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Primary Voting Underway in Five States; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 26, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:00:01] SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton as the next president, then I ask you to join us.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So he said, let me form a partnership.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't tell voters what to do. It's up to them. I'd like to see an open conversion. Ted Cruz would like to see an open convention.

TRUMP: It's called collusion, folks.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will have the future that we deserve if we work together. I will stand up and fight for you.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you come out to vote, drag your friends and your aunts and your uncles, your coworkers, we're going to win here in Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Five candidates, five states, and the tricky math that could put the nominations within reach. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are hoping for a clean sweep of these northeastern states where voting is now under way. The delegates will be doled out proportionally. Every vote today counts.

For Clinton and Bernie Sanders, nearly 400 delegates are up to grabs. Republicans will be fighting for 172 and there may be a few cracks forming in that shocking stop Trump alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich. As you might remember, Kasich will focus on Oregon and New Mexico and step aside for Senator Cruz in Indiana. But there are mixed messages from the men and a resounding condemnation from the frontrunner.

Here is what Trump said about that alliance this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When I first heard about it, I said, you've got to be kidding. They're not going to do that. It's going to make them look very weak, it looks like collusion. And it proves my word that it's a rigged system. You see it's a rigged system. These are two insiders, they get together, they want to rig the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Our correspondents are covering all the angles on this high-stakes day. Let's begin with senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta in Philadelphia.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know what's lost in all of this talk about this alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich? It is this, the polls show Donald Trump is about to take a big leap forward toward the GOP nomination today as he is heavily favored to win all of the states that are up for grabs today. He is ridiculing, of course, as you mentioned, this alliance formed by Ted Cruz and John Kasich saying this morning that it is already falling apart.

Here is what he had to say earlier this morning in a tweet. We can put this up on screen. It says, quote, "The Cruz/Kasich pact is under great strain. This joke of a deal," Trump says, "is falling apart, not being honored, and almost dead. Very dumb."

Now, as for Trump saying it's not being honored, he's referring to this. That is because despite this Cruz-Kasich deal, the Ohio governor still scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Indiana later on today even though he's supposedly agreed to stop campaigning in that state to give Cruz a shot at winning there. Now I talked to a Cruz official earlier this morning who told me that they don't see this as any big deal and that they still see this agreement as giving them the best chance at winning.

Now as for the Trump campaign, a source there tells me they do believe that this pact could have some effect on Indiana but not on the overall race for the nomination, and as for Pennsylvania, Carol, it's important to point out the Trump campaign tells us they are mindful of the fact that this state has some pretty complicated delegate rules, so they have stationed volunteers at polling places all across the state to hand out information on these delegates, how the process works. They're hoping that voters use that information wisely.

And keep in mind, you know, Trump could win a blowout in the state, Carol, and still lose some delegates to Cruz. He's seen that happen in other states during this nomination fight. So it's another scenario that they're trying to avoid even though Trump is poised to win very, very big today, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta reporting live from Philadelphia.

Hillary Clinton also looking to win big today as she tries to sweep all five primaries. Let's head to Pennsylvania. Chris Frates is in Blue Bell outside of Philadelphia.

Good morning.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. That's right. It's Super Tuesday. The quatro, the fourth election of this Super Tuesday election season. 400 delegates up for grabs today. Almost half of them here in Pennsylvania, and Hillary Clinton really looking to close the door on Bernie Sanders, and if you look at the map you can start to understand why. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, all places where she does very well, strong minority community, strong African-American communities. That has been hard for Bernie Sanders to chip into.

And if you look at the polls here in Pennsylvania and in Maryland, she's leading by double digits, and you start to see her campaign adjust to that as well, starting to pivot toward the general election, taking on Ted Cruz, taking on Donald Trump. In fact, taking issue with Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from coming into the country. Also saying that Donald Trump doesn't want to raise wages. Maybe he should come down from his penthouse in Trump Tower or come away from his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and talk to actual people and he would see that isn't true.

So she's already starting to turn a little bit away from Bernie Sanders and focus on November. Sanders, for his part, though, still taking on Hillary Clinton very strong, trying to contrast his views on minimum wage, on fracking, and continuing to just pound Hillary Clinton on her ties to Wall Street, on those six-figure speeches that he got.

