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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Republicans Take the U.S. Senate; Runoff in Louisiana

Aired November 05, 2014 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. It is Wednesday, the day after, November 5th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.

ROMANS: It is early, but so much to talk about. Major breaking news this morning: Republicans have taken control over the United States Senate in a tidal wave.

BERMAN: It was a night filled with close contests -- in fact, not many of them were that close. And the ones that we didn't expect to be close were a whole lot closer than we thought they would be.

The Republicans picked up more than the six seats they needed to take control of the Senate. Now, there are still races that remain unsettled in Alaska and Louisiana, which is headed to a runoff. But as things stand now, Republicans will hold at least 52 seats in the Senate picking up at least 7 over the current Congress. Democrats will hold 45 seats.

I want to begin with the Republican pickup. West Virginia has its first female U.S. senator. Republican Shelley Moore Capito defeating Democrat Natalie Tennant. She was taking the seat of retiring Democrat Jay Rockefeller. This victory marks the first time in 56 years that West Virginia has elected a Republican Senator.

Another key pickup for Republicans in South Dakota, where before former Governor Mike Rounds easily defeated Democrat Rick Weiland and independent Larry Pressler to win the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Tim Johnson.

Montana, Republican Steve Daines easily defeating Democrat Amanda Curtis to win the Senate there, surrendered by Max Baucus. Baucus is now the ambassador to China. Democrats all but conceded this race after their original candidate John Welsh withdrew over revelations that he had plagiarized parts of his master's thesis.

Republicans picking up a seat in Arkansas. The Republican there, Tom Cotton, a congressman, defeated the incumbent Senator Mark Pryor. Pryor had tried to run away from President Obama whose approval rating in Arkansas was just 34 percent. History made Iowa, Republican State Senator Joni Ernst picking up the

seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin. Ernst is the state's first female representative in Washington of any kind. Iowa has also never elected a woman as governor. It was a big bruising battle, a lot of money spent there. The candidates spent, oh, I think the estimate is, what, $80 million in campaign ads.

ROMANS: And Bruce Braley had the support of the Clintons and Michelle Obama as well in that campaign trail and that did not help him.

In Colorado, a surprisingly easy win for Republican Cory Gardner, unseating incumbent Democrat Mark Udall. This was supposed to be neck and neck. Udall, the first Colorado Senate incumbent senator to be voted out of office in 36 years.

North Carolina clinched it for Republicans. Thom Tillis defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan, finally giving the GOP control of the Senate.

In Kansas, one of the most hotly contested Senate races in the country. But in the end, Republican Senator Pat Roberts won reelection, defeating self-funded independent challenger Greg Orman.

A nail-biter, too close to call this morning in Virginia, Ed Gillespie has not conceded that Senate race.

In New Hampshire, CNN has projected Democrat Jeanne Shaheen will hold on to her Senate seat, her Republican challenger conceding finally after initially balking.

And Mitch McConnell cruising to reelection in Kentucky. McConnell defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes to win a sixth term in the U.S. Senate. With the Republicans taking control of the Senate, McConnell is expected to become the next majority leader. He'll have to get new business cards done.

BERMAN: Let's focus on the two races where the outcome is still not known this morning. In Louisiana, neither Senator Mary Landrieu nor any of her opponents got more than 50 percent they needed that would give them the seat outright. Now, the race will go to a runoff on December 6th. And in Alaska, where the polls didn't close until to after midnight, they are still counting right now.

So, that's where we begin in Anchorage. CNN's Drew Griffin is there.

Good morning, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people wondering why this race hasn't been called, John. Dan Sullivan, the Republican challenger, is leading substantially 60 percent to 54 percent over the Democratic incumbent senator, a one-termer, Mark Begich. Seventy- three percent of the vote in.

I just talked to the mathematicians, they say still we don't have enough information on where the outlying votes are to call this race. But, certainly, given the fact that Alaska is usually a Republican state, the tone of the evening, the ground game that we've been looking at here, this looks like it's going to be a Republican pickup. We just can't say right now.

