Truth Test: Fact-checking the dueling attack ads in Colorado's 8th Congressional District race, tell me about this news in (https://www.9news.com/article/news/politics/elections/truth-test-fact-ads-colorados-8th-congressional-district-race/73-68085d92-6f15-403c-aea4-61a5bded0701)

The 9NEWS “Truth Test” reported by Marshall Zelinger examines competing campaign ads in Colorado’s 8th Congressional Districta competitive swing district covering Adams and Weld counties, along with part of Larimer Countybetween Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo and Republican challenger State Representative Gabe Evans.

The fact-check evaluated the claims made by both campaigns, focusing primarily on immigration and crime:

Gabe Evans / NRCC Ad Claims

1. Claim: Law enforcement officers argue that the border and crime are a mess, followed by Evans stating, “And Yadira Caraveo is responsible for all of it.”

   • Verdict: False.

   • Context: A single representative among 435 members in the U.S. House cannot be held solely responsible for federal border enforcement or broad national and state crime trends. The ad also conflates federal immigration issues with local Colorado drug statistics to lay blame on one lawmaker.

2. Claim: Officers state that “police budgets are getting slashed.”

   • Verdict: Misleading / Irrelevant to Congress.

   • Context: Local police and sheriff department budgets are determined by city councils and county commissions, not by the U.S. Congress.

Yadira Caraveo Ad Claims

1. Claim: Adams County Sheriff Gene Claps states that Caraveo “worked with Republicans to fund over 20,000 border patrol agents and crack down on cartels.”

   • Verdict: Mostly True.

   • Context: Caraveo joined roughly 100 Republicans (along with 185 Democrats) in passing a federal appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security. The bill included funding for 2,000 additional agents aimed at bringing the total Border Patrol staffing level to roughly 22,000.

2. Claim: The ad states that Caraveo “broke with her own party to back tougher fentanyl penalties.”

   • Verdict: Mixed (“Yes and no”).

   • Context: In Congress in 2023, Caraveo was the sole Colorado Democrat (along with 73 other House Democrats) to cross party lines and vote with House Republicans for the HALT Fentanyl Act, which sought to make fentanyl-related substances Schedule I drugs. However, during her prior tenure as a Colorado state representative in 2019, she voted for a state measure (HB19-1263) that had lowered penalties for possession of up to 4 grams of fentanyl to a misdemeanor, before voting to reinstate felony penalties in 2022 following community and law enforcement pushback.