Here are some claims made by both candidates at Thursday's debate and how they rated factually.

• Democrat Diane Denish claimed Republican Susana Martinez's interest in education was newfound. She said that Martinez did not vote in a 2003 in a statewide special election in which voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to allow the state to take more money from its permanent fund to pay for education.

Fact: Checking Martinez's voting history at the secretary of state's website appears to verify that there is no record of Martinez voting in that election. Martinez did not respond to that charge in the debate.

• Martinez attacked Denish for taking rides in a state-owned jet, a plane Martinez has pledged to sell if elected. This money, she said, could have been used for education.

Fact: Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit website that analyzes political ads and rhetoric, addressed this issue when discussing a Martinez ad. Do the lieutenant governor's travels about the state constitute 'abuse'? We'll leave that to the judgment of New Mexicans. ... Even if every dollar that Denish spent using a state plane could be called wasteful, that still only amounts to $170,000."

• Martinez, making the point that education in the state has not improved much during the eight years of Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, said the state is "ranked 49th" among states for education. She also said 84 percent of fourth-graders were below proficient reading levels and that only 60 percent of New Mexico students graduate from high school.

Fact: It's not clear where the 49th rank comes from. She might have been referring to fourth-grade reading levels, in which Louisiana is the only state doing worse that New Mexico. Martinez was only slightly exaggerating about the percentage for fourth-grade reading level. According to the most recent Kids Count report, the correct number for New Mexico is 80 percent. She also could have mentioned that New Mexico has one of the worst scores in the nation for eighth-grade writing skills — only 17 percent are at or above proficient. Martinez's low number for high-school graduation was correct for the year 2008, according to the latest Kids Count report. However, The Associated Press reported that the graduation rate rose to 66 percent in 2009.

• Denish claimed Martinez supports a program of school vouchers, which Denish said would "take money out of public schools and put it into private schools." Martinez said she supports giving tax credits to businesses and individuals who give money for scholarships for students to attend the school of their choice.

Fact: According to The Associated Press, "... during the primary election campaign, Martinez advocated a different proposal. She told The Associated Press in May that she supported granting tax credits to families who send their children to private or religious schools."

• Denish, trying to counter attacks that the current administration was wasteful, criticized Martinez, the district attorney of Doña Ana County, for giving thousands of dollars in bonuses to her staff from a federal fund meant for border security.

Fact: Ernesto Ortiz, director of the High Intensity Drug Traffic Area in New Mexico, told The New Mexican recently that that using Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative funds to give raises to prosecutors is legitimate. The funds, he said, are available to district attorneys in border states. Some district attorneys have used the funds for salaries, while others have used funds for such things as training and equipment, Ortega said.

• Denish said that as lieutenant governor and state Board of Finance member, she recently voted against a proposal for "across the board" budget cuts because, she said, it would have hurt education. She went on to say that Martinez had refused to answer that question.

Fact: Martinez was asked by NMPolitics.net how she would have voted. While she didn't exactly "refuse to answer," reporter Heath Haussamen in his article commented, "While she didn't directly answer, she indicated that she doesn't support cutting education or Medicaid but 'will not hesitate' to cut waste from other areas."

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com

This story ahs been corrected. An incorrect statistic dealing with New Mexico's graduation rate was attributed to Susana Martinez. The correct figure she gave is now listed.