Reality Check: New GOP Ads Target Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig went to Congress in 2018 by flipping the district President Donald Trump won in 2016 from red to blue.
Now, a new GOP ad claims Craig "broke her promise" by focusing on investigating the president instead of issues like prescription drugs and infrastructure.
Here's the text of the Republican National Committee ad:
Angie Craig promised she'd tackle problems facing our country. Craig broke her promise. Instead of fixing health care and lowering drug prices, Craig votes with the radicals for endless investigations of President Trump, wasting tax dollars. Instead of working to create more jobs, Craig wants more hearings. Tell Angie Craig: Put petty politics aside and start getting things done. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the contents of this advertising.
The ad shows Craig in a lineup of liberals Republicans love to hate, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It's the president's plan to go after swing-district Democrats like Craig, predicting they will lose. Here's what he tweeted:
But the ad doesn't mention "impeachment," and Craig doesn't support it -- yet. She called for impeachment hearings, but stopped short of saying she would vote yes to impeach.
Craig is one of 31 Democrats representing Congressional districts Trump won, including two in Minnesota. Trump won the Twin Cities suburban Second District by a razor-thin 1% margin over Hillary Clinton: 46.5% to 45.3%. And he won Minnesota's Seventh District by 31 points -- his biggest victory margin in the country: 61.8% to 31.0%.
Republicans are launching a fierce fight-back against impeachment, producing 12 identical ads to air around the country, changing only the names and faces.
Rep. Craig's campaign describes the Republican ad as wildly misleading and false. It notes that Craig has authored 13 separate bills, including health care and prescription drug costs, and co-authored 261 bills.
Here is a statement from her campaign:
Minnesotans are sick and tired of these smear tactics. While the Washington Republicans continue to lie about Angie's record, she will continue her work on lowering the cost and increasing access to healthcare, expanding career and technical education, supporting our family farmers, and giving everyone the chance to earn a good life.
Here are some of the sources we used for this Reality Check:
Republican National Committee Ad About Angie Craig
Rasmussen Reports: House 2020 – The New Crossover Districts
YouTube: Max Rose – Start Getting Things Done
The Hill: The 31 Trump Districts That Will Determine The Next House Majority
Fox News: RNC Launces 'Stop The Madness' Campaign To Flight Impeachment Push
LA Times: Trump's Reelection Campaign Cashes In On Impeachment Vote
Here are the bills the Craig campaign says she has worked on since her election:
Craig Had Authored 13 Pieces of Legislation By September 2019. Craig was the author of 13 separate pieces of legislation between the beginning of the 116th Congress and September 2019. Her bill, HR 1331 the Local Water Protection Act, passed the House 329-56 in April 2019. [congress.gov, accessed 10/01/19; House Roll Call Vote 148, 04/08/19]
Craig Authored Several Pieces of Legislation To Address Health Care Costs. Angie Craig introduced several pieces of legislation to deal with healthcare and prescription drug costs, including: HR 4010 the Emergency Access to Insulin Act of 2019, HR 1425 the State Health Care Premium Reduction Act, and an amendment to increase funding for Rural Health Programs. The later passed the House 383-36. [congress.gov, accessed 10/01/19; House Roll Call 308, 06/13/19]
Craig Had Co-Authored 261 Pieces of Legislation By September 2019. Craig was the co-author of 261 pieces of legislation between the beginning of the 116th Congress and September 2019. 43 of the bills passed the House and five of them were sent to the President. [congress.gov, accessed 10/01/19]
Craig Had Co-Authored 41 Pieces of Healthcare Legislation By September 2019. Craig was the co-author of 41 pieces of legislation relating to healthcare between the beginning of the 116th Congress and September 2019. Four of the bills passed the House and one was sent to the President. The bills included HR 3379, the PRICED Act and HR 2000, the Medicare-X Choice Act of 2019, both to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. [congress.gov, accessed 10/01/19]
Craig Voted On At Least Three Occasions to Prevent The Gutting Of The Affordable Care Act. Craig has cast at least three votes to prevent the administration from gutting the Affordable Care Act through court actions. Craig voted for H Res 6 as it passed the House 235-192 on January 9, 2019; H Res 271 as it passed the House 240-186 on April 3, 2019, and HR 3055 as it passed the House 238-194 on June 20, 2019. [House Roll Call Vote 19, 01/09/19; House Roll Call Vote 146, 04/03/19; House Roll Call Vote 374, 06/20/19]
Craig Voted For The Protecting Americans With Preexisting Conditions Act. On May 9, 2019 Craig voted for HR 986, the Protecting Americans With Preexisting Conditions Act, as it passed the House 230-183. [House Roll Call Vote 196, 05/09/19]
Craig Voted For Bill With Three Bipartisan Drug Price Provisions, To Preserve The Affordable Care Act. On May 16, 2019 Craig voted for HR 987 as it passed the House 234-183. According to Politico "The legislation includes three bipartisan drug pricing provisions restricting anti-competitive behaviors by pharmaceutical companies alongside a slate of proposals reversing Trump administration policies designed to undermine the Affordable Care Act." And MSNBC reported of the bill "In all, the legislation, if passed, would create savings of about $4 billion over the next decade." [House Roll Call Vote 214, 05/16/19; Politico, 05/16/19; MSNBC.com, 05/17/19]