What to Watch for on Super Tuesday - podcast episode cover

What to Watch for on Super Tuesday

Mar 05, 202442 min
--:--
--:--
Listen in podcast apps:

Episode description

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

  • Jen Nassour, Republican strategist and former Massachusetts GOP Chairwoman for her thoughts on Nikki Haley's chances today and issues that matter most to voters heading to polls
  • Bloomberg political panelist Rick Davis, Bloomberg Politics Contributor & Brad Howard, Corcoran Street Group founder & President to break down Super Tuesday
  • David Paleologos, Suffolk University Political Research Center Director on the latest polling data
  • Chris Sununu, Governor of New Hampshire for his thoughts ahead of Super Tuesday voting

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch Just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Appocarplay and then Roudoo with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube.

Speaker 2

You're in studio on Super Tuesday Balance of Power. I'm Joe Matthew in Washington as we add the voice of Jennifer Nassour, the aforementioned Republican strategist and former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, back with us here on the program. Last time we spoke Jen was on New Hampshire primary eve, and there was still a feel that Nicki Haley could make a dent here going into South Carolina and into Super Tuesday. Is it fair to call this the last

stand for Nicki Haley? How are you looking at her chances tonight? If Vermont is the state we're focused on, I don't.

Speaker 3

Think coming from mass Chusetts, I am feeling like Vermont's not the state that we're focused on. However, she did get the endorsement of the Governor of Vermont. She did get the endorsement of Susan Collins and Maine. And in Massachusetts we have sixty four percent of our electorate are

actually unenrolled voters. And we see that both parties, Republican and Democratic parties have lost voters in the last year, which I think speaks volumes about where both parties have been going and the messaging from the super far right MAGA and from the super far left Progressives. And so I think she's going to have a great night here. I think in Virginia, you see what happen in d C. That you know, most of the most of the people who work in DC live in Virginia, So I think

there's a carry over there. So I think that Nicky is going to do really well tonight. And it's far it's far from over. I mean, listen, anyone can do math. If you do math, the magic number is twelve hundred and fifteen and Donald Trump is only at two hundred and forty.

Speaker 4

There's a long way to go there.

Speaker 3

And so tonight there are eight hundred and seventy four delegates up for takes, and so we'll see how she fares tonight.

Speaker 4

That she's not going anywhere. She was here this weekend.

Speaker 3

In Massachusetts read over one thousand people at a rally for her. We had a fundraiser for her, raise a ton of money. Donors are coming, new faces are coming out, people are energized. From Massachusetts. She went from North Carolina to Massachusetts, Massachusetts, to Vermont and to Maine. The woman has done almost eighty six hundred miles in ten days. I don't think Donald Trump has done eighty six hundred miles in the last eight years.

Speaker 1

No, I know.

Speaker 2

Yet he continues to dominate in the polls and he's going to steam through, steamroll through states like Texas and California tonight. I appreciate your passion, and it's contagious, Jen, But you know, we had Chris Sanunu on with us last night talking about a closing window. The path could get a lot more difficult after tonight, Right, how do you see that continuing through the next couple of weeks.

Speaker 3

So, look, you know, anyone who's run for office before or been involved in a campaign, you know that you need two things.

Speaker 4

You need the volunteers and you need the.

Speaker 3

Donors because those are the two things that actually make the campaign continue to move. And so as long as the volunteers aren't going anywhere, and I can tell you people will follow Nicky anywhere she goes. That's number one and number two those donors, like I said, I had a full room of new faces on Saturday night. I think that that is something that you know you cannot replicate.

Speaker 4

And at the end of the day, Trump listen.

Speaker 3

Seventy percent of the country doesn't want another Biden Trump showdown. Sixty percent believe both Biden and Trump are too old to be in office, and forty percent of voters continuously say that they do not want Donald Trump to be the nominee of the Republican Party.

Speaker 4

And that's not crazy ary general electorate. That's forty percent of Republican voters.

Speaker 2

Sure, that's the curse of this primary season for Republicans like you. Though if the whole country were like Massachusetts, we'd be having maybe a more deliberate conversation here. But he's thirty and forty points ahead in the polls that seem to count here. So is this another kind of momentum play? You see her making a dent tonight and then going to a state like Florida. I'm just trying to figure out how you get through the primary against Donald Trump. You can make the case that she's a

better candidate against Joe Biden. But this is a tough time now, isn't it.

Speaker 3

Well, I think Republican Republican primary voters need to wake up quite frankly, listen. At the end of the day, you can win a playoff, but are you going to win the championship?

Speaker 4

And the answer is no. With Donald Trump.

