Minnesota Ad: PAC attacks Johnson on Somali ties, taxes

A political advertisement attacking Minnesota Democratic congressional candidate Jake Johnson presents a mixed record of accuracy, according to a fact-check published Thursday. The spot, which targets Johnson in the First District race, was produced by the No Going Back political action committee. This group is affiliated with the MAGA campaign arm of President Donald Trump and has raised $200 million to back Republican candidates nationwide.

The ad asserts that Johnson and former President Tim Walz have a lot in common because they both promoted Somali immigration while committing rampant government fraud. Fact-checkers confirmed the first part of this claim. Walz did endorse Johnson through his Small Town PAC, and both men share a history in the district, with Walz having previously served as the First District congressman.

However, the ad's specific claim that the two candidates promoted Somali immigration lacks supporting evidence. While both politicians have shown support for the local Somali community, the fact-checkers found no data indicating they specifically drove immigration policies targeting that group. The ad also suggests they committed government fraud, a broad assertion that contributes to the misleading nature of the message.

The spot further argues that Walz and Johnson want to raise taxes on families by 24 percent, costing them $1,500. This claim relies on a memo from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee posted in 2025. The memo calculated these costs assuming that Trump tax cuts would not be extended. Since Congress passed the Big Beautiful Budget Bill more than a year ago, those cuts have been extended, rendering the specific dollar figure in the ad outdated.

Johnson's own campaign positions him as a fiscal conservative. He released a Taxpayer Protection Pledge during his campaign that proposes making the tax code fairer for working families. The pledge specifically calls for tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, a stance that directly contradicts the ad's narrative of a tax hike.

Based on this combination of true statements, false figures, and misleading context, the ad received a C-minus grade on the Truth Test scale. An A requires near-complete accuracy, while a D means at least half the information is false or misleading. The C grade reflects a mix of accurate and inaccurate information that leaves viewers without full context.