On The Record has been focusing on the Wisconsin recall election of Governor Scott Walker coming up on June 5th. Last night, in an hour-long look at the contest, Fox News’ Griff Jenkins visited a factory where Walker spoke and asked the owner and employees how they feel about Walker and the recall. Predictably, they overwhelmingly supported Walker and rejected the recall. What Jenkins did not tell the “We report, you decide” network viewers? That the results skewed far away from the likely results of the recall election.
Nate Silver, at the New York Times, wrote yesterday that Walker’s lead, an average of 6% in the polls, makes him very likely to survive the recall vote. Still, that’s hardly the landslide victory Jenkins’ interviews would lead you to believe is in the works.
First, Jenkins spoke to John Walton, the owner of the factory where Walker spoke - and Surprise! Surprise! Walton is a Walker supporter. Walton called the recall “a very large waste of resources.” Then Jenkins briefly interviewed four employees: three against the recall, one for it. But even the rosiest polls for Walker don’t show this kind of a winning margin.