Speaker 3

In a Fox News poll came out the other day, he was two to three points ahead of Joe Biden. That is within the margin of error. That is any bad news story, we'll sink that campaign. Whereas Nikki Haley is eight to eighteen points depending on the poll, and that is exactly where she has continued to be this

entire time. So if you do not want another Joe b administration, if you do not want a Kamala Harris administration, then you need to vote for Nicki Haley because you have an opportunity to actually put someone on the ballot that you want right now in November, you have no choice. You have a choice between the two people who have been selected for you.

Speaker 2

This is why I know you love hearing conversations about no labels and third parties. If we end up with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, anything could happen there, knowing to your point that polls suggest that voters want an alternative. Here, we're spending time with Jennifer Nassour, the former Massachusetts Republican Party chair Republican strategist. Talk to us about issues while

you're here, Jen, because it's obviously driving decisions. This evening in New Hampshire, we were talking about immigration in a state not typically associated with our southwest border, maybe the Canadian border, but we've also added abortion since Joe Biden was elected because of Roe v.

Speaker 5

Wade.

Speaker 2

You've spoken passionately about the impact it had on the midterm and other races since then, and then of course the economy. What are voters carrying into the booth tonight or is it not a monolith? Is it different issues in different states.

Speaker 3

I think it's the same issues. It's just how they're focused and how they're tailored. Right, So I know here in Massachusetts where sanctuary state. Unfortunately, and here's what happened. All the migrants came to Massachusetts so that way they could find housing and whatever line they were pitched by the administration, they came here and now they're kicking out our senior citizens and our veterans from their housing. They kicked out children from a rec center in one of

the most difficult neighborhoods in the city of Boston. So kids were displaced in the middle of winter, without any place to go, thrown out on the street where there's gang violence, there's drugs. It was unbelievable to house two to three hundred migrants. They took over a hotel and one of the suburbs and then they to house migrants, and then they opened up a restaurant that had been shuttered as a catering facility. That is all on the

backs of the taxpayers. And so I think the immigration issue is an issue for everyone, but it's it's how it affects everyone in Massachusetts. The most important issue is always the economy, but that immigration issue is absolutely affecting our bottom line here. The abortion issue is going to continue to be and if Republicans don't wake up and adopt Nikki Haley's view and platform on abortion, we are a dead party because at the end of the day,

women will always care about this issue. It is always going to be a big issue. May not be the number one issue, but it will always continue to be an issue. We need to have real conversations with women around the country about what can realistically happen and our own views and how that affects policy, and how government should stay out of your bedroom.

Speaker 2

Jen I've got less than a minute. Does Nicki Haley need to win some thing tonight to keep going in this race?

Speaker 3

She just needs twin delegates. As long as she keeps Seligates away from Donald Trump, she stays.

Speaker 4

In the race.

Speaker 2

There you have it, Jennifer and the sort's good to see again. Republican Strategists former chair of the Republican Party in Massachusett's with the view from the Northeast where a lot of us are going to be looking tonight to see the performance of Nikki Haley here on this Super Tuesday. I'm glad you're with us.

Speaker 1

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Can just live weekdays at noon Eastern on applecar Play and then ron Oto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station, Just Say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty.

Speaker 6

It's going to be a long evening, Joe, of course, because it will actually be well into tomorrow Eastern time when the last polls close in Alaska. But we kind of have a sense we think of how ultimately this is going to end, which essentially is the general election contest for all intents and purposes beginning after That's right.

Speaker 2

We kind of said that coming out of New Hampshire, and this has been seen as a bit anticlimactic, but the math will be impossible to ignore. It appears after tonight, Kaylee. If the polls are correct and Donald Trump has the commanding lead that he currently enjoys on paper. To your point earlier, it'll be mathematically impossible for Nikki Haley to pull this off. So the question is why would you keep going? And we'll help to answer that together, I guess over the coming days.

Speaker 6

Yeah, of course, we have the consideration that financially, she very well could. She's still pulling in millions of dollars from donors. But will people still be willing to throw good money at her if she has no real clear path.

Speaker 7

To the nomination?

Speaker 6

Would donors continue if it's just in case money? Essentially, if it's just a question of whether or not Trump is ultimately going to be able to serve as the nominee depending on what happens in his myriad legal cases.

Speaker 2

Well, that's true, and after we heard from the Supreme Court on the issue of immunity, there might not be a just in case strategy for her. Let's bring in Gregory Cordy, now Bloomberg News politics reporter who's been steeped in all things campaign since long before the voting started. Happy Super Tuesday, sir. Is it the feeling super to you?