So, this state in terms of the Senate race is just on hold. And we'll have to continue to wait for more of this vote to come in.

BERMAN: Yes, it's hard to say given the way --

GRIFFIN: In the meantime --

BERMAN: Go ahead, Drew.

GRIFFIN: In the meantime, this state has picked up on victory., Alaska senior senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, she's now going out to the Senate as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I caught up with her, I want to play after a snippet of how she expects the Republican Party to govern now that they have the Senate.

I just heard we don't have that sound, but she rally thinks it's time for the Republicans to put up or shut up. And they need to bring back a positive governing attitude to Washington, D.C. after this election and they need to work just as hard now as they did during this campaign, John.

BERMAN: Yes, that the big discussion this morning. What will they do with control of the Senate?

Drew Griffin in Anchorage, thanks so much.

So, the winner of the Louisiana race will not be known for weeks, because neither the incumbent Mary Landrieu, nor the Republican challenger, either of the Republican challengers got more than 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright. So, that race will be decided in a two-candidate runoff, Mary Landrieu, Democrat, Bill Cassidy, the Republican.

Suzanne Malveaux live in New Orleans.

Good morning, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

When they call this the jungle primary, clearly, there's going to be 32 days to actually determine who's going to win, who comes out on top of this.

I had spoken to Senator Landrieu earlier in the day. She was calm. She was confident that she had that 50 plus 1 percent. It didn't pan out in the end. There was a bit of disappointment. But there certainly was some re-jiggering of her campaign if you will.

She came out very forceful in the evening talking about this is not going to be a race about the president, whether or not he was competent back then or now or who he'll actually become. That was something that she really stressed. Cassidy, Congressman Cassidy, on the other hand, immediately, when he took to the stage compared her to the president. And that 60 percent of Louisiana voters had voted for change.

There's a very clear difference between these two candidates, Louisiana voters have to decide. Landrieu supports and supported Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act. Cassidy calls it the unaffordable care act and would repeal.

She also believes in raising the minimum wage $10 an hour. Cassidy is not for that. He is for raising the retirement age to 70, which Landrieu says would not be possible. She said some people in the parishes of Louisiana actually, the life expectancy of African- Americans is at 70 years old. So that would not happen.

So, John, it's not like you have two candidates that are similar at all. They are polar opposites. And this is really about what kind of senator they want to send back to Washington. Landrieu is trying to project a sense of confidence saying she's done this before. At least two other runoffs she's been successful, a third campaign without a runoff. This is this not her first rodeo.

But you've got to think this is a big challenge for her and her team, because the Tea Party candidate actually took away 14 percent of the votes, very likely that some of those votes are going to go in Cassidy's favor -- John.

BERMAN: The one race that's headed into overtime, Suzanne. We hope you get a chance to come home. You're not standing there a whole time.

Suzanne Malveaux for us in New Orleans -- thanks so much.

Christine?

ROMANS: All right. John, in the House of Representatives, Republicans were able to strengthen their hand. Once again a few races remain undecided this morning.

But at the moment, Republicans have 241 seats in the House of Representatives when a new Congress seats in January. But a minimum of seven more than the 234 they hold at the moment. Democrats hold 174.

That will almost certainly strengthen Republican hand against President Obama. But whether it will change partisan gridlock, it's hard to predict.

I want to bring in CNN's political analysis team, John Avlon, editor of "The Daily Beast", Republican political consultant Margaret Hoover, Errol Louis, political anchor at New York 1 News, and Sally Kohn, progressive columnist for "The Daily Beast".

I want to start in Iowa. The faces and names do not change in Iowa. The governor there was there when I was a little girl in Iowa. Tom Harkin has been there forever. He retired. And now, there's a new name and a new face. Her name is Joni Ernst. Listen to her last night.

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JONI ERNST (R), IOWA SENATOR-ELECT: Look at what they're doing in Washington -- higher taxes, more spending, more debt, and the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression. But tonight, we're taking the Iowa way all the way to Washington. And we are going to make them squeal.

