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Clinton Campaign Talks Iowa; Interview with Sanders Campaign Media Adviser Tad Devine; Marco Rubio's Two-Part Campaign Strategy; Interview with Jeff Kaufmann.Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 01, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:55] ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": Hillary Clinton, once again, finding herself neck and neck with an opponent who's seemingly burst out of nowhere here in Iowa. Clinton says, though, this will not be a repeat of 2008 because she's a better candidate this time around. Here's what she told CNN earlier this morning.

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HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I always thought we'd have a close contest and I think that's good. It's good for the Democratic Party. But I'm thrilled at my campaign. And we learned a lot of lessons. We've applied those lessons. We've got a great team working literally around the clock. And I think I'm a better candidate. I think, you know, my experience as secretary of state gave me a depth and understanding about what the next president will face that, frankly, nobody else running on either side could have. And I think that what voters are looking for is a way out of their frustration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Hillary Clinton's campaign strategist Joel Benenson joins me now.

You've been here the past few days. You have run these winning operations for Barack Obama, for Bill Clinton. This is coming down to turnout. What is the ground game? What's your strategy tonight to get people out?

JOEL BENENSON, CHIEF STRATEGIST, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Well, we had a great weekend. The strategy in getting people out tonight is really doing a lot of work, not just this last weekend, but over the long term. The ground games are effective when you communicate with people long and often. But our weekend was extraordinary. We have an unprecedented number of precinct captains. First time any campaign has had a captain in every one of the 1,681 precincts and we have 2,000 additional team leads. But, more importantly, we had volunteers this weekend, 10,000 of them, knocked on 185,000 doors this weekend alone. And you're communicating with people. You're getting them committed. You've had that contact. And a lot of it has been neighbor to neighbor. So we feel we're in a great place to turn out the people we need to caucus for us tonight.

BURNETT: Now, you know, we've been talking about the conventional wisdom is that turnout is going to help Bernie Sanders. And, you know, I was -- we were talking about the Vietnamese, Cambodian communities, the minority communities who seem to be going for Bernie Sanders and coming out with first-time caucus goers. You're saying the conventional wisdom is not all right.

BENENSON: I -- I always say conventional wisdom is everyone's enemy because the turnout is going to depend on who can really get their people out, all right. We're had an operation that we think has been stronger, is more effective. We're seeing the results in not just in number of doors you knock on, but the recorded information we get from people. You keep track of those things. So, no, I think the turnout can go up and we can -- and we'll still prevail in this thing because I think of the ground operation we've done and the legwork that we put in over the entirety of the campaign.

BURNETT: All right, so 1,681 precinct captains you said.

BENENSON: Precincts, yes.

BURNETT: So more than any other campaign in history, Democrat, Republican.

BENENSON: Unprecedented, yes.

BURNETT: OK, unprecedented. OK, if all of it works out --

BENENSON: Yes.

BURNETT: That's great for you and it's a testament to the ground game that you pulled off. If it does not pull -- if it does not happen, if there's a loss, how disappointing will that be psychologically for the campaign? It doesn't destroy the campaign, but that's going to be tough, isn't it?

BENENSON: Look, I think we have believed all the way through that this is going to be a long campaign, that it's going to be competitive. We know that there are a lot of delegates that when we come out of Iowa and New Hampshire this week that get a lot of attention, rightly so because they're unique states. They come early.

BURNETT: Right.

BENENSON: But we campaign here a long time. We come out of these two states, we have 1,000 delegates that are up for grabs after New Hampshire to the end of March. That's a lot of delegates and they're committed delegates and we have a lot of primaries. So we think it's going to be competitive. I think Senator Sanders has been a very competitive opponent and we're not planning on any quick ending here. We're planning on going forward and doing what we have to do state after state to secure this nomination.

BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Joel. And coming up after the break, Bernie Sanders side of things. Tad Devine, his chief media strategist, is going to be our guest here from Iowa in just a couple moments. we'll be right back.

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[09:38:40] BURNETT: Tad Devine is a senior media adviser for the Sanders' campaign.

