One Wisconsin Now Asks Walker Campaign: What Were Your Other Guesses?

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne called on Gov. Walker’s campaign to release video to back up their “lucky guess” defense in response to questions about how his campaign was able to produce and run a new television ad citing job information from a state agency the same morning it was publicly released.

Browne commented, “Gov. Walker and his campaign ask us to believe that they had no advance notice of the alternative job numbers released by his political appointee at the Department of Workforce Development. Yet the morning the numbers were released, Gov. Walker’s campaign already had a television ad at the stations ready to run using those numbers.”

In response to questions about the timing of the ad, a spokesperson claimed multiple versions of the ad, using different job numbers, were recorded.

“If Gov. Walker’s ‘lucky guess’ defense is true, there should be no problem releasing the video footage that would back up their claim,” said Browne.

One Wisconsin Now has also requested information under the state open records law to investigate assertions that there was no “consultation” between the Governor and the Department of Workforce Development regarding the accelerated release of unconfirmed job survey numbers in advance of his recall election.

Browne concluded, “There are many serious, unanswered questions about coordination between the Governor’s campaign and state agencies and communications on the early release of alternative job numbers just weeks before the recall elections. We’re asking the Governor to help resolve one question by releasing video to prove his ‘lucky guess’ defense.”