Speaker 8

Or is this coronation like anti coimactic Tuesday? And you know Super Tuesdays have come in all different kinds of flavors over the years, right, Sometimes they're a little earlier, sometimes there are later. Sometimes they're competitive on one side but not the other. This one seems especially like we have front loaded a lot of the primaries where we know the outcome of this, but we have one candidate, Nikki Haley, who is committed to playing out the string

at least through Super Tuesday. I love it because as a data guy, it gives me more data points to really sort of it's a check on the polls, right, to see how reliable the polls have been, how strong. This anti Trump sentiment is from within the Republican Party. We get to test a lot of hypotheses as we go deeper into this the primaries, but we're one thing we're not looking for tonight is any sort of indication of who the Republican nominee is. I think we know that already well.

Speaker 6

We spoke with one of Nicki Haley's perhaps most vocal surrogates, a New Hampshire governor, Chris san Unu, yesterday, after Nicki Haley had said in a few interviews that she would stay in the race if she were to be competitive. She didn't define what competitive means. He was a little reluctant to define what it means, though He did point to the fact that she's gotten north of forty percent in states like his state, New Hampshire, and north of

twenty percent in others. And I wonder if those numbers aren't as meaningful really for Nicki Haley, because it doesn't change the outcome if she's not winning states in terms of the delicate math for the most part, but more influential when it comes to thinking about Donald Trump's strength as a candidate, because if you have twenty to forty

percent of the Republican primary electric choosing not you. What does that signal as you had into a really long general election battle with an incumbenty Yeah.

Speaker 8

And one of the things that I looked at yesterday, I looked at the polling averages from five point thirty eight going into each of these early contests Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan. And in each one of them, Ki Haley overperformed the expectations and in at least New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan significantly so by four or five six points. And so that I think is part of what's fueling her campaign is that she gets a little

bit of bounce every time she does that. Obviously, it's not helping her with picking up delegates. Super Tuesday is where the rubber is going to meet the road here, because if she doesn't pick up a significant amount of delegates tonight, it looks like Trump will be on track to clinch the nomination. She can't clinch it mathematically tonight, but he can by March twelfth, of the earliest. If she does well, she can push that date back to March nineteenth. But that's as much as she can do, really,

but look, there's two reasons why candidates drop out. One is they run out of money, and the other is they want a job in the next administration. Nicky Haley continues to raise money, and it looks like she's foreclosed working for President Trump again. She was, of course as un ambassador in the first Trump administration, and so she at this point doesn't really have much motivation to drop out.

Speaker 2

So maybe you've got that whole sort of halo effect as a candidate in waiting and surging candidates something like that. Can she keep that on a low boil until twenty twenty eight?

Speaker 8

I think that will depend on how well former President Trump does in November. If Joe Biden wins despite all of the weaknesses we all know that Joe Biden has, then I think there's going to be some serious soul searching in the Republican Party, and Nikki Haley can come and say, look, I was the one who told you so, we need to rebuild this party as a new post

Trump party, and I'm the person to do that. If Trump wins, I don't know that I see quite that opportunity for her, because then Trump win in November would fully cement the Trump takeover of the Republican Party, and we will be more likely to see candidates in that maga mold going forward from Republicans.

Speaker 6

Wow, all right, Gregory Cordy is always covering all things politics for us at Bloomberg, going to join us on what is going to be a very long day, the Super Tuesday.

Speaker 4

Gregory, thank you so much.

Speaker 6

And we want to turn now to another person who is following all of these races across the country very closely. David Palielogos is joining us now from Suffolk University, where he is the director of their Political Research Center. David, great to have you on the show. We were just hearing from Gregory about a number of states in which sure Nikki Haley did not win the Republican contest, but

she did perform better than expected. If that were to show up anywhere tonight, where would you expect Nicki Haley to possibly outperform?

Speaker 9

If it were to show up, she would probably do better in Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Virginia. Those are the states that I would be looking at. The other states less so, and maybe Utah.

Speaker 2

You're up there in New England, David, A sense of Republican politics in a state like Massachusetts, or a look north to Vermont or Maine. This tells us a lot when we're looking to New England states to gauge the strength of a Republican candidate, doesn't it?

Speaker 7

Oh?

Speaker 9

Absolutely, I mean, when was the last time electoral votes were won by a Republican in any of those states? Maybe in one congressional district in Maine, and where you have independents who can vote, then you have a recipe for a possible upset. But even in our polling, and which was over a month ago, so.

Speaker 5

It's it's you know, it's old.