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ROMANS: That's, of course, a reference to the ad that helped her really break out from the Republican pack early on that she grew up castrating hogs and knew how to cut pork.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This is not only the first female to be elected state wide in Iowa, but she's going to be the Senate's first female combat veteran.

ROMANS: Yes.

HOOVER: Which is great for Republicans.

ROMANS: So, what kind of lead-in will she be, and what kind of governing will this now united House and Senate do?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the deal with Joni Ernst is she's going to be a major player. She's an overnight Republican star. She's going to be the most in-demand surrogate. Everyone is thinking for running for president, she's now on speed dial and their new best friend.

But the question is, how does this style meet the substance? The rhetoric from Republican Senate candidates was dramatically different, they learned from the mistakes of Akin and Mourdock. They shied away from social issues.

Democrats played off of social issues. Republicans wanted to focus on the economy. If they extend the rhetoric of -- we need to find a way to solve problems in Washington, the Iowa way in Washington, it could be great not only for Republicans but the country.

But there's that tension between the policies and style and the substance.

HOOVER: But I think it's important to highlight the Senate as a body for governance, and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, you've got 100 senators and each of them can stop the progress on that chamber.

But what you will also see, just like this year, in two years, you have seven blue state Republicans who are up. So, no senator that's a Republican is going to try to run to the right. They're going to have to learn and keep their votes. ROMANS: What happened to Mark Udall? We talk about social issues. In that race, it was the Democrat talking about women's issues more than Republicans, and he lost.

SALLY KOHN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, I have to push back on this tidal wave. If I hear tidal wave again, my head might explode. This is not a fricking tidal wave. This was predicted to happen.

This was predicted to happen. In fact, Republicans actually started out the electoral season more optimistic. They were planning to take somewhere in then neighborhood of 44 to 45 seats in the House. They ended up targeting only 11. And traditionally, Republicans in a six- year election would lose 29 and they're only going to be 11 or 12, maybe 13.

So, that's point one. Point number two, the situation like in Colorado, look arguably by pointing out where Cory Gardner stood on reproductive issues and reproductive rights, that's what made the difference for Udall. Let's be clear part of what saved Gardner was that he co-sponsored incredibly extreme, incredibly unpopular personhood legislation which the voters struck down.

And then he ran away from it. He ran away from it realizing how popular it was.

ROMANS: Last word, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, NEW YORK 1 NEWS: There's a lot of talk of a new wave of Democratic women candidates coming forward. They were supposed to succeed in Kentucky. They were supposed to succeed in Texas, it didn't work out.

The fact that it actually worked to the Republicans' advantage in Iowa tells you that this so-called women's gap and playing women's politics not only as easy --

HOOVER: The war on women was definitively crushed.

CROWD: Whoa!

ROMANS: John, you've got to take it away.

BERMAN: Oh, OK.

It wasn't just the Senate. The governors' races were also extremely pro-Republican in this country, in this election. We're holding off projecting races in a few races. But as of now, Republicans took over the governor's office in four states, while Democrats picked up one this morning.

In Illinois, Republican Bruce Rauner, Illinois, by the way, the state that the president happens to be from, Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent Governor Pat Quinn. That's according to the CNN projection.

Another stunning upset in heavily Democratic Maryland, with Republican businessman Larry Hogan winning the governor's race there. He defeated Democrat Anthony Brown, the state's lieutenant governor.

And another deep blue problem for the Democrats, in Massachusetts, Republican Charlie Baker won the race over Democrat Martha Coakley. This comes after eight years of Democrat rule in Massachusetts under Governor Deval Patrick.

A new Republican governor in Arkansas, former homeland security official, Asa Hutchinson, defeating Mike Ross, giving the Republican control of that state's top office, after eight years in the hands of Democrats.

Republicans also won some other tight races, where Democrats were given decent odds of winning. Florida, reelecting Republican Rick Scott to a second term. That's a stinging set back to new Democrat Charlie Crist. Scott spent nearly $13 million of his own money in this campaign, n just the final days. He's just the second Republican governor in Florida history to win reelection.

