Transcripts For CSPAN Newsmakers 20161016

Jessica well, women are going to be the key not only to take it back because we have the tremendous candidates that are running, but women are also going to be the key because theyre going to decide the election this year. So, yes we have a tremendous opportunity in New Hampshire with Maggie Hassan, Katie Mcginty in pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez masto in nevada, who could be the first latina elected to the United States senate. And, of course, deborah ross in North Carolina. Where things are really changing on the ground. Some democrats did not believe in deborah, but we were with her from day one and i believe she is going to win North Carolina. Kevin when you look at the president ial race, it is obviously historically large gender gap there. We move down ballot, the gender gaps are not quite as large. What do you guys have to do to get these women Senate Campaigns the same level of support as for Hillary Clinton this year . Jessica well, i think were seeing the gop and donald trump are in a tailspin right now and part of it is because of Donald Trumps remarks and his actions, bragging about Sexual Assault, and these gop down ballot tickets have been sitting with him for an awful long time. So for the folks were standing with them, voters as they start to Pay Attention, particularly women, with less than a month to go to the election, they understand that donald trump and also these republicans that have implemented the policies that are not good for women and families and impacted them. I think down ballot, you look at the issues that they are paying attention to, it is not all just the president ial. Things like minimum wage, defunding planned parenthood, issues like equal pay for equal work, republicans down ballot and in the senate are on the wrong side of these issues and voters will Pay Attention to that, especially women. Emily the White Elephant in the campaign, donald trump, your group has called for the apprentice to release their tapes. I am wondering, what kind of role emilys list is going for the Clinton Campaign in being able to attack trump on items like this. I noticed that the Clinton Campaign is not going where they could on that, but you guys have been a little more forceful on that. Jessica well, look, we have been with Hillary Clinton from day one. This is what we are doing at emilys list, electing democratic women, and part of that is helping them with their campaigns. Regardless of what office they are running for. But it is also having their backs, and this race is turning ugly, and i think someone who is running to be president of the United States, we should know a little bit more about them. Hillary clinton has certainly been vetted and i think donald trump, these tapes are fair game. We have to understand the private and public conversations he is having. Given the allegations, to hear, although it is not surprising that he has a history of mistreating women. Have you heard from mgm . Jessica weve not heard back from them, but we will continue to press for this. We are not the only ones, right . There are a lot of people going for this. We think it is an important issue and this is something that the public deserves a right to know. As they are making decisions in elections, so we will continue. Kevin so far, groups like yours have not particularly used donald trump in down Ballot Campaign advertising. The dscc has not. They have not extensively linked these candidates to trump. Do you think with the Sexual Assault allegations coming out that will change . Is that a good strategy or is it a better strategy to do what you have been doing all along, checking these people on policy decisions they hold . Jessica i think the policy positions are damaging to men and women, but i think donald trump is the result of a Republican Party that has been created, and you look at somebody like mike pence, two sides of the same coin. Donald trump talks about punishing women, and mike pence has actually done that in indiana. And i think voters understand that. So even the republicans that are trying to run from him now, disavow him, john mccain, heck in nevada, senator ayotte, it is too little too late. There is no political courage in that. Voters will see through that. Kevin do you think that this means now that if you are voter in pennsylvania or New Hampshire you should expect to see a lot of Television Advertising linking kelly ayotte and pat toomey to donald trump . Or jessica if you live in the states where these races are tight, there are a lot of Communications Going on. There may be more Trump Communications to come. But i think a lot of what were going to see her going to be about what issues matter to voters. We talk about it a little, but women want to hear about issues that will impact their daily lives. This campaign has taken a difficult turn from the top to the bottom. And they want to hear about issues that impact them. I think you will hear that, too. Especially in all of these states where they have voted to defund planned parenthood. Women are alarmed by what is happening in the Republican Party right now. I think today even the last vote on violence against women, 160 republicans