It is not just that this is an astonishing story - it is that it is an astonishing story coming from a Fox affiliate. The byline is Ben Swann, a "member of the news team" at Fox19 in Cincinnati. This is the link to the original on fox19.com
Reality Check: GOP scrambles under allegations of rampant election fraud in Maine caucus
By Ben Swann (FOX19) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is back on track after winning the Maine caucuses.
What the headlines haven't told you is that what happened in Maine is the messiest caucus Republicans have had so far, and it may not be over yet.
Maine, is not a major state during national primaries. Only 24 delegates come out of Maine to the national convention. But what happened there over the weekend does more than raise eyebrows. It is enough to make you question, was the caucus fixed?
Saturday night, February 11, the head of the Maine GOP, Charlie Webster, announced that Governor Mitt Romney won the Maine caucus by a slim margin.
Official totals read Romney barely winning the caucus by less than 200 votes.
The only problem, the governor was declared the winner with only 84 percent of precincts counted.
Two counties, Washington County and Hancock County had not yet held their caucuses. In Hancock, County Republicans had decided to hold their caucus this Saturday on February 18. In Washington County, the state GOP canceled the caucus because of snow concerns. Turns out, the area only got a light dusting.
The big problem here, Mr. Webster says even when those caucuses are held this Saturday, the votes won't count. And that is just the beginning of the problems in Maine.
Ben has the Reality Check you won't see anywhere else.
There have been many reports recently about a shift to the center at Fox News. Personally, I'm a bit skeptical. I don't think Fox News has an ideology - I think they have a partisan interest in the Republican Party, which is not the same thing.
However, this item might be an indication that something really is happening. Can anyone remember, ever, on any Fox-affiliated outlet, seeing an item about voter fraud that didn't even include a passing reference, no matter how spurious, to Democrats and/or scary not-white people?
Then again, it might also be an indication that one Ben Swann will soon be developing a deep-seated desire to spend more time with his family.