[10:05:08] Really trying to cut that lead, but it's going to be a tough night for Bernie Sanders. In fact, if you want some sense about how these candidates feel about their chances today, take a look at where they're going to be tonight. If you have Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, she's doing very well here. Hoping to celebrate a big win here. Bernie Sanders will already have moved on to West Virginia, but he says he is staying in this until the end, Carol. It looks like he'll have the money and the support to do just that. Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Chris Frates reporting live from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Now let's head to Maryland and CNN's Brian Todd. He's at a polling station in Baltimore.

Hi, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. You know, the story today here in Maryland is turnout, as it has been in so many states throughout this election cycle. We're at a station in north Baltimore, Maryland. It's been a steady flow of voters coming in here. They'll come in here, check in here. You cannot register same day here in Maryland, so you have to tell them your party affiliation. You do that here with a photo ID. They give you a ballot over here according to your party. You come over here and you cast your ballot by paper.

That's a new development here in Maryland, a new system that they've instituted this year for a little bit more transparency and just to ensure the accuracy of the count. Once you do that, you put it in a scanner right there. It's tabulated then sent to the election board headquarters here in Baltimore County.

Turnout is key, Carol, because this year in Maryland as in Delaware and some other places they have a strong early voting system. Here in Maryland they had the opportunity to vote from April 14th to April 21st. Eight straight days of early voting potential, and it was a record turnout for early voters. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for that. They expect the same kind of turnout here on the primary day. The regular primary day, and it could be a big opportunity here for Hillary Clinton as Chris Frates said to close the deal. She counts on these eastern states. She's got strong support here in Maryland.

We've sampled more than three dozen voters as they have come out of the polling place here. She's got overwhelming support here in the Baltimore area, at least in this precinct, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Brian Todd reporting live from Baltimore. Thank you.

Hillary Clinton has widespread support among women and it appear Mrs. Trump will use that against her if both get to the general election. Here is what Mr. Trump said on FOX News.

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TRUMP: Her whole life has been crooked, and you look at the foundation. The whole life. And the only card she's got is to play the woman card, and it may be good enough.

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COSTELLO: And Clinton is playing up her support among women. At a town hall she said that if she elected her cabinet will be made up of women, 50 percent women will be in her cabinet.

With me now Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy. He's a Democrat and he supports Hillary Clinton.

Good morning.

GOV. DANNEL MALLOY (D), HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. So let's talk about what Mr. Trump said about women. He said that that's the only card Hillary Clinton has, and it may be enough. What does he mean?

MALLOY: Well, you know, who knows what he means. I mean, I think you just got to give him a lot of -- a lot of room to go. You know, sometimes I have a hard time interpreting what he's saying.

We know that about 52 percent of the people who will vote in November will, in fact, be women. We know that women do not support Mr. Trump. I suppose he's going to start calling them names and make comments about their appearance and maybe even question their religion. These are all things that he's already done with everyone else, why wouldn't he do it with women?

COSTELLO: So the general election might be men versus women?

MALLOY: Listen, I think when you look at Mr. Trump's numbers and you understand how many voters he has turned off, it really is quite amazing. I understand he gets a decent percentage of Republican votes, but he is unlikely, I believe, to grow a very substantially based on what he has said about Latinos, what he has said about Muslims, what he has said about women, what he has said really about every group that he can divide and try to conquer.

COSTELLO: Still his "Crooked Hillary" thing might stick, right? So with Trump repeatedly saying that and hitting Clinton --

(CROSSTALK)

MALLOY: Well, listen -- can I just say something to you? I mean, you repeat what he says about Hillary. He's not released his tax returns because he's saying they're being audited so that prevents him from doing that. This is a guy who has gone bankrupt a ton of times. This is a guy who has left investors on the street. This is a guy who doesn't really care about anyone he's in business with.

The reality is he's driving around -- flying around in 20-year-old planes that are leftover from an airline that he drove into the ground.

COSTELLO: So in light of that, is it your hope that --

MALLOY: Just a few things.