Speaker 9

Trump was still prevailing in Massachusetts, and you know he's heavily favored to win. I wouldn't be surprised if you know he was around one thousand a thousand by the end of the night, and Haley was in the one hundred and something twenty five or one point fifty. So you're looking at no matter how you slice it, you're looking at a seven eight, nine to one ratio of Trump delegates to Haley delegates.

Speaker 6

Well, David, of course, Nikki Haley when we've heard her campaigning recently, is she's committed to stay in the race through at least today's contest. She said, look at the numbers that I'm pulling. I understand being an accountant that forty percent is not fifty percent, But forty percent is not a small number. I'm paraphrasing a word she spoke after South Carolina, her home state, where she was still

resoundingly defeated by Trump. But when we think about that number, she's referring to those individuals that are picking her over Trump in this primary contest, where are they likely to go in a general election? Is it as problematic for a Trump general election candidacy as we might think.

Speaker 9

We won't know that until the number settle, until after Nikki Haley, you know, gets out of the race.

Speaker 5

It depends state to state.

Speaker 9

I mean some states where Democrats were voting, they were never going to vote for Trump, they were just meddling. In the case of independence, left leaning independence were probably not going to vote Republican. So you really have to isolate those subsets to pure independence or right leaning independence. And the answer to your question is they could not vote. They could vote for.

Speaker 5

Joe Biden, or more likely they could vote third party.

Speaker 2

What are you going to be looking at then? When we get through that first time zone. David, We've got the two most populous states involved here in Texas and California. That's where Donald Trump starts to put this in the bag, right.

Speaker 9

Yeah, I mean, the more the night wears on, the worse it's going to be for Haley. And I've heard today recently that Haley has canceled a couple of appearances today campaign stops, and she's settled back into South Carolina. That to me is a signal. And Joe, you know this better than anybody, that she's crafting a speech, whatever that speech says. They're working on, you know, a speech to set herself up for whatever lies ahead in the future, whether it's twenty twenty eight or something else.

Speaker 2

Are you surprised nothing scheduled tonight? We understand she has not scheduled a speech, David. Does that mean if you hear of a late announcement that might be significant.

Speaker 5

Yeah.

Speaker 9

No, I haven't heard of an announcement, but I've heard that she is pulled back today from some of her appearances. She is in South Carolina, and she is presumably working on her next her strategy. Either she's in talks with funders to find out whether or not what's the best case scenario for them to stay in financially or not. But obviously she doesn't want to be distracted by doing a couple of events and making a poor career decision.

So they're probably, you know, sort of taking the deep breath. She's circling with her in her advisors to figure out what the best approach is.

Speaker 6

Well, as you talk about potential other strategies she could pursue. I wonder if that could theoretically include a third party, which you were just reverencing some Nicki Haley primary voters mand of voting for a third party come the general

in November. We know No Labels has been interested in her Nicki Haley seems to have suggested that she doesn't have interest in it in return, but No Labels has consistently said David that Super Tuesday after that is when they make the call whether they're going to run a unity ticket. Do you see a path for them.

Speaker 5

For No Labels?

Speaker 9

I mean I see a path for any third party candidate to to harness significant amounts of votes in swing states to turn the election.

Speaker 5

No Labels being one, RFK Junior.

Speaker 9

Being one Green Party being one Libertarian and Cornel West. And it really depends on what candidates' parties make what state ballots, because we know from twenty sixteen to twenty twenty that the presence of third party candidates directly impacted the outcome. I have to take Nikki Haley out her word that she's not going to pursue a no labels option because she's a Republican. The moment she does that, than any future within the Republican infrastructure is pretty much gone.

Speaker 5

And I don't know that she wants to risk that at her rage.

Speaker 2

Right now, we're spending some time with David Peliologos and Suffolk University Political Research Center director on this Super Tuesday. A little later this hour, David, we're going to bring our conversation with Chris Sinunu. He's obviously in a delicate situation here talking about a candidate who may have some

very difficult decisions to make. What is his political legacy here for backing Nikki Haley so passionately speaking against Donald Trump openly as a term limited governor now going into the next chapter of his career.

Speaker 9

I got to believe that people may say he comes off as a loser I think he's one of the big winners of twenty twenty four personally, and I don't know him. It's not, you know, a personal thing, but I'm just looking at what he did in New Hampshire for her was amazing. To bring her literally within eleven points of Donald Trump in New Hampshire was an amazing feat coming off of Iowa.

Speaker 5

I mean they identified neighborhood.

Speaker 9

By neighborhood, every independent that was anti Trump and pulled them out. That kind of feat. Forget Washington, d C. And forget even her home state. She didn't even get forty percent in South Carolina, as I recall, you know, she did.