voted against that. 150 of them men. These things do make a difference. I do not think they can run from donald trump or the policies that are hurting women and families. Greta what are some of the races youre talking about, where women will care about the planned parenthood issue . Emily were talking at the top of the ticket in regards to she called kelly ayotte called donald trump a role model. She has voted against the minimum wage. These issues have carried through to places like pennsylvania. Senator toomey has also voted to defund planned parenthood. Country, west of the Catherine Cortez mastro a mini trump. More discussion about donald trump in that particular race. They are trying to run away from him now but it is too little too late. Emily were talking at the top of the ticket in regards to donald trump, but also Hillary Clinton, who has high unfavorable ratings. How are you counter balancing some of that . Jessica yeah, look, Hillary Clinton continues from day one, and continues to try to focus on the issues that people want to talk about. We saw that at the last debate. I am sure we will see in the next debate, as well. She needs to continue to do that, to focus on issues that are most in americans lives. That is what we will see from our women candidates whether they are running for the senate or the house. The house is an important element in this, too. We have an opportunity to potentially expand the map. Women are alarmed by what they are hearing and seeing, not only from the top of the ticket, and also from the republicans in their districts. Hillary clinton has a strong record to run on, particularly fighting for women and families, and i think we will hear more of that. Emily nancy pelosi, democratic leader of the house, has said she thinks this will come down to a single digit difference on election day in the house. Are you in line with her prediction . Democrats need 31 seats. That is a lot, but she is saying the difference could be down to a single digit after election day. Jessica emilys list has endorsed 33 women running for the house. So i hope it is all women, and i hope they all win. Look we are obviously going to , make tremendous gains. And i think each day closer to elections, we feel stronger about that. I dont know what the numbers will be. I wish i did. That would make my job a lot easier if i knew all the , numbers, but i think it will be close and we are going to make big gains. Were going to see that, for sure. Because women will be the deciders in this election, the way things are headed. I think it will have a big impact on down ballot races and the house. Kevin a lot of the house districts are with these suburban women, the focus of the entire election. What specifically can you guys do to reach out to this group of voters . What are the issues . Jessica sure. Women are concerned about their reproductive and economic health, they care about jobs, they want to know what hillarys economic plan is, what the plan will be for Congress Going forward so that they have a fair shot. I think we can see the real contrast in this race. What we also see the states are stakes are pretty high for women in terms of their own bodies, Reproductive Health is a very big issue for people. When you have republicans obsessed with votes like defunding planned parenthood, it is very upsetting to families who want to talk about economic issues. So i think were going to see a lot of that, particularly in house races as it continues to be so important. Emily i was asked to talking with some female republican strategists, the other side of the aisle, and there also concerned about suburban women. But they are saying some of the issues they are hearing are the opioid crisis, education, safety and security. Are you hearing the same things . Jessica absolutely. I think especially on the safety and security. I think particularly when you look at the commanderinchief test that we are all faced with right now in terms of casting a ballot for president. Donald trump is unfit to be commander in chief and Hillary Clinton is ready to lead from day one. And i do think particularly moms, suburban women, they are thinking about these issues, they are thinking about our National Security and safety and the security that she will bring. But they also understand that she needs a congress that she can work with to get things done and that is the work were doing at emilys list, to help these women, these diverse women who can bring in unique perspectives, because that is an important part of what is happening here. What we are seeing, while the republicans are in a tailspin about their own elections, the democrats understand that the diverse perspectives that their candidates bring will make a difference on these issues. Kevin when you look at the senate map, to back up to that, in pennsylvania and New Hampshire, those are two states where the republican incumbent has really attacked aggressively your candidates on National Security. They really think they have an advantage there. What do Maggie Hassan and kate mcginty have to do to blunt the advantage they seem to have on this . Jessica they have to talk about these issues to voters and theyre doing that. Were in the middle of the season not