COSTELLO: Yes, just a few things. In light of that is it your hope that Bernie Sanders will pivot and stop criticizing Hillary Clinton so much and concentrating -- concentrate on the things you just said, the charges you just made against Mr. Trump?

MALLOY: Well, let me say this, that I think the Democratic primary and the Republican primary are worlds apart.

[10:10:05] I think the Democrats have benefited from this contest. I think Hillary is a better candidate than she was. I think Senator Sanders has raised a very serious and important issues. On the other hand, we see right now it's Mo, Larry, and Curly contesting for the nomination that maybe none of them will get. Maybe it will be a fourth candidate or a fifth candidate or maybe they'll reach back and grab somebody who only got a couple of delegates in a contest early on. I mean, this is a very different situation.

COSTELLO: Well, I know but on the subject of Bernie Sanders --

MALLOY: The Republican Party is self-destructing.

COSTELLO: It seems like Hillary Clinton wants Bernie Sanders to be more on her side and to like stop it with so many attacks against her. But he doesn't appear willing to do that.

MALLOY: Listen, well, I want to be loved by everybody, too, and I mean, I think it would be good for the Democratic Party to turn the corner. I think this may be the night we turn the corner. If not, it's going to happen relatively soon. It's going to be a lot easier to bring Democrats together than it is to bring Republicans together.

We don't -- I mean, listen, we have disagreements within the party. I have my own disagreements with Bernie on the NRA and safe guns, but that's an issue, and it's an important issue for me, but it's one we can overcome just as he may have some objections to some of the things that Hillary has said.

I will point out to you, if you want to get to $15 minimum wage, you have to get to $12 first.

COSTELLO: OK. Have to leave it there. Governor Dannel Malloy of Connecticut. Thank you so much for being with me.

Pennsylvania is today's big prize, though, for both parties and the campaigns will be studying the results for more than just the windfall of delegates. That's because the state is a microcosm of America. Philadelphia reflects the northeastern attitudes, right? Pittsburgh is more Midwest, very Democratic, and then many of the points in between, they are rural and quite conservative.

Few people know the state better than my next guest, Mark Schweiker. He's the former Republican governor of Pennsylvania.

Welcome.

MARK SCHWEIKER (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: So have you made your choice?

SCHWEIKER: I have. I like someone like John Kasich. Probably today we're going to see the Donald win strongly, couldn't predict where John finishes. My sense is in the second spot, with Cruz in the third spot. So I think you're right about the inclinations of Pennsylvania voters and Pennsylvania base in the geopolitical mark. But to a great extent the Donald has defied polls right on through this winter and spring, and my sense, though, in Pennsylvania, the polls are correct that Donald has got strong numbers and Trump will win.

COSTELLO: So -- yes, Trump is going to win, it's predicted he'll win big in Pennsylvania. So why aren't you behind Trump?

SCHWEIKER: Well, I have my own inclinations, my own assessment, you know.

COSTELLO: Can you share?

SCHWEIKER: Well, it's not so much -- as someone who has been a product of the system and enjoyed my time in political and governmental life, I just don't think it's a year where someone who was supported by the system, so to speak, where endorsements matter a whole lot, so I'm going to leave it to the people of Pennsylvania and the Republicans today.

COSTELLO: OK. So you're not going to endorse anyone but you're going to vote for John Kasich. But going back to Mr. Trump, why don't you think he'd be a good bet for president of the United States?

SCHWEIKER: Well, I'm more of a governor guy. You know, top executives have to make decisions and stick with them. Experience counts, you know, whether it's on the domestic agenda or the international scene. I think we all know what some of the international community is offering up as far as the potential of a Trump presidency. So in my mind, you know, it's capacity, achievements, governmental and public policy success.

I think while Donald Trump may the nominee, I don't think he has the classic background.

COSTELLO: Right. So being the head of a business, a successful business, isn't enough to run the country.

SCHWEIKER: Well, I do believe having business instincts counts, but in the political world, being comfortable with the role and the task of generating consensus goes a long way. You've got to work with the legislature and another branch of government in the judiciary. It doesn't happen overnight. You've got to have that propensity. We shall see.

