FactChecking the Second GOP Debate

Seven Republican presidential candidates faced off at the debate in Simi Valley, California -- one fewer than those who participated in last month's debate.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not qualify this time, and former President Donald Trump again opted to skip the debate to campaign elsewhere. Even with a reduced field, there were still plenty of new squabbles for our staff to referee. 

For example, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went back and forth about his record on fracking and offshore drilling in his state. Then former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence made seemingly conflicting points about the amount of border fencing constructed during the Trump administration.

There was even a contentious exchange between Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, both of South Carolina, who wrongly accused her of spending $50,000 on ... curtains. 

And, as usual, the candidates repeated several other claims we’ve fact-checked before on a variety of topics.

For the full analysis, read "FactChecking the Second GOP Primary Debate."

Reader: Can you tell me what percentage of our US population are seniors, 65 and older? And what percentage of those seniors are likely to vote in the next election compared to a different demographic, say 25 to 35-year-olds?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: The 2021 American Community Survey taken by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that there are nearly 56 million people who are 65 and older -- roughly 17% of the U.S. population. 

As for voting patterns, we cannot predict the future. But in past elections the majority of voters have been older Americans -- those 50 and older -- particularly in midterm elections, but even in presidential elections. 

A Pew Research Center study released in July on how Americans voted in the 2022 election compared with 2018 said: "Voters were much older, on average, than nonvoters. Adults under 50 made up 36% of voters, but 64% of nonvoters. This is very similar to the pattern seen in 2018."

That report includes a breakdown by age group for voters in 2022: Ages 65 and older (34% of voters), ages 50-64 (30%), ages 30-49 (26%), ages 18 to 29 (10%). So, in the 2022 election, 64% of voters were ages 50 and up and 36% were ages 18 to 49.

Of course, 2022 and 2018 were midterm elections -- not presidential elections. In another report after the 2020 election, Pew found a higher percentage of younger voters turned out in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. But, still, Pew said "voters as a group were considerably older than nonvoters" in 2020 and 2016: Adults under 50 made up 43% of voters in 2016 and 45% in 2020, while those 50 and older made up 56% of voters in 2016 and 55% in 2020.  

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Q&A on Looming Government Shutdown": The federal government is heading to a shutdown, if Congress doesn’t pass funding legislation by the time the clock strikes midnight on Sept. 30. We’ll explain what that means and what government services could be affected.
• "Video: Hearst on Updated COVID-19 Vaccines": Hearst Television, one of our media partners, produced this segment of “Get the Facts” partly based on our Q&A article on the updated COVID-19 vaccines.

• "Publicaciones promueven un tratamiento no probado de ‘desintoxicación de la proteína de la espícula’": Los efectos secundarios graves de la vacunación contra el COVID-19 son muy poco frecuentes y no hay pruebas de que las personas necesiten someterse a un tratamiento de “desintoxicación de la proteína de la espícula” después de vacunarse, contrariamente a lo que se afirma en internet. Tampoco se ha demostrado que un tratamiento de este tipo ayude a las personas a recuperarse del COVID persistente o de problemas de salud a largo plazo después de haber contraído este virus.
• "La vacuna contra la gripe y la triple vírica o MMR han salvado millones de vidas, al contrario de lo que se afirma en internet": Las vacunas contra la gripe y las que protegen a los niños contra el sarampión, las paperas y la rubéola han sido efectivas en la prevención de enfermedades graves y la muerte. Pero un meme que está circulando sugiere falsamente que estas vacunas son ineficaces. En realidad, han salvado millones de vidas y han eliminado tanto el sarampión como la rubéola en EE. UU.