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Voters go to Polls; Obama Speaks About Campaign Rhetoric; Polls Open in Five States Right Now; Sanders Says Clinton Has Evolved on Issues; RNC Speaks on Election. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 15, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's noon in St. Louis, 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 7:00 p.m. in Damascus, Syria. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We start with voters going to the polls in five states right now for what we call Super Tuesday number three. Here's what's at stake. More than 1,000 delegates are up for grabs on both sides which could have a profound impact on the race for the White House. We're watching polling stations in those states right now, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump leads the delegate race right now with 471. He picked up nine delegates earlier today with a win in the northern Mariana Island caucuses. Ted Cruz is second, a hundred points or so behind.

Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic race over Bernie Sanders. She has over 1,200 delegates. That total includes 472 super delegates as well.

Let's get to the voting that's going on right now. Brian Todd is joining us live from St. Louis, Missouri. As you know, Brian, that's an open primary state. Explain what that means.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that's really what makes Missouri relevant and very interesting, the open primary format. It means that you don't register for any party. You come in here. You register here with a photo I.D. Then, you basically are asked what party you want to vote for and they'll give you a ballot that corresponds to that. People are checking in here, showing those photo I.D.s. Then, you get a choice between Republican and Democrat. You get a choice between paper ballot and digital scanning there. The Democrats have the green stripe. Republicans have the red.

Let's go to the lines now. This line over here at the immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic church has been almost out the door almost all day today. A very dynamic voter turnout here. The Missouri secretary of state said that she expected voter turnout to be much higher than it was in 2012. This is a very busy precinct. There are actually four precincts that vote at this polling station, Wolf.

And we -- I took my own sampling of about 50 voters who have come through here, and I'd say it's pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. We are told that this district leans Democratic but more and more Republicans are turning out this year. And one of the reasons is the Donald Trump factor. He was here for that rally in St. Louis on Friday. And a lot of people are talking about that.

I'm here with a Bernie Sanders supporter, Diane Sherrod. Diane, what made you decide to vote for Bernie Sanders this time around?

DIANE SHERROD: Bernie Sanders is definitely for the people. He's for people like me and there's a lot of people out there like me. Bernie Sanders cares about what goes on with our lives, with the money that we make. It doesn't stay up with the current cost of living. And he cares about so many things for people like me. And that's -- you know, that's just -- that's my main factor with Bernie.

TODD: A lot of people here, though, are talking about the Donald Trump rally on Friday where a lot of people got arrested. The later rally in Chicago. It's really all a buzz here today. Did that play a role in your decision and what are people saying to you about it?

SHERROD: Well, I mean, that was par for the course, I thought, the rally and all the chaos and everything. I mean, no, that wasn't a factor in my decision at all. I mean, I've -- Donald Trump may be a good businessman because he is where he is. But as far as running the country, I just don't think he's the man for the job.

TODD: All right, Diane, thanks very much for talking to us and good luck to you.

SHERROD: You're quite welcome.

TODD: Wolf, Donald Trump's rally and his appearances here, Ted Cruz's appearance here, he's got a very strong ground game, Ted Cruz. And we've sampled a lot of voters who have broken for Ted Cruz.

Another big story here in this precinct, Wolf, people who have decided late. I've sampled 50 voters. I'd say at least a quarter of them have been last-minute deciders. I've noticed that a lot of them have broken for Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders so they're benefiting from that.

And, again, you mentioned the open primary. Donald Trump often does well in the open primary format but Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz doing pretty well here today.

BLITZER: Yes, it seems like Republicans are showing up in bigger numbers than Democrats, at least in the contests so far.

All right, Brian, thank you very much.

Florida and Ohio they are unique in the race today for the Republicans. Both have home state candidates on the ballot and both are winner take all when it comes to the delegate count.

Joining us now to talk about the race, what could happen after today, Sean Spicer. He's the chief strategist, communications director for the Republican National Committee. Sean, thanks very much for joining us. I want to first play for you a little clip. This is President Obama. He had harsh words about the Republican campaign rhetoric just a little while ago, calling it vulgar, divisive. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know that I'm not the only one in this room who may be more than a little dismayed about what's happening on the campaign trail lately. We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities, at Americans who don't look like us or pray like us or vote like we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:05:08] BLITZER: You want to react? Because, clearly, he was referring to Donald Trump.