OK, so there was polls that came out, Hillary Clinton was a little bit ahead. Now there's a Quinnipiac poll this morning, Bernie Sanders is ahead.

TAD DEVINE, SENIOR MEDIA ADVISER, BERNIE 2016: Right.

BURNETT: All of these within the margin of error. Do you think you can do it?

DEVINE: I think we can. It's going to be close. And no one's going to know, I think, until late tonight who won this. I think it's going to be a very close race. But, listen, we've got a great organization. We've been here eight months and we've built an incredible campaign on the ground. I think Bernie has the best message and I think he's connecting with voters.

BURNETT: And so what is the ground game? You know, so Joel Benenson was here from Hillary Clinton's campaign, 1,681 precinct captains.

DEVINE: Uh-huh.

BURNETT: It may sound Greek -- like Greek to people watching, but that means every single precinct in this state --

DEVINE: Sure.

BURNETT: They have blanketed. You didn't have quite that sort of a ground game.

DEVINE: Yes.

BURNETT: How do you compete with that?

DEVINE: We do know. We have over 2,600 precinct captains. Because a lot of these precincts are really big and you're going to need more than one person handling it.

BURNETT: Right, so you're doubling up.

DEVINE: We do. We've -- yes, we've knocked on over 100,000 doors this weekend. You know, we have 15,000 volunteers. That's really the heart of this campaign, 15,000 volunteers in Iowa.

BURNETT: Right.

DEVINE: And -- and -- and that's how we've been running this campaign across the country with people signing on online and joining the campaign.

BURNETT: All right, so in terms of actual getting turnout, right, there's been all kinds of -- there's all kinds of ways you can do that. Are you literally going to be held -- you're going to be providing food, are you going to be providing rides to people? I mean how are you going to actually get those people to the polls? Because one thing they say, OK, sure, sure, I'm going to do it. And then tonight comes around, someone's kid is crying, something's happening, they say, you know what, I don't have the time.

[09:40:01] DEVINE: Yes. Well, we're going to talk to them. We will provide transportation if they need it. We'll be in touch with them all day. We're going to send them text messages for people that we have, particularly younger people. You know, the way you can communicate with people now, because of the cell phone -- I mean 2008, Barack Obama did a great job. There were no -- there were no smart phones in 2008. Now we can talk to everybody immediately and I think that's a big difference for us.

BURNETT: All right, so people look at Iowa and they also say, you know what, why is Iowa first? Iowa's a white state. Iowa is not reflective of the United States, which is true in some ways, but in other ways it's much more diverse than people think. You know, Ron Brownstein was here saying, when you look at the elementary school population here in Iowa, it is majority non-white.

DEVINE: Yes.

BURNETT: As is true across the United States.

DEVINE: Right.

BURNETT: In 10 years, under 18, the population in this state will be majority non-White.

DEVINE: Right.

BURNETT: What does that mean for you?

DEVINE: Well, it means that -- you know, that the Democrats have a real advantage, you know, not just -- not just here in Iowa in the way it's changing, but in America. You know, this country is so different than the country that I -- when I worked for Walter Mondale and Ronald Reagan won a great election, it was 89 percent white, the electorate, in 1984. It was 72 percent in 2012. I think there's a chance it will be under 70 this time. So the Democratic party is the party I think speaking to the diversity of this nation. As long as we do that and the Republicans say what they say about, you know, Hispanics and about minorities, we're going to have the chance to win big election victories.

BURNETT: Before we go, are you worried about expectations? Expectations are now very real that you would win. If you do not win Iowa, what does that mean? How big of a blow is that to Bernie Sanders? DEVINE: Well, you know, we were 50 points behind when we started here. I think we're going to come real close. Everybody can agree to that. Hopefully we'll be able to find a way to get across the finish line ahead of her. But if -- but if we don't, we'll go to New Hampshire next week. We'll go to Nevada after that. We'll go to South Carolina after that. We've got people in place on March 1st all across the country and we have the resources I think people realize now to run a national campaign. We're going all the way to the convention.

BURNETT: All right, thank you very much. Tad, good to see you.