In Wisconsin, Scott Walker easily won re-election to a second term over double digits over the Democrat Mary Burke. This victory keeps Walker in the mix as a potential presidential candidate in 2016. You remember, Walker actually won a recall election. He was recalled after he upset unions after collective bargaining rights for state public employees.

Republicans held on to the state house in Georgia. Republicans gave incumbent Governor Nathan Deal four more years. He defeated Democratic challenger Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

In Arizona, Republicans in control again. Doug Ducey defeated Democrat Fred Duval in the governor's race. He will replace Jan Brewer, who decided to retire rather than challenge the state's term limit law. Ducey is best known for building the Coldstone Creamery ice cream chain before selling the company in 2011 and getting into politics.

Republicans lost only one state house, Pennsylvania. Democrat Tom Wolf is the new governor of Pennsylvania. He defeated the Republican Governor Tom Corbett in his bid for re-election.

I didn't even mention, guys, the two super close races that we haven't predicted yet. Colorado, the Democrat John Hickenlooper still hanging on, still a very tight race against Republican Bob Beauprez. And in Connecticut, just a few miles north of here, Dan Malloy, barely tied with Republican Tom Foley. That was the state where President Obama, John, traveled to campaign.

AVLON: Yes, he did. As well as in Maryland where stunning upset against the Democrats, lieutenant governor running to succeed Martin O'Malley.

In the case of Malloy, it's particularly interesting. You know, not so long ago when there were things called northeastern Republicans that roamed the earth, Connecticut --

BERMAN: What is such a thing?

AVLON: They are back. They are back. Charlie Baker, back. Big signature win, Republican governor of Massachusetts now.

But of the fact that that race hasn't gotten caught up in that wave is significant mostly because Malloy has governed for a Working Families Party kind of agenda, much more liberal than the state as a whole. So, a lot of folks thought that would be more likely. A rematch with Tom Foley, that hasn't happened.

The Hickenlooper race in Colorado, and my broad is from Colorado, so we let her talk, but "The Denver Post" seems to think that Hickenlooper pulls this out. He was one of the few Republicans to win -- sorry, Democrats to win in that Tea Party wave of 2010, but he's had no oversee the marijuana legalization, very controversial. He's running ahead of Mark Udall, but it's tight, tight there.

BERMAN: Margaret, I want to go to another state not up for re- election, Chris Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, it was like, 16 states over the last week, campaign. This was a big night for him?

HOOVER: It was a very big night. I don't think anyone thought they would do as well as they did. They raised a lot of money. They were able to deploy it into a lot of states. Some states, didn't think they're going to have to deploy. So, there was a little skirmish between Rick Scott in Wisconsin and Chris Christie, who said actually, just send the money and don't bother coming here. Scott Walker rather in Wisconsin.

(CROSSTALK)

HOOVER: Almost like we're married. Just for the record, we are actually married.

But truly, it was a great night for Chris Christie because they wanted it. It looks like we have a new face of Chris Christie leaning forward towards 2016.

AVLON: Six weeks ago, Republicans really thought they were going to lose maybe half a dozen --

BERMAN: They thought they were in big trouble. Maryland wasn't even part of the discussion, Errol.

LOUIS: Very true.

And this is what shows you that it is in some degree a wave election, that there were things happening in places where nobody was looking. You can go into individual congressional districts and see the same thing.

One thing worth pointing out about Chris Christie's travels is he spent a lot of time in New Hampshire. It was one of the few places where they didn't pick up. It became transparently clear that he was looking out more for Chris Christie than for the interest of the Republican Party.

BERMAN: That would be shocking. That would be shocking.

Sally, last word.

KOHN: You know, again, you know, this is a good map for Republicans. And we also have to look at the reality when you look at voter turnout, it still puts Chris Christie and the Republicans in a tough position for 2016, when you see almost every single race, certainly in the national exit polls that Republicans were elected largely by older are white voters. Two years in the future, 20 years in the future, that is not the formula.