Speaker 5

Better in New Hampshire.

Speaker 9

So what he did in New Hampshire, I take my hat off to him. I think he comes off as being loyal to her and to his own principles, and I think he sets himself up potentially for opportunities.

Speaker 5

May not be in twenty twenty eight, but it could be also.

Speaker 6

All right, David Pelli Logos joining us from Suffolk University, thank you so much. As always, it was such an interesting conversation Joe with Kristin who knew the governor last night, essentially still defending Nikki Haley staunchly saying that she is his candidate. He's still very much backing her, and yet still says that he will support Trump should he be the Republican nominee, despite what did he say to us, Trump kicking dirt in the face of Republicans everywhere.

Speaker 2

Yeah, well, we'll bring you a bit of that conversation coming up a little bit later on this hour of Balance of Power with the Governor of New Hampshire. Be curious to hear what he's thinking tomorrow, Keiley. First, our panel, Rick Davis is going to be with us coming up here, and a special Super Tuesday panel with Brad Howard Races to watch tonight. They'll lay out the roadmap.

Speaker 5

Kayley.

Speaker 6

Yeah, it's not just presidential there's a lot down ballot to consider as well, so we'll have more on that next. This is Bloomberg.

Speaker 1

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon Eastern on Appocarplay and then Brounoto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube.

Speaker 2

We turn to our panel today. We've got a good one on this Super Tuesday. Rick Davis is with us, of course, Republican strategist, Bloomberg Politics contributor, and Brad Howard from Corcoran Street Group Democratic analysts here too. Gentlemen, great to have you with us on Super Tuesday. Rick, the down ballot race, I think where Kayley is going here will likely be a lot more interesting than what we see on the presidential level. Is that all you need to know going into this Super Tuesday?

Speaker 10

Yeah, I mean you actually don't know what the outcome is going to be on these down ballot races. We know what the outcome is going to be in the presidential primary, so there at least is some mystique involved in the down ballot.

Speaker 6

All right, So, Brad, if you could pick a down ballot contest, which one is going to be the most interesting, perhaps the most telling of the general feeling going into November. As we know, there's also some primaries in which you have a more MAGA oriented Trump back candidate, Dence, more establishment candidates.

Speaker 4

What's going to be the tell?

Speaker 11

Yeah, I mean I'm looking at Alabama one right there, You've got it's the first member on member primary this cycle because of redistricting, there's a new seat there. I'm also watching who emerges out of that new seat because that will be a relatively competitive general election, that new Alabama seat.

Speaker 7

So we'll see who emerges.

Speaker 11

On the Democratic side, they are to see who's going to take on whoever the Republicans nominate.

Speaker 7

But and then Alabama one seat.

Speaker 11

You've got Jerry carl versus Barry Moore, Marjorie Taylor, Green Freedom Caucus on one side, Chamber of Commerce, traditional Republicans and the other.

Speaker 7

That'll be a fascinating one to watch for sure.

Speaker 2

That new seat you mentioned is important. At least eleven candidates fighting for this newly drawn district. Rick Davis, you know Alabama politics pretty well. This is a seat that would have been won easily by Joe Biden in twenty twenty by more than ten points, it appears. Who are you looking at?

Speaker 10

Yeah, it's hard to tell. I mean, anytime you've got that many people running in a new district, you know, it's it's it's just anybody's guests. I think that the one I'm watching is in Texas. Sheila Jackson Lee her opponent, Amanda Edwards. They know each other really well. They've worked together. Sheila Jackson ran for mayor and did really poorly and has made her vulnerable, and I think she could be one of the highest profile incumbents going down.

Speaker 6

All right, So clearly a lot to watch outside of the presidential contest tonight. But of course, the presidential contest, as we know, gentlemen, is going to be what's making most of the headlines. And on that note, I want to point to a note that came into my inbox from Terry Haynes over at Pangea Policy, someone we speak to frequently here on Bloomberg TV and Radio, who writes that Trump has the same four problems after Super Tuesday

that he had before it. Ricky says, an enthusiastic base that hasn't grown since twenty twenty, a split Republican party that's now all that embedded independents aren't for him, and Trump encourages all of it.

Speaker 4

Do you agree with that assessment.

Speaker 10

Rick, Yeah, that sounds pretty realistic. I mean, Terry's a very smart guy and I wouldn't doubt him on that, but those elements are all there and makes it a very interesting Contest'd be.

Speaker 2

Very curious to hear about Joe Biden because we're not talking about him too much today, Brad. There's a storyline in Minnesota, of course about a potential protest vote, But he's in primary contests across the country just like Donald Trump is. Should he be speaking tonight, he could deliver some sort of victory address and warm up for the State of the Union, though.

