Truth Test: Did Kevin Stitt Call Politicians Great?

While numerous ads have been put together on Kevin Stitt, a new ad funded by the group "Stronger Oklahoma" is testing his limited political record.

The ad uses a woman claiming to be a mother and educator who said she’s worried about what Kevin Stitt has said talking about recent Oklahoma politics.

“Stitt opposed the teacher pay raises and when asked about how he'd be different from Fallin he couldn't name a single issue. Stitt even called her great."

So how much of that is true? Let's take this one at a time. Did Stitt oppose the teacher pay raises? To say that, is misleading. It's true literally, but that's about it.

Stitt has said he wouldn't have signed off on the pay raises because he opposed the only funding plan on the table at the time. No funding plan means no raises. But he's also said he supports giving teachers more money, he just didn't want to raise taxes to do it. So is it true to say he opposed THESE raises, Yes. But, implying he opposes raises for teachers in general isn't quite right. We'll rate this Misleading.

The next two claims we'll test together.

Is it true Stitt couldn't name a way he'd be different from Fallin and did he call her great? Kind of, but it's not as direct as the ad makes it sound. Here's his answer in an interview last year.

“I don't know Mary [Falling] that well all those politicians are great and I'm sure they're all nice people. I think I'm totally different from those career politicians,” Stitt said in an interview with KOCO in 2017. “In my opinion, you known they've never set strategy they've never led they've never hired anybody, made the tough decision. There's no easy decisions here there's no silver bullet.”

His answer goes on for a little while longer but he doesn't give specific answers about how he'd be different. But he has frequently criticized the governor. Still, he couldn't name a difference so we'll rate this true. As for calling Fallin "great," it was less about her policies, like the ad is implying, and more about her personality. We'll call this claim misleading.

Overall we'll give this ad one true rating and two misleading ratings. 

Read all of Grant's 'Truth Tests' related to the 2018 elections in Oklahoma:

Truth Test: How True Are Pay-To-Play Charges Against Edmondson?
http://www.news9.com/story/39357392/truth-test-how-true-are-pay-to-play-charges-against-edmondson

Truth Test: Truths And Half-Truths About Drew Edmondson's Funding
http://www.news9.com/story/39350033/truth-test-truths-and-half-truths-about-drew-edmondsons-funding

Truth Test: Kevin Stitt Falsely Says He's Stepped Down From His Company
http://www.news9.com/story/39342082/truth-test-kevin-stitt-falsely-says-hes-stepped-down-from-his-company

Truth Test: Vice President Pence Tells Truths, Falsehoods In Tulsa
http://www.news9.com/story/39329575/truth-test-vice-president-pence-tells-truths-falsehoods-in-tulsa

Truth Test: Does Something 'Stink' In Edmondson's Record?
http://www.news9.com/story/39285531/truth-test-does-something-stink-in-edmondsons-record