PolitiFact | Get the facts from tonight's Senate debate

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Get the facts from tonight's Senate debate

Virginia

Ed Gillespie, left, and Mark Warner will debate at 7 p.m.

Nancy Madsen

By Nancy Madsen October 13, 2014

PolitiFact Virginia is ready for the third and final U.S. Senate debate tonight between incumbent Mark Warner, a Democrat, and Republican Ed Gillespie.

We'll be live fact-checking the hour-long debate, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Our tweets, from @PolitiFactVA will help viewers quickly discern when the candidates are telling the truth or twisting the facts.

The debate, organized by the League of Women Voters and AARP Virginia. It will be televised and streamed live by WCVE PBS, WTVR-TV, and C-SPAN. We suggest that you make it a two-screen affair: watch the live-streamed event and follow us on your Twitter feed.

And keep following us after the debate -- we’ll have new fact checks on this race up to Election Day on Nov. 4.

If there’s something you would like to see fact-checked, email us your suggestion.

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The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter

stated on November 22, 2014 a Facebook post.:

Graduation rates of players at major football colleges "are still twenty points below their male campus peers and worsened in the past three years."

half-true

half-true

stated on November 22, 2014 a Facebook post:

Only 20 colleges and universities "have athletic departments with revenue exceeding expenses."

true

true

stated on November 22, 2014 a Facebook post:

"We have a system now where in 40 states, the highest-paid public employee is the state university’s head football or basketball coach."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on December 2, 2014 a news release.:

"Bill Howell has been the consistent force behind every major tax increase in Virginia in the last decade."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on November 20, 2014 a news release.:

"Every president since Eisenhower has taken executive action to address immigration issues."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on November 12, 2014 a forum:

In rural Virginia, "Sen. Warner ran 8-10 points ahead of a traditional Democrat -- ahead of Senator Kaine, ahead of Governor McAuliffe."

false

false

stated on October 20, 2014 a TV ad.:

Dave Brat said "the best way to fix Social Security would be to give seniors back what they paid in and no more."

barely-true

barely-true

stated on October 28, 2014 a debate:

"In K-12 education, our kids are scoring at the bottom of science and mathematics right now in the industrialized world -- at the bottom."

false

false

stated on October 20, 2014 a TV ad.:

Ed Gillespie’s "firm even lobbied for five foreign governments, including a dictator now awaiting trial for war crimes."

half-true

half-true

stated on September 30, 2014 a TV ad.:

Says PolitiFact has ruled that Ed Gillespie’s ads are false and misleading.

half-true

half-true

National Rifle Association

stated on September 8, 2014 a mailer.:

Says Mark Warner "has supported restrictions on veterans’ second amendment rights."

mostly-true

mostly-true

Democratic Party of Virginia

stated on September 16, 2014 a news release.:

"Hospitals have already begun layoffs, a direct result of Republican inaction" on Medicaid expansion.

half-true

half-true

stated on September 29, 2014:

On opposing legislation that would take away existing health care plans.

half-flip

half-flip

stated on August 13, 2014 a newsletter.:

Virginia Democrats recently enforced voter ID rules that were "considerably more stringent than those contained in the state law they denounce."

half-true

half-true

stated on August 20, 2014 a tweet.:

Pinnacle Overlook in Southwest Virginia is "closer to eight other state capitals than to Richmond."

mostly-true

mostly-true

Viral image
stated on August 3, 2020 in a Facebook post:

Photo shows Angela Merkel, Theresa May and Dalia Grybauskaitė as teenagers.

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 5, 2020
Bloggers
stated on August 5, 2020 in a Facebook post:

Say “Sam Hyde identified as perpitrator (sic) of Beirut explosion”

By Jon Greenberg • August 5, 2020
Brett Giroir
stated on August 2, 2020 in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press:

“There have been five randomized controlled, placebo controlled trials that do not show any benefit to hydroxychloroquine.”

By Jon Greenberg • August 5, 2020
The Family Foundation
stated on July 9, 2020 in a blog.:

“...Virginia, more than any other state, had the steepest drop in the number of abortions between 2011 and 2017.”

By Warren Fiske • August 5, 2020
Facebook posts
stated on July 31, 2020 in a Facebook post:

“At John Lewis funeral Obama told a room full of people that rooms full of people is too dangerous so we must mail in vote.”

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 5, 2020
Viral image
stated on August 3, 2020 in a Facebook post:

Photo shows “Myrtle Beach 30 minutes ago.”

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 5, 2020
Donald Trump
stated on July 20, 2020 in Campaign ad:

Says “Joe Biden is absolutely on board with defunding the police.”

By Laura Schulte • August 5, 2020
Facebook posts
stated on July 15, 2020 in a Facebook post:

Says Bubba Watson wrote a viral Facebook post about Black Lives Matter.

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 4, 2020
Viral image
stated on August 1, 2020 in a Facebook post:

Photo shows “7 Marines killed in training exercise yesterday.”

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 4, 2020
Brett Giroir
stated on July 26, 2020 in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union”:

“Five veterinary labs have their CLIA certification to officially test human patients. There are a lot of labs who are doing surveillance testing that don't need the CLIA certification.”

By Julie Appleby • August 4, 2020