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIC, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, I think that I would echo the comments that chairman Priebus has made previously which is I think we would all like our candidates talking in a more positive tone, more welcoming tone to bring more people into our party.

What I would say, secondly, I think the president should be more concerned with his own party. I think there's a lot of concern about whether Hillary Clinton is going to be indicted, some of the problems they have here, the momentum that Bernie Sanders has, in terms of overtaking her. I think if the president is concerned, he should -- he should keep it to his own party.

BLITZER: The other Republican candidates, they've all suggested in one way or another, they're troubled by the some of the violent incidents we've seen at some of the Trump rallies. Does it negatively impact the Republican Party? Are you troubled by it?

SPICER: Well, again, I would say that, look, violence is never the answer. I think that one of the things that makes America great is our ability to express our thoughts and our -- and go out and be part of the Democratic process. I think violence is never the answer on either side.

And, frankly, I am troubled by it. I don't think that that's how we should conduct ourselves. But I'm equally outraged that people on the left think that this is how they should conduct themselves. And I think it's ironic that while those party leaders on the right came out and said, hey, this is troubling to us, everyone on the left failed to acknowledge their role in this. And I think both sides need to say, we need to take the temperature down. We need to acknowledge it.

But Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other leaders in the -- in the field -- in the Democratic field, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, I think need to acknowledge their party's role, their people's role in going to someone's rally with the intent -- with the intent to actually just disrupt. That's not what our first amendment rights are all about. It's about expressing ourselves and being a part of the process. Not intentionally going to somebody else's rally to purposely disrupt it and create a scenario that's not helpful.

BLITZER: If Marco Rubio and John Kasich lose their home states today, do you think they'll drop out?

SPICER: I think that's a decision for both of them. I think both of them have spoken very clearly about the importance of their home states and why they think they'll do well there. But, at the end of this, it's always going to be up to each of those candidates to decide whether or not they have the resources and support to carry on. So, I will leave it to both of them to make that decision.

BLITZER: All right, I don't know if you know about this, but our RNC member from North Dakota sent out a letter to fellow members reminding them that committee rules say delegates can ignore the primary results and vote their conscience at the convention. Is that true?

SPICER: Well, I think that -- he has held that position for a long time. That is something that -- but the other day, what the rules of the convention govern how delegates must behave and act as well as the state party rule. So, in each state party and at the convention, those rules will govern how delegates are dealt with. What he is referring to is in 1976, they bound them -- they bound the delegates there.

And then, the rules have changed at each subsequent convention. I think they'll, again, be ratified by the delegates at this upcoming convention in Cleveland to determine how the delegates have to behave.

BLITZER: Senator Cruz says a brokered convention, a contested Convention, whatever you want to call it, would just upset voters out there, hurt the Republican Party. Is that a real fear?

SPICER: No. I mean, not to me anyway. I think, look, when you look at the turnout that we've seen, we've had 26 contests so far, in terms of states and territories. The Republican turnout is up at a record level in 22 of those.

Conversely, the Democrats have had 22 contests. They have reached lows from 2008 in 19 of those. The intensity and excitement is on our party. I think no matter what happens in Cleveland, if we go in with someone that has 1,238 delegates or we have to have a ballot to decide it, I think the excitement, intensity is on our side. People are flocking to the Republican Party.

And I think regardless of how it actually comes down, Cleveland is going to be a very exciting time. The eyes of the world and the eyes of the nation will be upon it.

BLITZER: Sean, I want to put up the map, the five contests today showing the number of Republican delegates at stake. And you can see right there, North Carolina has 72 Republican delegates up for grabs. Illinois has 69 delegates up for grabs. But Illinois has a population of almost 3 million more people. Why is North Carolina allotted more delegates?

SPICER: Well, the way delegate math works is that every state gets 10 delegates off the bat, then you get three delegates for every congressional district. And then, there is a formula that awards additional delegates based on your performance as a Republican state in the past.