BERMAN: And the demographics are something we'll talk about over the next few minutes. Let's go back to Christine.

ROMANS: Thanks, John.

We're following all this breaking news this morning.

All morning long, Republicans take control of the U.S. Senate sweeping midterm elections across the country. Numerous state houses now turn over to the GOP and Senator Mitch McConnell. Will he be able to get their agenda passed?

President Obama with a veto pen, members of their own party already looking ahead to 2016. So much moral of EARLY START special election coverage next.

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ROMANS: In Georgia, most forecasters thought that Senate race could very well go it a runoff. Instead, the Republican David Perdue beat Michelle Nunn by some eight points.

I want to go live now from CNN Center in Atlanta, where CNN's Nick Valencia is.

This was a real surprise, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was a surprise, and not just to those in the Nunn campaign, but also in the Perdue campaign. So many people were prepared for a long and exciting night. That's not what we got here in Georgia. Many analysts like you were saying thought this would be a runoff, that the more likely scenario would be that no one would get the 50 percent plus one voted needed, to avoid that January 6 runoff.

A couple of hours before polls closed, in fact, I talked to somebody in the Nunn campaign who said they were confident about an outright win. A couple hours after the polls closed, it was an entirely different story. Those ballots start to get tallied up and it showed that David Perdue, the Republican candidate, was going to pull away and that's exactly what he did.

In his victory speech, he told CNN that voters here in Georgia, they sent a message to President Barack Obama saying that they're not happy with him.

Nunn, well, she was more upbeat in her concession speech. She said that she proves that a Democratic candidate can be competitive in the state of Georgia but really at the end of the day, she came up short, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, and that Perdue did a good job of tying Michelle Nunn to Obama's policies and to the Obama administration. Nick Valencia, thanks for that.

John?

BERMAN: Yes. You know, President Obama was a big problem for Democratic candidates all over the country. How big of a problem?

Well, let's take a look. Let's look at North Carolina here. This was a Republican pickup in this state. The voters there, 57 percent say they disapprove of how President Obama is handling his job. And you will not be surprised to see that among those who disapproved, 82 percent say they voted for the Republican Thom Tillis.

Let's took at a couple of other states that tell a story. Colorado, this was a state that President Obama won twice -- 56 percent of the voters in Colorado say they disapprove of the job the president is doing. Of those, 79 percent say they voted for the Republican Cory Gardner.

Iowa, this is a state that launched President Obama into the political stratosphere where he won the caucus there in 2008, 60 percent disapprove of the president right now.

And let's look, if we will, at Virginia, if we can right now. Virginia is a state where we have not projected a winner in the Senate race there. It was simply too close to project right now between Ed Gillespie, the Republican, and the incumbent Democrat Mark Warner.

Fifty-eight percent of voters in the state of Virginia say they disapprove of the job the president is doing. This could help explain why it's been so difficult for Mark Warner to put this away. Of those who disapprove of the president's job, 81 percent are voting for the Republican Ed Gillespie.

So, you can see how the president is playing in races around the country -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right, John.

Let's turn now to some of the big ballot initiative across the country, and increased minimum wage, more liberal marijuana laws gaining wide voter approval. Let's start in Arkansas where there was another ringing endorsement for a higher minimum wage. Only two- thirds of the voters approving incremental increases to $8.50 an hour by 2017. Voters in Illinois approved a nonbinding measure to raise the minimum wage by 10 bucks an hour next year.

Now, supporters hope it will add momentum to a legislative proposal to officially raise the minimum wage in Illinois.

The wage in Nebraska increases to $9 an hour after voters in the Cornhuskers State approve the Initiative 425. That's the state's first minimum wage increase in five years.

And there will pay raises for minimum wage workers in South Dakota, too. Voters narrowly approving an increase to $8.50 an hour starting January 1st, along with incremental hikes in the years to come, that would be tied to inflation.