COSTELLO: You can't just order people around and say do it now.

SCHWEIKER: Well, that's right. It's the basic difference of an autocracy that you often see in business versus the democracy in this case of running the federal government in Washington, D.C.

COSTELLO: This pact between Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich, will it work or is it just a crazy scheme?

SCHWEIKER: Well, my sense is this morning that it's not working. I mean, you know, the -- we shall see. I mean, the numbers ultimately decree if anything was effective, but it seems like, you know, Cruz is in pretty good shape in Indiana anyway. We shall see how Kasich does in --

COSTELLO: Should John Kasich have agreed to this --

SCHWEIKER: It seems that at best fragile.

COSTELLO: I know. Should have John Kasich have agreed to this partnership?

SCHWEIKER: Well, my sense is -- well, I don't think he has any formal obligation to agree to it.

[10:15:10] I think there have been remarks that have come his way in pressure over the last couple months from the Cruz folks to work -- figure out how to work together.

COSTELLO: Do you wish he wouldn't have done it, being a John Kasich supporter?

SCHWEIKER: I didn't see the vitality of it, the reward of it. It strikes me as odd, kind of a -- you know, to use a football metaphor, throwing down the field and see what happens. I don't think -- at this point when you look at the numbers and that magic 1,237 delegates that a Donald Trump needs, my sense is now he has an opportunity to secure it. We'll see what goes on between now and California, but I think come July you would -- the Trump candidacy is going to need to nail that down on the first ballot. After that all bets are off.

COSTELLO: Yes. So if Trump does become the nominee, will you support him?

SCHWEIKER: I'll be good with it.

COSTELLO: You'll be good with it. OK. I'll leave it there.

Governor Schweiker, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

SCHWEIKER: You got it, Carol.

COSTELLO: Our super Tuesday coverage will continue all day and all night right here on CNN.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, Clinton confident, Sanders defiant, and today voters in five states have their say, but what will Sanders supporters do if their guy doesn't go the distance?

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[10:20:24] COSTELLO: The so-called Acela Primary is under way. Hillary Clinton poised to win all five states but it could be close in Connecticut and in Rhode Island, but even if Sanders wins both of those states it will be an uphill climb. If you ask Sanders, he's in it all the way to the convention and he says that's a good thing.

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SANDERS: That debate is a good thing for democracy, for the Democratic Party. It gets more things into the process. It results in a higher voter turnout, and Democrats win when there is a high voter turnout. We lose when the turnout is low.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, she's a senior adviser of Correct the Record, a super PAC associated with Hillary Clinton. I'm also joined by Jonathan Tasini. He's a Bernie Sanders supporter and author of the "Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America."

Welcome to you both.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So Hillary Clinton was asked at a town hall whether Sanders should drop out of the race. But she took issue with the way the question was phrased. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: If you're ahead in the vote, if you're ahead in pledged delegates --

CLINTON: I am ahead in the vote. I am way ahead in the vote. Wait a minute. Look, I have the greatest respect for Senator Sanders, but really what he and his supporters are now saying just doesn't add up. I have 2.7 million more votes than he has. I have more than 250 more pledged delegates.

We are going to work together, but I am ahead, and let's start from that premise while we talk about what happens next, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: So, Jonathan, how will Hillary Clinton's answer go over with Bernie Sanders supporters?

JONATHAN TASINI, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Well, I think we want to start with what Bernie said in the lead up to this, we're in this all the way to the end, it's really good for democracy. There are a lot of states still to vote, Oregon, Kentucky, Indiana. June 7th you have California and New Jersey. And we think people have -- should have a chance, all those voters, to go to the polls and express themselves for what kind of Democratic Party they want. That's a very good thing.

There's no question that Hillary Clinton has a lead in delegates, but there is still a path, and we understand the math is hard for us to win the nomination, and it is good for democracy.

I will also say that, you know, the Clinton campaign is acting a little bit like the child arsonist in the house who lights a fire and then points and says it's them, it's them. We've conducted this campaign from the very beginning on an issue-based debate, and if you look back, any objective observer would say from the beginning of the campaign until now we've tried to debate the issues.