only for the president ial candidates, but also the senate candidates. And theyre going to have real opportunities to continue to talk to these voters and answer questions about these issues. They will have opportunity in the debate to answer these questions and they need to do that. But im confident that they will be prepared to do so. Im confident that they are prepared to talk about National Security and issues of safety. And i think that these issues are coming up in all sorts of ways. If you look at the things that are happening, these email hacks, our own government as it says this is the result of russians trying to influence the United States elections and that is something that should be troubling for all americans. People should pay a lot of attention on a whole lot of issues. Greta what is your prediction for control of the senate . Jessica democrats are going to win, and it will be through women. Emily to follow up on that, one of the best campaigners democrats have, we all admit she is amazing on the stump is , Michelle Obama. So how come were not seeing Michelle Obama out there more in this cycle, especially for the women to bring back control of the senate . Jessica we still have a long way to go, so we may see her in the trail for some of these women. Because the stakes are really incredibly high and the president and first lady and they are out, as was the Vice President , on the trail in all the states we are talking about. I think that we see that the first lady in particular has been a tremendous asset talking about these issues that women care about while stumping for Hillary Clinton. I think we may see this down the road. But there is no question that this is a choice for voters about whether we continue the progress of president obama and the work that he has done the last eight years or whether we roll back the clocks. I think that is the choice. Kevin the Trump Campaign has signaled that theyre going to try to relitigate some of bill clintons Sexual Assault allegations against bill clinton. Is this the sort of thing damping down turnout among younger women who have may not have heard of this, then voting who were not of voting age in the 1990s . What do you guys have to do to counter that strategy . Do think that is a strategy that needs countering or is it just something that is not going to work . Jessica i think donald trump is rolling out these stunts because he offers nothing in terms of ideas and policies for americans today. I think Hillary Clinton would much prefer to be talking about issues that millennials care about like climate change, like affordable college, and issues like student loans. That is a conversation we should be having, as well. I think these are stunts meant to distract. I also think that donald trump is probably the only person in america who does not understand that it is Hillary Clinton who is on the ballot and Hillary Clinton is running for president. I do not think this will be successful. I think the endorsement of people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for Hillary Clinton the work they are doing, they are talking to people about this race, as is Hillary Clinton, about the campaign. These are in or was issues for this is an enormous issue for young voters but it is hard to , do when youre running against someone who has incoherent policy, incoherent sentences, so that is tough and have to break through that. But i can assure you we are working with her to do that. Emily to follow up about millennial voters, because this is a huge demographic democrats are targeting. What kind of practical things are you doing to get their attention, because they are not the traditional media voters that other people are. They tend to be on social media, and what were hearing from some focus groups is that they are really torn between gary johnson and jill stein or Hillary Clinton. They are thinking of going third party. Jessica yes. So we at emilys list will run a multimillion dollar ad run to reach millennial voters, and we have been communicating with them the past year or so and trying to reach them where they are at, online especially and also talking to them about Hillary Clinton. Obviously, they have to learn about her past, her Public Service over the last 30 years. So weve been doing a lot of work on that. I do think we are seeing movement. Were also seeing validators like president obama who has himself said that a vote for gary johnson or a thirdparty is essentially a vote for donald trump. Millennial voters are smart. They may be scrutinizing things, and we want them to, that is what democracy is about. We want them to take a hard look at these candidates, but at the end of the day i think they understand exactly what is at stake for them. That this fight is about their future. And i think there is no other choice because this campaign is about two people, Hillary Clinton and donald trump, and they will have to choose from one of those. And theres no question they will choose Hillary Clinton, especially the women. Kevin to go back to something you alluded to earlier, you guys were instrumental in recruiting two different female senate candidates. Initially the dscc was not particularly excited about them. That is