Speaker 7

I mean, if he would like to.

Speaker 11

I think if I'm his prep team, I've got his head in the State of the Union, which is much more consequential. As we all know, the number of live events that Americans will all kind of tune in to watch as dramatically declined.

Speaker 7

Sure, because we.

Speaker 11

Saw an appetite for it. We saw the Super Bowl highest ratings ever. I think this may be one of the highest ratings ever for a State of the Union. Because so much is at risk for the president. He's got complex situations over abroad, he's got a hyper partisan environment here at home. There's a new speaker it's going to stand behind him. So there's a lot at stake

here for the president. He's got to both shorep his base, show strength abroad and Latin agenda for another term, and so he's a lot of keep his head there where it matters. And one quick thing on the Democratic base on the note on the protest votes here you looked at Michigan, Yeah, there were thirteen that voted for non committed. Back in twenty twelve, Obama eleven percent voted non committed in Michigan, And of course Obama went on to win not only Michigan but the presidency.

Speaker 7

So let's keep things in historical perspective.

Speaker 6

Yeah, but of course we're talking about percentage of the overall vote. That actual numbers were a little bit bigger in Biden's case this time around. And also, while we're talking about that uncommitted vote in Michigan and how it could translate elsewhere, it wasn't just in places like Dearborn concentrated with you know, heavily Muslim and Arab American populations, was also Anne Arbor and East Lansing. I keep coming back to this point in Michigan State, the University of Michigan.

Brad does he still have a problem with young people and what does that mean for him in a general election contest.

Speaker 11

Look, the young voters are tricky, You've got they are fairly new to the electorate. They don't they really don't care what you've done previously. They want to know what you're going to do moving forward. They are idealistic, they are energized. You've got to have them not only vote for you, you've got to have their the ground troops that are out there knocking on doors and getting votes.

So they're a tricky bunch, and you know, overall, this is the time when our base likes to vent its frustration, as they should right by nature of being a progressive, you're never happy, You're never satisfied with the status quo. You're always wanting more, bigger, and bolder, and so by nature there's some unrest always with a Democratic president.

Speaker 7

This time in the cycle.

Speaker 11

My hope is that by November, the Biden campaign is really taking the youth vote. Serious leaders really find ways to engage to not only persuade them and consolidate them, but also utilize their passions and energy to help me in November.

Speaker 2

It is interesting Joe Biden's just getting back to the White House today from Camp Dave it. This is one weekend all about the state of the Union. Rick Is that smart business? It's not worth it to put him out in front of people tonight. Focus on Thursday.

Speaker 10

Yeah, I think that's correct. I mean, this is the latest State of the Union. I think I can ever recall, and frankly, the Speaker has gotten a lot of criticism from his caucus by giving Joe Biden this incredible backstop to Super Tuesday. Here, their plan was to have Donald Trump basically proclaim the presumptive nominee tomorrow tonight, and now they're going to let Biden steal the show with the State of the Union a day later. So I think

that this is exactly what Brad said. I think this is the whole game for him, is State of the Union. He's going to have tens of millions of people watching. This speech could be the most consequential speech of this term, and certainly the most consequential speech that he's going to give between now and the convention. And so this one he's got to get right. And realizing that prep is what prep is. I never expected him to be bouncing around Super Tuesday states two days before State of the Union.

Speaker 6

Well, Rick, as you talk about maybe the Speaker having given Biden something of a gift to be able to give an address like this right on the heels of Super Tuesday, could he also take something away from the President of the House actually passes this package of funding bills to avert a shutdown come Friday. Does that Biden lose a talking point over congressional dysfunction.

Speaker 10

Well, they're they're only going to get six of the twelve pass by then, fair enough, and so it's not like you've got to really scramble to find dysfunction in the House Republicans. And I think that's one thing I'm really looking for is how much he uses this b team speaker and House dysfunction in his State of the Union.

Speaker 4

I think it's unavoidable.

Speaker 10

He has got to point out the biggest limitation to progress in his agenda has been this crew in the House.

Speaker 2

Great panel on Super Tuesday, thanks to both of you, Rick Davis, Brad Howard. We'll be back with Rick a little bit later on this evening, and I want to remind everybody that we have special coverage coming up, Kayley. It starts eight pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio and on YouTube here on Bloomberg Radio and television starting at nine pm, and we'll be going pretty late tonight as we follow through six time zones. If Mike count is correct.

