The PolitiFact report card on Herman Cain

Editor’s Note: Since we published this article on Sunday morning, PolitiFact Georgia published a new Truth-O-Meter item rating Cain’s claim that the current economic recovery is the worst for job growth since the Great Depression. That earned a False. We have updated the numbers in this story to reflect that new item.

Herman Cain won a surprising victory at the Florida Republican straw poll on Saturday.

The Georgia businessman won 37 percent of the vote, more than the combined totals for Rick Perry (15 percent) and Mitt Romney (14).

PolitiFact has checked Cain 13 times.  He’s earned two Mostly True ratings, three Half True, one Mostly False, five False and two Pants on Fires.

Our most in-depth examination of Cain involved his record as CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Cain says the company was struggling when he took over but that he “turned it around with common-senses business principles.”

We interviewed analysts in the restaurant business and people who worked for Cain.  They described him as a hands-on and inspirational leader. We rated the claim Mostly True.

Cain hasn’t fared as well on the Truth-O-Meter with his claims about the amount of U.S. debt held by China (he said China held 26 percent and earned a False), the availability of medical testing in Canada (False) and the U.S. Constitution (also False).

He earned a Pants on Fire for denying that he said he would not have Muslims in his cabinet. PolitiFact Georgia found that he had, in fact, said that he would not be comfortable because he feared Muslims were trying “to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. And it does not belong in our government.”

His denial about his remarks earned a Pants on Fire.

He earned his other Pants on Fire for a claim that Planned Parenthood’s early objective was to “help kill black babies before they came into the world.” He attributed the policy to Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and called it “planned genocide.”

PolitiFact Georgia checked with historians, Cain’s campaign, Sanger’s biographer and found nothing to support the claim.

You can browse all of our fact-checks on Cain on his PolitiFact report card.