deborah ross in North Carolina and Katie Mcginty in pennsylvania. Why do you think that the Traditional Democratic structure missed these candidates who they are now eagerly embracing . Is there still a problem with democrats not looking at women candidates . Emilys list is now over 25 25 years old as an organization. Jessica there is absolutely still work to do. Women only make up 20 of congress, so we have a long way to go to make that up. Women are 50 of the country, so we would like to see that gap narrow. That is the work we do at emilys list. You are actually right, we recruited katy mcginty in pennsylvania and deborah ross in North Carolina and others along the way. We recruited Elizabeth Warren when she ran for senate. There is more work to do. There are always questions about viability, and that is precisely why emilys list exists and has 3 million members to support these women get up and running. There are many qualified women who are ready to run for office, and that is the work that we do. Now they have run terrific , campaigns we do terrific , recruiting. We help them get their campaigns running and deborah ross and Katie Mcginty are going to do exactly what they need to do to win. Theyre going to be the next senators. That will make believers of everybody. Emily i am fascinated by the phenomenon of the split ticket, which is when a voter votes for one party for president and another for senate. It is kind of rare. But this year could be a little bit different. Im thinking of some polling we saw a few weeks ago when mr. Trump was ahead in ohio and florida when rob portman and marco rubio were outperforming mr. Trump in that state. And im curious about the comparison with New Hampshire, where kelly ayotte is not. And i am kind of wondering what your thoughts are as a woman senate candidate, is she under tougher scrutiny for her actions than these males are . Jessica i think as a woman and as a mother, she cant not be impacted by the comments from donald trump and his actions. It is troubling. It is troubling to all women. I dont know a woman out there who is not having a conversation about this right now. This transcends party. And i do think it is hard for her. I do get is hard for her to be a republican standing there with the republican nominee now that she has walked away, recently. But it is way too little, too late. And that is what women are saying and looking at. Why did it take so long . Why did it take so long for these republicans to show leadership on this issue around women, the candidate at the top with donald trump who is called mexicans rapists and criminals. Why did it take so long for her and john mccain and joe heck to walk away from donald trump . That is the real question. That is what voters are asking. I do think it is hard for her. How could it not be . Emily to clarify, kelly ayotte, has as you said, has disavowed , donald trump and revoked her endorsement. But New Hampshire has fascinated me by their voter patterns because there are so many independent voters there and they famous for making up their minds in the last few days of the campaign. And the polling there still shows that race between kelly ayotte and Maggie Hassan pretty close. Jessica it is a close race. A lot of these races were talking about are close. And i think were seeing some women at the top of the ticket with Hillary Clinton, there will be tickets like that, there will be ticket splitting, but i think a lot of these instances republicans cannot run from donald trump and cannot run from the policies that they have instituted over their tenures. The bottom line is that is what it comes down to. They have been involved with this Republican Party that gave rise to donald trump and have been supportive of policies that are harmful to women. And i think theyre going to pay a price this election, because women are going to decide this election. In 2012, the gender gap helped propel barack obama to reelection. He won with the largest gender gap in history. I think were going to blow it out of the water. And it will affect down ballot races, for sure. Kevin how do actually translate that . Into the down ballot . You look at a state like pennsylvania, pat toomey is running well ahead of trump. There have been a number of poll s where Hillary Clinton has a solid lead over donald trump and pat toomey with a good lead over Katie Mcginty. Would you change that if you are how do you change that if you are the mcginty campaign . Jessica sure, what is happening is that republicans are getting themselves distracted with Katie Mcginty. Would you change infighting. I think we can expect that is only going to get worse over the next few weeks. I dont think that is going to get better for them. It is a distraction for them. The difference for democrats is we have party unity right now. We understand what is at stake and parties come together. All of these races, i think that is going to be something. Kevin is is really mostly about letting the republicans collapse . Jessica not going to stop it. Not going to stop it. They are collapsing. There collapsing because their policies are outdated. Issues that really impact. Partially donald trump, and partially because they are not hearing about the issues