From True to Pants on Fire: A pre-debate candidate scorecard

Clay Pell, Gina Raimondo and Angel Taveras have at least two things in common.

They’re all running in the Democratic primary for governor.

And they’ve all faced PolitiFact Rhode Island’s Truth-O-Meter, with varying outcomes.

As the candidates prepare for Tuesday night’s Providence Journal/WPRI-12 debate, we thought we’d take a look at their PolitiFact scorecards.

Raimondo has the most PolitiFact experience, with eight rulings dating back to her successful run for general treasurer in 2010.

Five of the eight were either True or Mostly True, but the others fell on the other end of the scale, including Pants on Fire.

We’ve examined four claims by Providence Mayor Taveras, ruling Mostly True,  Half True, Mostly False and False respectively.

And we’ve checked two claims from newcomer Pell, ruling Half True and Mostly True.

You can see all the rulings for the candidates on our PolitiFact Rhode Island website by clicking on “People” or “Elections.”

The debate, at the Providence Performing Arts Center, will be moderated by WPRI investigative reporter Tim White. Journal political columnist Ed Fitzpatrick and WPRI.com reporter Ted Nesi will be asking questions of the candidates.

It begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on WPRI-12 and webcast on WPRI.com.

And we’ll be watching.

If you hear any claims during the debate that you’d like us to check, email us at politifact@providencejournal.com.