Manchester, N.H. – Republican U.S. Senate candidate “Colorado Corky” Messner has built his campaign on major lies about his background, his scam scholarship foundation and his policy positions. Below are the top five lies to look out for at tonight’s WMUR debate:

1. LYING ABOUT CHINA. Messner Cashed in with the Chinese Government

On the campaign trail, Messner poses as an anti-China hawk, but the Associated Press reports Messner cashed in with the Chinese government by suing an American manufacturer. On behalf of an organization owned by the Communist Government in China, Messner sued an American business for one million dollars.

2. LYING ABOUT COVID. Messner Opposes All State Aid for NH 

Messner consistently advocated for coronavirus bills that provide zero dollars in state aid for New Hampshire. The latest bill he pushed for would have left local cities and towns behind, hurting public schools, local law enforcement, and potentially even letting cities or towns go bankrupt. Messner has called hospital funding “not urgent,” advocated for barebones proposals that shortchange New Hampshire’s health workers, actively opposed state COVID relief for New Hampshire and said “we are no longer in crisis mode” after 120,000 COVID deaths in June. Now, more than 220,000 people have died from this pandemic and Messner still opposes aid for New Hampshire.

3. LYING ABOUT MILITARY RECORD. Messner is not an Army Ranger

Messner has a “problem with how he touts his military credentials” and he shouldn’t be calling himself an Army Ranger, according to the Washington Post and Republican Brigadier General Don Bolduc. The Army Special Operations Command confirmed Messner’s claim of serving as an Army Ranger was overblown, and Messner was awarded two Pinocchios for lying about his military service. Bolduc attacked Messner for exaggerating his service during the Republican primary, saying “if you didn’t serve in the unit, you can’t claim that you served in unit.”

4. LYING ABOUT CORRUPTION. Messner is facing possible investigation for foundation scam. 

Messner’s scam foundation in Denver has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for purported scholarships to help “inner city kids” attend school, but according to the Washington Post, Messner awarded only one student any scholarship money in the foundation’s first decade of operation. Messner’s foundation spent more in those ten years on athletic facilities for his children’s elite Colorado private school than it spent to support that one student. Messner is already facing a potential criminal probe in Colorado for charitable fraud, according to the Denver Post, and he now faces a potential IRS probe as well for mismanagement of funds.

5. LYING ABOUT PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. Messner Would Gut Their Care

Messner wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would rip pre-existing conditions protections away from 572,000 people across New Hampshire. Messner has said that pre-existing conditions aren’t real in the past two Senate debates, and he and his campaign shouted down Granite Staters who were attempting to share their pre-existing conditions stories and explain why the ACA is lifesaving for their families. Messner would gut their health care with no real plan to protect pre-existing conditions.

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