This year’s primary for governor in Colorado promises to be the most expensive ever.
With a new law that allows independent voters to participate in the June primary election, candidates will have to campaign earlier and spend more to try to win thousands more votes than years past.
Former state representative Vic Mitchell bought the first round of TV ads to air on KUSA this year.
We put his ad to the Truth Test.
CLAIM: “Do you know me? Not many do!”
VERDICT: TRUE
That’s the whole point of this ad—helping to get Mitchell’s name out to more voters who aren’t familiar with him.
CLAIM: “I led the winning fight to stop the biggest tax increase in Colorado history.”
VERDICT: NEEDS CONTEXT
Mitchell was one of many, many voices against Prop 103, a large tax increase that failed on the ballot in 2011. (Larger increases would be proposed in later elections.)
It's a stretch for Mitchell to portray himself as the leader against the proposition. Several prominent groups and like-minded politicians opposed the measure at the time.
But Mitchell did have a louder voice than many because he was a member of the state House of Representatives.
CLAIM: “The usual politicians are running. But there's only one outsider businessman with new ideas and a record of success.”
VERDICT: NOT EXACTLY
Leaving aside that there are other businesspeople in the race-- as we just stated, Victor Mitchell served a term as a state representative from 2007-2009.
There are candidates in this race who've spent more time than that as a politician, but also some with less experience than Mitchell-- because they've never held elected office at all.
9NEWS will continue our Truth Test series to hold politicians and elected officials accountable for what they say. If you see something that deserves a factcheck, email it to verify@9news.com.