Oregon is now the third state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana. Starting next summer, residents will be allowed to carry up to one ounce you can possess up to eight ounces at home, and households can also grow up to four plants each in Oregon.

In Florida, voters rejected a proposal to legalize medical marijuana. That initiative received more than 50 percent of the vote, more than half the people, but 60 percent for that to pass.

And Washington state voters, they did approve Initiative 594 easily. That measure mandates background checks on all gun sales and transfers, including at gun shows and online, but also voters tightened gun control measures with two ballot measures.

Issue 591 rejected by voters. It would have loosened gun control laws by prohibiting background checks on gun purchases.

I want to return to our group of CNN political analysts for their thoughts on all of these ballot measures, and whether there's a theme here, and whether it runs counter to the strong Republican surge in Congress.

I've been saying, the minimum wage, income inequality, this was a stealth factor in these elections. Those are Obama policies. President Obama wants to raise the minimum wage. He wants to attack income equality by raising the minimum wage.

And in these red states even, the minimum wage increases pass, Sally.

KOHN: I mean, look, the president said he wasn't on the ballot, his policies were. To an extent, when you look at the minimum wage, when you look at the rejection of these extreme anti-abortion measures, it says that's true.

And again, in red states, this is a weird message voters have sent. They've sent only one, to raise the minimum wage. We want people to have access to abortion. We want pot. And then we're going to send Republicans to Congress who oppose all of these things and the reason we don't have minimum wage increases at the federal level and have all these --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: It did show that states are where things are happening, because it hasn't been happening in Washington, Errol. They have not been able to get a minimum wage through in Washington. But 71 percent of Republicans agree to a raise of the minimum wage, Democrats and Republicans, Errol.

LOUIS: That's right. Successful Republicans who won in elections tonight, they know how to read polls. They know how to sort of take the temperature of the people. It's very interesting in Kentucky, during the debate in which Mitch McConnell was defending his record and going forward.

It's pointed out that half a million Kentuckians have used that state's exchange to get Obamacare, which he was going to, you know, rip out root and branch. He said, well, if they want to keep that Web site, they can keep that Web site, you know?

And what you're going to see, is what politics are supposed to do, is people migrating toward the center, toward where people are, and that's really what this represents.

ROMANS: John?

AVLON: I certainly agree with that evolutionary view of politics. But the core contradiction between the Republican red state votes, for people who oppose minimum wage and then voting for minimum wage is fascinating. And it speaks to a certain blue collar conservatism that makes sense. And what it really raises the question is, should red state Republicans if they're trying to connect with the middle class, should they back the minimum wage? Or did they simply fall back to the laboratories of democracy issue.

HOOVER: Here's the real challenge that Republicans face, because in these reds states when Republicans are voting for minimum wage, the problem is wages have stagnated.

ROMANS: Right, for everyone.

HOOVER: For everyone. And even the Fed, Janet Yellen at the Federal Reserve says nobody's income is growing. Against that backdrop, Republicans haven't offered anything else that's compelling.

ROMANS: What are they going to offer? They better offer something, because in 2016, it will be their Congress policies that will be rejected.

HOOVER: The Republicans will tell you the way to have wages go up is to grow the pie generally. To make the economy get back off of the stuttering slump it's been in.

How do you do that? They'll say, you got to do tax reform. You got to take regulations out of the energy industry. You got to help businesses.

(CROSSTALK)

KOHN: You know what Republicans are going to propose. They're going to propose tax cuts for the rich. When the economy good they propose tax cuts for the rich. When the economy is bad, they propose tax cuts for the rich. They have all these so-called job bills which include repealing Obamacare and easing restrictions -- HOOVER: No.

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: They're going to still try. Some folks have said as much but it ain't going anywhere.

ROMANS: All right, guys. We've got to leave it there.

John, there's so much to talk to. So fascinating. I'd just go to you now.

BERMAN: A whole lot of breaking news with Republicans winning big in these midterm elections. Congress will be drastically changed. EARLY START continues right now.

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