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PolitiFact North Carolina writer

Paul Specht is a correspondent for PolitiFact North Carolina at WRAL. Previously he worked at the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., where he covered state government. Specht joined the N&O politics desk in 2017. Before that, he covered government and development news in and around Raleigh. He graduated from Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., in 2010 with a degree in communications.

Featured Statements

Kelly Daughtry
stated on April 1, 2024 in a campaign advertisement:

“Brad Knott was a lawyer for Joe Biden.”

By Paul Specht • April 25, 2024
Joe Biden
stated on March 26, 2024 in a speech:

Says Donald Trump “told Americans all they had to do was inject bleach in themselves. Just take a shot of UV light.”

By Paul Specht • March 28, 2024
Donald Trump
stated on March 2, 2024 in a speech:

“Eighty-two percent of the country understands that (the 2020 election) was a rigged election.”

By Paul Specht • March 7, 2024
Deborah Ross
stated on January 25, 2024 in a press conference:

“North Carolina has the longest voting period in the country … and we have the most ways of voting.”

By Paul Specht • February 28, 2024
Thom Tillis
stated on January 8, 2024 in a press release:

Police made ‘no arrests’ of protesters who blocked Durham Freeway

By Paul Specht • January 19, 2024
Mark Robinson
stated on November 9, 2023 in a social media post:

North Carolina Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein “supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand with no restrictions up until birth.”

By Paul Specht • December 11, 2023
Eric Ager
stated on October 24, 2023 in a speech on the house floor:

“This map was drawn entirely in secret by an Ohio consultant … with taxpayer dollars.”

By Paul Specht • November 15, 2023
Tricia Cotham
stated on September 25, 2023 in an interview on WBT-FM:

The North Carolina state budget includes “the largest cut in our personal income tax that we’ve ever seen.”

By Paul Specht • October 9, 2023
Unleash Prosperity Now
stated on August 13, 2023 in a political ad:

“Gov. Roy Cooper is blocking a pioneering school choice bill that would give thousands of low-income parents the funds to allow their kids to get a high-quality education.”

By Paul Specht • September 21, 2023
Thom Tillis
stated on August 14, 2023 in a campaign email:

A Democrat-sponsored bill proposes a “1,000% gun tax on most firearms.”

By Paul Specht • September 8, 2023