that matter most to them. Hillary clinton, she is offering a plan even in the midst of the circus we are in right now. Plans the impact everyday lives. I think republicans, donald trump will continue to be a huge distraction. Emily you have a sense since youre out in the field of what the surprise in the race might be . Jessica the race against john mccain in arizona. She has been consistently out raising him, the debate recently, i think john mccain has changed. And i think arizonans are really struggling with that. He has been there a long time. There has been a lot of loyalty, but i think he has changed and they are struggling to figure out how they want to handle that because he stood by donald trump , and arizona is heavily latino. Recently one of the miss arizona women from the pageants, trump walked in on her when she was changing. Democrats have been elected there multiple times. People are continuing to get to know her and turning towards her. I think arizona race could be a surprise. Senator mccain has withdrawn his endorsement of mr. Trump. Kevin arizona is yet attracting a lot of outside spending. Is Ann Kirkpatrick going to need outside help to win the race or can she win it without the big National Groups getting involved . Jessica the demographics in arizona are changing. John mccain has definitely changed. It is one on the radar that people are watching. There is a cycle where again were going to take back the senate because of women, women of color. We will be able to elect women of color. The senate only had two of them in its entirety history. This is a chance to transform the senate not only with women, but other communities. So i think it will be surprises in this climate. I also think in a state like arizona where you border issues and voter registration, these are issues that motivate voters. And she could benefit from some of these things happening nationally and also in arizona, specifically. Greta how many races are you focusing on in the senate . He said it will be a lot bigger than 45 million. How much bigger . Jessica nine women for the senate, senator patty murray is also up for reelection. And candidates for the house and two candidates for governor, and 100 women at the state and local level. Were spending on these tight senate races to impact them. Have a big number at the end of the cycle. And big wins at the end of the cycle. Greta thank you for being on newsmakers. Greta back with our reporter roundtable. Emily, you just heard from emilys list. Donald trump is having a real impact on the senate and house races that they are focusing on. What are the polls telling us at this point . Emily we should start out by saying we may not note the impact for another week or so until we get to the next president ial debate until we see the fallout from the scandal. Right now a lot of talk about the New Hampshire race, two women running. Pretty tight right there. Slightly for kelly ayotte. Pennsylvania is tied. A little too soon to tell, but in a few weeks we may get more polling. Greta Kevin Robillard . Kevin these things are very tight. Theyis interesting is that are really trying to tie donald trump to these down ballot candidates. For a while, the Clinton Campaign was avoiding doing that. Now, they are saying that donald trump is a republican and you should not vote for pat toomey because she supports donald trump. That is the argument you are seeing now. Maybe that type of argument might lead to democrats being greater gains in those polls that we will have to wait a week or two to tell. Greta what kind of impact is Hillary Clinton having on state levels . Emily a mixed bag. I do not think it is as bad as you would think it is. Hillary clinton and donald trump , they are known quantities. Not a lot much more we can learn about the clintons. Even with the emails coming up. As you pointed out, a lot of the emails are just policies. Undecided, i mean Hillary Clinton or third party. Theyre not looking at from. Donald trump or Hillary Clinton, how that could affect the senate race, we will see that. Greta emilys list getting folks out like Elizabeth Warren. Saying that you have to vote for Hillary Clinton. Emily they are absolutely. In ohio and New Hampshire. Kevin and thirdparty voters, they often dont vote down ballot. Which way will gary johnson voters go . Right now most are going republican. There is also a decent group of people who will support Katie Mcginty or Maggie Hassan. That is an open question. Or they could vote for the libertarian candidate. Greta question for both of you. One of her predictions what about her predictions that would takes control question would take control . To get the four seats, pennsylvania and wisconsin are next. Emily i agree, and point out pennsylvania, the most money spent in the cycle. That right there is a state everybody is focused on. And the house, we pretty much agree the republicans will keep control but it may be by a slim margin. Greta and we will have to see the impact of that. Emily goodin and Kevin Robillard here for newsmakers. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies and brought you as a Public Service by your cable or satellite provider. 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