DEVINE: Thank you.

BURNETT: And when Iowa ends tonight and the race moves to New Hampshire, we are going to have a very special event counting down to the primary there next week, this Wednesday night. All three Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, will take part in a presidential town hall in Diary (ph), New Hampshire, live on CNN. Crucial moment because New Hampshire, obviously, the second state to vote and going to be very, very important to see if someone can get a sweep or split those states. Again, that town hall, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN with Anderson Cooper.

We're going to take a brief break. And when we come back, the Republican establishment watching Iowa to see if there is any shot anybody other than Cruz or Trump can pull out a shock at the caucuses. Can Rubio really do it? Some say his camp is setting the bar lower than reality to try to upside surprise. That's next.

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[09:47:16] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Republican front runner Donald Trump may by standing on the verge of a stunning victory in Iowa and Marco Rubio, he may be okay with that. The senator from Florida knows Trump's numbers eclipse his in all of the recent polling in Iowa, but his campaign is hoping to ride a strong third place finish in Iowa, and in New Hampshire and in South Carolina, and that's where everything could change.

CNN senior political reporter Manu Raju joins me now from Des Moines. Even though Rubio is in third place in Iowa, he keeps saying, his staffers keep saying we're okay with that and a lot of people are asking is he the best hope at this point for the GOP establishment? Tell me what you think and what his game plan is today.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a two front plan for the Rubio campaign. One is to see Ted Cruz lose here. That is - there is no bigger objective than that. They believe that if Cruz does not beat Donald Trump this will be the end of the Cruz campaign, the beginning of the end of the end of the campaign in their view.

They also need to have some separation between them and the governors in the race because of what you were just saying, Poppy. He wants to emerge as the one candidate who can unite the establishment side and the conservatives. And if he has some distance between him and the governors he can have some momentum going into New Hampshire and emerge as the alternative to Donald Trump.

The real long term goal of the Rubio campaign is to see those other governors eventually drop out of the race and see their support go towards him. It's a long game strategy, it's a risky strategy, but it's one that they're banking on right now.

HARLOW: Yes, and it's unconventional, but so is this entire election so far. Look, we're going to have Jeff Kaufmann on next, he's the chair of the Iowa Republican Party. He told POLITICO over the weekend, quote, "Expectations, in my opinion, are far more important than a person getting first place." That's what he says. You have Rubio's team setting the bar low, even in Rubio's interview with Jake Tapper yesterday. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO,(R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a very unusual year. No one is unbeatable. This election is not going to be decided by one or two states. I think the race will narrow after a couple of states, but - but no one, myself or anyone else, is going to have to earn this nomination, and it is going to be a very unusual highly contested, I think, longer than usual process given the size of the field and given the challenge before the country.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

HARLOW: Do you think, Manu, that - that Rubio supporters, as risky as this may be to play the long, long game here, think it is a deft move by him that allows an upside surprise?

RAJU: They certainly think so, but the key will be whether or not he has the money to sustain this kind of race. He reported more than $10 million in cash on hand compared to Ted Cruz who had about $19 million. His Super PAC has far less money than Jeb Bush's does at the moment. That could certainly change depending on how much they end up spending against Marco Rubio.

[09:50:02] So, it's certainly a risky strategy. He needs to have the money to advance, but the real hope is that the they merge and stay in that top tier of candidates up until March 15th. That is a big deadline because after that, states will award delegates on a winner take all basis rather than on a proportional basiss. And at that point they hope they can win big states like their home state of Florida, and that could push them over the top. It's certainly risky, and it also - they also depend on Donald Trump imploding, which we have not seen quite yet.

HARLOW: We have not. Manu Raju, live for us in Des Moines, thank you so much, my friend. I appreciate it.

Let's talk more about this because as political pundits and party insiders await the results of tonight's critical Iowa caucuses, some members of the Republican establishment are certainly, as you heard Manu say, looking at Marco Rubio as the one man standing between Trump and Cruz in the GOP nomination. He's currently in third place, not only in Iowa, also in New Hampshire, also in South Carolina.

