP is calling out the latest Democrat lie. Democrats are desperately trying to make this election about abortion because they know they can’t defend their failed records on the economy and public safety — their only option is to intentionally mislead the people they claim to represent,” said communications director Nick Majerus.
According to Axios, the House Majority PAC is spending $20 million on ads across 23 media markets, including $424,000 in the Minneapolis area.
Sheila Qualls
Sheila Qualls is an award-winning journalist and former civilian editor of an Army newspaper. Prior to joining Alpha News, she was a Christian Marriage and Family columnist at Patheos.com and a personal coach. Her work has been published in The Upper Room, the MOPS blog, Grown and Flown, and The Christian Post. She speaks nationally on issues involving faith and family.
