Putting Steele and Kaine to the Truth-O-Meter

By Aaron Sharockman
Published on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 at 5:16 p.m.

Related rulings:

The primary election results show Democrats are strong in Kentucky because the Democratic candidates "both got more votes than Rand Paul did."

Tim Kaine, Sunday, May 23rd, 2010.

Ruling: Half-True | Details

In Hawaii, "they don't have a history of throwing incumbents out of office."

Michael Steele, Sunday, May 23rd, 2010.

Ruling: True | Details

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'This Week' host Jake Tapper interviewed DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

The election results in Kentucky and Hawaii were a big topic on ABC's This Week on May 23, 2010, and -- no surprise! -- the Republican and Democratic chairmen read the tea leaves differently.

We checked a claim from each:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine claimed that the Democratic candidates in the Kentucky Senate primary each got more votes than Republican nominee Rand Paul, which Kaine suggested was a sign of Democratic strength in the fall election. We rated that Half True.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said the victory of a Republican in a special election in Hawaii was a good sign, noting that Hawaii had a strong history of rel-electing incumbents. We checked the history for Hawaiian incumbents and found Steele was right. He earned a True.