Let's talk about it more with Jeff Kaufmann, Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. Thank you for being with me, sir, there. You said it, you said this is not just about who gets ticket number one out of Iowa, and the conventional wisdom that there are only three tickets out of Iowa may not hold in this very unconventional race. Are you seeing evidence of a Rubio surge?

JEFF KAUFMANN, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA: The level of conversation that I'm hearing from the rank and file from our phones at the Republican Party of Iowa office, yes. Yes, we're - we're seeing a surge in questions about Marco Rubio and people identifying themselves as considering him at this point. I think this is still wide open. I'm hearing more consideration than I am settling and I think that's going to carry all the way into the caucuses tonight.

HARLOW: So - I mean, you were quoted by POLITICO, got a lot of attention over the weekend saying that these expectations are more important than getting first. What do you mean by that?

KAUFMANN: Don't get me wrong, I mean, getting first is the number one ticket in Iowa, but there are - there are a whole lot of other the tickets out of Iowa. If Marco Rubio got first, if someone actually in tenth place was able to increase their standing and move to fifth place, there's another ticket out of Iowa. So, I think these tickets are based on expectations. The number one ticket out of Iowa, obviously, first place, but there are several others that can take momentum all the way to New Hampshire and South Carolina.

HARLOW: Do you think the biggest factor right now for the Republican voters who are going to go out and caucus tonight is the candidate they believe in, the candidate that has a campaign of purpose or real identity or change, or is it someone that they see can beat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the general?

KAUFMANN: You know, I -- that is an excellent question, and I am hearing people have that internal struggle today already. I've heard - I've talked to a Republican, and I think, quite frankly, that's why this is taking so long for people to make up their minds. And I think that's why the people are going to actually be in that caucus, sitting in that chair before they make up their mind because there's this internal struggle.

Hopefully they can come to some synergy, you know, where principle and beating Hillary Clinton in their minds can come together, but it's a tough decision. I mean, it's practicality versus principle. I guess I would argue that with such a large amount of candidates, we can have our cake and eat it too. But I know everybody has to go through that individual struggle for themselves.

HARLOW: All right, I know you're a Republican, but I want both your headlines for Tuesday morning, your GOP headline, your dem headline. What is "The Des Moines Register" going to read?

KAUFMANN: The Republican headline is 11 varsity candidates battle it out and each one is ready for the presidency. The Democratic headline is a former secretary of state and first lady is almost beaten or beaten by a socialist. Oh, my goodness.

HARLOW: All right, I'm not your copy editor, but those headlines are way too long, but I'll take them. Jeff Kaufmann, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Thanks for your time. Have a fun day out there.

KAUFMANN: Thank you.

HARLOW: And in just a few moments we will speak with Andy McGuire, the head of the Democratic Party in Iowa. Stay with us for that.

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HARLOW (voice-over): A few top stories, though, I do want to get to for you. Two Virginia Tech students facing charges in the death of 13-year-old girl. They're due in court today. The missing girl's body was found in North Carolina near the Virginia border. Freshman David Eisenhauer faces murder charges. Natalie Keepers is charged with improper disposal of a body. Police say Eisenhauer was acquainted with the victim and say he used that relationship to his advantage to abduct and kill her.

A California teacher in custody today. She's accused of helping three inmates escape from an Orange County jail. Officials say the teacher showed the men Google maps of the jail's roof, helped them get out. One inmate turned himself in on Friday. The other two were arrested in San Francisco on Saturday after someone recognized that white stolen van they were in. All three are awaiting trials for violent crimes.

An investigation underway right now after a private citizen pulls over a Miami-Dade county police officer for speeding. The person pulls over the officer for speeding.

[09:55:00] You can see the video on YouTube. She said the officer was going 90 miles an hour without his emergency lights on. When she followed him he pulled over and said he wasn't going too fast. The department is looking into the case.

And a powerful storm causing havoc in Southern California, killing a woman in San Diego after a tree fell on her car. Winds so strong they topped 115 miles an hour in some areas. More than 150 people lost power in that storm.

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HARLOW (on camera): The next hour of NEWSROOM begins right after this.

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