Fact check: Ad from Ohio Republican Josh Mandel falsely claims party rival Mike Gibbons said military service isn't real work

A new television ad from Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel is centered on a false claim that Republican primary rival Mike Gibbons, a businessman, said that military service isn't "real work."

The Mandel ad features a direct-to-camera appeal from Sheila Nowacki, the mother of a Marine who was killed in Iraq in 2005. Before urging people to vote for Mandel in the name of "God and country," Nowacki said: "Mike Gibbons has the nerve to say military service doesn't count as real work. Marines like Josh Mandel, like my son Andy, risked their lives for our country. Their work is so much more important than Gibbons just making millions for himself."

Facts First: Gibbons did not say that military service doesn't count as real work. During a Republican primary debate on March 18, Gibbons disputed a Mandel claim about Gibbons' investments and said Mandel "may not understand" the issue because "you've never been in the private sector in your entire life." Though Mandel proceeded to get in Gibbons' face and say, "I've worked, sir. Two tours in Iraq. Don't tell me I haven't worked," Gibbons had never actually said that Mandel hadn't worked or that military service isn't work.