Speaker 6

I believe that is an exacting escapade. We will be on air until marinth pm. That's right Washington time. Hence why we are caffeinating throughout the day today. But of course we could get calls potentially as early as the seven o'clock hour, Joe, because that's what's right. Polls are going to close in Vermont and Virginia, right exactly. If history is a guide, We've been getting race calls on the Republican side within what a minute oh one, It'll.

Speaker 2

Be seven oh one most likely, and at eight oh one we'll have another round for you. So when you join us this evening, we'll be starting with breaking news. It might feel predictable, but we of course like to wait until the votes are counted.

Speaker 1

You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast kens just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Applecarplay and then Rodoo with the Bloomberg Business Ad. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station, Just Say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven.

Speaker 2

Thirty alongside Kaylee Lines. I'm Joe Matthew in the Nation's capital. As we look Kayley across the country fifteen states holding Republican contests, Eleven of them are open to more than just registered Republicans, and that's been the narrative so far until now by the Nikki Haley campaign. These are the types of states that she could potentially outperform in. And we spend some time with her chief surrogate, the governor of New Hampshire.

Speaker 6

Yeah, Kristin Nunu did join us yesterday evening on the eve of Super Tuesday, and we talked to him about the math, because Joe, You're absolutely right, there are a number of states in which independently minded voters could work in her favor. But the problem is only two states are not winner take all. So whoever gets more than fifty percent of the vote, which if polling is correct, looks very likely to be Donald Trump, he gets all

the delegates. Therefore, the math becomes really difficult if she's trying to secure the nomination. And we pose that question to governor soon you knew if it's not actually about getting the number of delegates to secure the nomination, if that's not mathematically possible, why is Haley staying in this race? Here's his response.

Speaker 12

The reason to stay in the race is to collect enough delegates to be president.

Speaker 13

That's Nicki's mission. That's it. She's not here to make a point.

Speaker 12

She's not putting herself on the line, spinning all this energy, all this exhaustion away from her family, you know, being out there every single day, tirelessly, you know, for anything other than being president and getting this country back on track.

Speaker 13

And that's exactly what you want to see.

Speaker 12

So no, it's not about some of these other candidates who get in just to try to make a point or sell a book or whatever the heck it is. Nicki is about focusing on this country and what she can bring to the table, not just as from the country's perspective, but as a Republican.

Speaker 13

I love the fact that she doesn't just win. She wins handily against Joe Biden.

Speaker 12

She brings senators and new House members and governorships all with her.

Speaker 13

She wins up and down the ballot. Trump cannot do that.

Speaker 2

Ambassaard Haley signals guess today she might not endorse Donald Trump in an interview on Meet the Press, that she no longer sees herself bound to a pledge to an r NC, that she sees changing here, of course, it is changing as we speak. Governor, do you support that decision? Do you feel the same way?

Speaker 13

Well, she didn't say she wouldn't. She's definitely not going to, So she didn't say that.

Speaker 12

They you know, when the press is asking you as a candidate, if you're going to support the person you run against, that it's a ridiculous question, right to say, oh, yeah, by the way, and I'll support the person I'm running.

Speaker 13

Again, I'm trying to care.

Speaker 1

She might not.

Speaker 2

I'm trying to be fair here, Governor, she might not.

Speaker 12

Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, she said she might not. And again it's a ridiculous question. Also because is Trump as he committed to supporting the Republican nominee if it's not.

Speaker 13

Him the answer she hasn't. Yeah, yeah, of course. So so it's it's this faux outrage.

Speaker 12

I can't believe that she won't answer the question or be clear about it.

Speaker 13

When Trump has gotten away.

Speaker 12

With completely you know, kicking kicking dirt in the face of the Republican already across this country, kind of making his own rules as he goes, but he gets away with it. So look, at the end of the day, I mean, Nicky will decide what Nicky's gonna do. You know, regardless of who the nominee is, you're gonna see a lot of folks understand that Joe Biden doesn't is not the future of America, right. I mean, that's a real

problem for a whole variety of reasons. We could do an hour on a show about why that's a problem. There's a reason why Trump, you know, actually is neck and neck with Biden. The problem is, again, it's not just about who wins the presidency. It's about who brings the rest of the party over the line. And I keep going back to that, but it's so important. We're tired of as Republicans. We are tired of losing. And

we lost in twenty we lost in twenty two. We lost with Trump as the standard bearer and kind of the front end and the messenger of the party. His type of candidates, his style that is complete losing for the Republican Party. So he could snake by, I guess, but Nicki would win it in droves at the end of the day. Again, I kind of I thought it was kind of funny that they would even ask her the question, because she's still very much in this race.

