Fact-check: U.S. House, District 23
Checked 2026-10-28. Claims: 22. Verified: 17. Corrected: 3. Unsupported: 0. Not checked yet: 1. Links fixed: 1 (a photo-attachment link replaced with Wikipedia).
| # | Claim (short) | Source checked | Status | Evidence / change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High Desert, mountains, Loma Linda, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, Needles; ~15% of Redlands, ~5% of San Bernardino | CA Senate district data (sdmg.senate.ca.gov/node/1099) | Verified | Redlands 15.05%; San Bernardino 4.61%; Loma Linda, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, Needles, Big Bear Lake, Barstow, Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto 100.00% |
| 2 | Obernolte (R) vs. Hodge (D); 57.1% June; Hodge 21.3% led Democrats | Ballotpedia CA-23 | Verified (secondary) | Obernolte 57.1% (81,346); Hodge 21.3% (30,292); next Democrat 13.3% |
| 3 | Cook rating R+9 | Ballotpedia CA-23 | Verified (secondary) | "the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+9" |
| 4 | Ballot designations | CA Secretary of State certified list | Verified | Hodge "Social Worker/Businesswoman"; Obernolte "Congressman/Business Owner" |
| 5 | In Congress since 2021; three terms | Wikipedia; Ballotpedia | Verified | "sworn in on January 3, 2021" (Ballotpedia's text says 2023 but its infobox says 2021) |
| 6 | "Chairs a Science subcommittee"; Energy and Commerce; Budget | Ballotpedia, Obernolte | Verified (made specific) | 2025-26: Energy and Commerce; Science, Space, and Technology (chairs Research and Technology subcommittee); Budget. Named the subcommittee |
| 7 | "Leads House work on AI" | Wikipedia; Ballotpedia | Corrected | Wikipedia: "Along with Ted Lieu, Obernolte began chairing a bipartisan taskforce on artificial intelligence in 2024"; task force later abolished. Changed to "co-chaired the House's bipartisan AI task force in 2024". The previous link for this claim was a photo attachment page, so it was replaced with Wikipedia |
| 8 | Yes on 2025 tax-and-Medicaid bill, SAVE Act, Laken Riley Act | Ballotpedia, Obernolte | Verified (secondary) | H.R. 1 yea (218-214); SAVE Act yea (220-208); Laken Riley Act yea (263-156) |
| 9 | Voted to reject Arizona and Pennsylvania electors | Ballotpedia; House Clerk roll call 10 | Verified | Clerk: Jan 6, 2021, "On Agreeing to the Objection", Obernolte "Yea", 121-303. Ballotpedia: also voted for the Pennsylvania objection (138-282) |
| 10 | "Says 40% of his district is on Medi-Cal" (Key findings, At a glance, What we're not asking) | Big Bear Grizzly (July 8, 2025) | Corrected | The figure is the reporter's: "more than 40% of people living in his district are on Medi-Cal", not a quote from him. Reattributed in all three places |
| 11 | "We're just creating some more requirements"; rejects calling them cuts | Big Bear Grizzly | Verified | "I don't think the word 'cut' is an appropriate one to use"; "We aren't kicking people off. We're just creating some more requirements." |
| 12 | CBO: House bill adds $2.4T; he says his math shows savings | Big Bear Grizzly | Verified | "would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion" (CBO and JCT); bill "would actually save money" |
| 13 | Backed Iran strikes and Twentynine Palms Marines to LA | Big Bear Grizzly | Verified | Strikes the correct move; deploying the Marines "a solid choice" |
| 14 | Won 2024 with 60.1% | Ballotpedia | Verified (secondary) | "60.1% (159,286 votes)" |
| 15 | $1.85M raised this cycle | Ballotpedia, Obernolte | Verified (secondary) | contributions "$1,854,658" |
| 16 | Didn't answer KVCR | KVCR CD-23 | Verified | "Did not respond: Jay Obernolte" |
| 17 | Big Bear Lake resident; video-game developer, business owner; former Assemblymember | Wikipedia; Ballotpedia | Verified (secondary) | "lived in Big Bear Lake since 1997"; founded FarSight Studios; Assembly District 33, 2014-2020 |
| 18 | Hodge: LCSW and business owner, Victorville, 38, first campaign | KVCR CD-23 | Verified | "Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Business Owner"; 38; "Victorville, CA"; "This is my first campaign for elected office." |
| 19 | Hodge priorities: rural hospitals, in-home senior care, mental health | KVCR CD-23 | Verified | "protect rural hospitals, expand mental-health and veterans' services"; "Expand in-home care support for seniors" |
| 20 | "His national profile is AI legislation" | Wikipedia | Corrected (softened) | Sources show task-force leadership, not legislation. Changed to "AI policy" |
| 21 | Lake Arrowhead hospital says federal cuts cost it $4M a year | Measure Q page of this guide | Not checked yet | Cross-reference to another page; checked there |
| 22 | Opinion lines (Medicaid math, challenger without a plan) | n/a | Analysis | Premises above check out |