The Clintons have tried to undermine Bernie, misrepresent his positions, and coming up to today, if you look at what Bill Clinton said about our people and Wall Street, the Clinton campaign spokesman dissing our voters, it's not a way to come together. Whoever is the nominee, if one campaign is being quite negative where on the other hand Bernie is trying to debate the issues, for example -- let me give you an example, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, OK. I want Jennifer to get into the mix here and give her thoughts on what you just said. Jennifer?

GRANHOLM: Yes, I appreciate that. And, you know, I think that most objective observers of this campaign would say that Bernie Sanders has done his fair share of attacking Hillary Clinton's credibility, and the point is you don't want to give in the general election Donald Trump Bernie Sanders' words. You don't want Bernie Sanders appearing in a Donald Trump ad attacking Hillary Clinton. I think Jonathan is right that people do deserve a right to vote and express themselves and she is the last person to say get out of the race.

I do think that debating on the issues is really important, and Bernie Sanders said even this morning, you know, we want to see a campaign that is focused on -- in the general election you want a Democratic Party that's focused on climate change, on college affordability, on health care, et cetera. She agrees with all of those things and she's got very specific plans to achieve them, so in the end we are going to be unified.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Jonathan, that's what a lot of people say, that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, you know, share beliefs -- share the same beliefs. You know, there's just a little wiggle room in each issue, so what is Bernie Sanders shooting for?

TASINI: I respectfully disagree. Bernie Sanders has been for $15 minimum wage, something that Hillary Clinton has opposed. Bernie Sanders is for single-payer Medicare for all system that will lower people's health care cost by thousands of dollars. Hillary Clinton opposed that. Hillary Clinton in a primary conversion now says she's against the transpacific partnership. Actually the Chamber of Commerce president has reassured his people saying that's just a primary tactic. Bernie has opposed those trade agreements.

[10:25:08] There's been differences, and I'll give you one last one, which is on campaign finance. Just this week Charles Koch, the billionaire, said that he could potentially support Hillary Clinton over a Republican. If you join that with Hillary Clinton's continued refusal to release the Wall Street transcripts from her speeches to Goldman Sachs, that's a fundamental question about who is actually going to battle corruption and who will be --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So you think -- so let me get this straight. I want to know what Jonathan is exactly saying. So you're saying that Charles Koch coming out and saying he could possibly vote for Hillary Clinton proves that she has ties to Wall Street?

TASINI: No, what I'm saying is that that kind of approach, and if you take the Wall Street payments for Goldman Sachs, it says basically we have a moderate Democrat who has strong corporate --

(CROSSTALK)

GRANHOLM: This is exactly the point. What you're suggesting is that she has got something to hide, and so prove it.

TASINI: It's clear that those -- Bernie said from the very beginning, there's nothing wrong with running as a moderate Democrat. Hillary Clinton has not wanted to do that because Bernie has basically defined these issues and that's --

COSTELLO: OK, Jennifer.

GRANHOLM: OK. Carol --

COSTELLO: Jennifer, jump in here. Yes.

GRANHOLM: Yes. I do want to jump in because, I mean, truly, the enemy here, Jonathan, I know you would agree with me, is the other side. I just found out this morning that Donald Trump was named by "The Economist" as one of the top 10 global risks right up there with the rise of al Qaeda.

Come on. We have some serious, serious opposition in the general election, and we have to be unified. We have to come together and realize. I mean, you know, what's going to happen? We don't know what's going to happen tonight. I think it's going to be closer in a couple of states than people think it's going to be. We'll see what happens, but after tonight and after it becomes clear that she is going to be the nominee, hopefully she'll be able to reach out to Bernie Sanders supporters.

He will be able to reach out to her -- to his supporters and say, let us come together because the big enemy is on our doorstep.

TASINI: We don't disagree --

COSTELLO: I have to leave it there.

TASINI: Come on --

COSTELLO: Jennifer Granholm, Jonathan Tasini, thanks so much. I'm sorry.

Up next in the NEWSROOM, win Pennsylvania but lose most of its delegates? It's possible. I'll talk to one wannabe delegate about the wildcard process and what it could mean for Donald Trump.

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