She's still fighting hard a couple of days from Super Tuesday, and all she's trying to.

Speaker 13

Do is get more voters out.

Speaker 12

Every new voter that comes out the typically might not vote in a primary, that comes out on Super Tuesday is likely a Nicki Haley voter. So getting the voter, getting the vote out not just kind of to push back against this concerted base that Trump has, and that's understandable be given that he's an incumbent president. But every new voter she can drive out is another bit of opportunity. And that's all you're thinking about as a candidate, how do you win?

Speaker 6

Well, what about what you're thinking about as a surrogate, Because Governor, you've been asked the question. In fact, Joe and I have asked it of you when we were up in New Hampshire in January, this idea that you would support Trump should he be the Republican nominee as an alternative to Joe Biden. As you just described him as someone kicking dirt in the face of Republicans. I believe there is a very real chance he could be convicted of a felony in the not so distant future.

Is there anything that would change your mind on that.

Speaker 13

Right now.

Speaker 3

No.

Speaker 12

Look, look, I want a strong ticket, and my focus is going to be I'm not going to be governor. I've done my four terms here, I'm deciding this ste down. My focus is always going to be in New Hampshire, and I'm just kind of speaking where my position as a governor.

Speaker 13

I think you can translate it to forty nine other states.

Speaker 12

Party leaders and folks that are electedly going to focus really hard on their states.

Speaker 13

The problem with Trump is that he's not going to be.

Speaker 12

Able to raise money because he's already spent what sixty million on his legal fees, probably another fifty million to go.

Speaker 13

His people have now co opted in now running the RNC.

Speaker 12

So again, who's going to give the rn C money knowing that a lot of that money might just go to pay off his legal fees. It's going to put a lot of pressure on candidates to raise money into their own packs, into their own organizations, where typically they might have relied on the RNC for help. I just don't see that as actually being there. So, look, I'm going to support the Republican Party, the Republican ticket as strong.

Speaker 13

As I can.

Speaker 12

I'm a conservative, I believe in those ideals, I believe. I'm very optimistic about the Republican Party. Whether Trump's there or not, there's still a lot of opportunity to get things right in this country, to get back to believing that the individual comes first, not a bunch of liberal elitists in Washington that are standing on the shoulders of American families built this country, defend this country, but are being.

Speaker 13

Told how to live their lives. People are absolutely sick and tired of it.

Speaker 12

So the Republican Party has a huge opportunity to have candidates not just who's running for president, but have candidates up and down the ballot that connect with that and say we're going to actively make a change. We're not just going to go and raise more money try to get ourselves reelected, but we're going to be an active part of a positive process that gets this country back on track.

Speaker 2

The Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sanunu, speaking with us yesterday and wanted to make sure that you heard that conversation here on Bloomberg. As Nikki Haley stares down the barrel of fifteen more contests this evening, and it's difficult to tell where she might go from here Kaylee, NBC News is reporting, of course, we know she's back in the Charleston area. The staff at the headquarters in good

spirits today. The songs of choice, our sisters are doing it for themselves and started from the bottom.

Speaker 6

Ah, now we're here is the line that typically that's how you ready for me typically follows. But it brings me back to New Hampshire.

Speaker 5

Joe.

Speaker 6

Remember we were all set to go. We were there on the ground, we were going to go to a Ron DeSantis event one afternoon, and it turned out he wasn't even in the state of New Hampshire. He was in Florida, and then dropped his speech that he was leaving the race, and of course that is what we're on watch for. There is no signal directly from Nikki Haley that she'd be leaving the race after these contests, but she hasn't signaled the same commitment to stay in

past these fifteen states. Yes, that's true, as she had to just getting to today.

Speaker 2

As the Trump campaign targets March twelfth or nineteenth for presumptive status, when he would mathematically have this in the bag, it still could be mathematically impossible for her to become the nominee tomorrow and the candidate in waiting. Ideas starting to wear a little bit thin as Donald Trump scores additional legal victories here and it looks like we may not have a Jack Smith trial even before the selection.

Speaker 6

Yeah, you have to get an immunity decision from the Supreme Court first. Of course, the Supreme Court already yesterday did weigh in on another Trump related matter that factors in today because he is on the ballot in Colorado, despite the Supreme Court there of initially saying because of the Fourteenth Amendment he could not be, so voters there and across fourteen other states could have the chance to

vote for him. And of course we'll continue to have that covered for you right here, I'm Bloomberg.

Speaker 2

Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already, at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and you can find us live every weekday from Washington, DC at noontime Eastern at Bloomberg dot com.

Transcript source: Provided by creator in RSS feed: download file