So, if you have elected a Republican governor or a Republican senator, there are bonus delegates, if you will, awarded to states that have done well, as far as their Republican share of the vote in the past. So, it's a -- you know, there's a formulaic aspect of this that allows every state to get a certain amount and then a bonus if they've done well as a Republican state in the past.

BLITZER: Is that fair?

[13:10:00] SPICER: Of course it's fair.

BLITZER: Even though they're -- obviously, a bigger state gets fewer delegates. I mean, by the way, that was an excellent explanation for a very complex --

SPICER: Well, I get --

BLITZER: -- set of rules, --

SPICER: Right.

BLITZER: -- by the way.

SPICER: But it's all relative to -- I mean, look, I think that one of the things that, again, there is an element -- I mean, it's like the House and the Senate. There's an element of fairness. Each state starts off with 10. They get -- if they are bigger and they have additional congressional districts, they get awarded those three, and then based on their performance, which I think is a way to ensure that states that are electing Republicans get rewarded. But just size alone doesn't necessarily dictate how many Republicans are in that state.

So, a state like North Carolina that has a Republican governor, that has a Republican senator, that has outperformed, you know, Illinois in the past. Now, granted, they are -- they have -- they have elected Governor Rauner. They have elected a great senator, Mark Kirk. And so, it's trending the right way. But I think what we have to do is recognize that these are formulas that exist to ensure that states have performed better than others do that.

On the Democratic side, look, ours is pretty open and transparent. The Democratic side, look at what they do. They give a, you know, what is it? A fourth of their delegates to so-called super delegates that don't have any connection to voters and the will of the voters. I think the way that Republicans conduct our process is much more Democratic. It actually allows the will of the people to determine who our nominee is.

When you look at the, quote, unquote, "Democratic Party," it's the most un-Democratic process by which people who have just held an elected office or elected to a party office but aren't expressing the will of the voters are actually a major piece of how their nominee is selected. But I think when you look at the two systems and combine, the Republican system is a much more fair, open and Democratic process than the other party.

BLITZER: I suspect we're going to be learning a lot more about the super delegates on the Democratic side, the bonus delegates, as you call them, on the Republican side. You had an excellent explanation for the -- why there is that discrepancy between the population and the number of delegates heading to Cleveland. Sean, thanks very much for joining us.

SPICER: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, Bernie Sanders says Hillary Clinton has evolved on several issues to get closer to his own positions. The Clinton campaign is here to respond on one of the biggest primary days of the race.

And you're looking at live pictures right side -- right now inside a polling station in Charlotte, North Carolina, where voters are casting their ballots for both parties. We're going to bring you updates on the race throughout the day. We'll be right back.

[13:12:21]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:09] BLITZER: Very high stakes for the Democrats in today's primaries as well. Bernie Sanders hoping to repeat his upset win in Michigan, but Hillary Clinton is looking to build an insurmountable lead over Sanders. Hillary Clinton visited a polling station in Raleigh, North Carolina, just a little while ago. Six hundred and nine-one Democratic delegates are up for grabs in five states today.

Joining us now is Karen Finney. She's a senior adviser -- senior spokeswoman for the Clinton campaign.

Karen, thanks very much for coming in.

KAREN FINNEY, SENIOR ADVISER, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Great to be with you.

BLITZER: Let me get your quick reaction. Sean Spicer, the RNC communications director, he said that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they share some of the responsibility, some of the blame for some of the violence that has occurred at the Trump rallies because they've encouraged some of their supporters, in effect, to go there and disrupt the free speech activities of the Republican presidential frontrunner. I want to give you a chance to respond.

FINNEY: Sure. Well, I can't speak, obviously, for the Sanders campaign, but I can say from our campaign, I think you've heard Hillary say it publicly, that's not true at all. I mean she has said absolutely we all have our First Amendment right and protest but be peaceful about it, be thoughtful about it. And, in fact, there was a peaceful protest that happened outside. And I -- as I understand it, those folks kind of left before what happened on the inside actually happened.

But I think it's important that, you know, we express our views but do so, again, in a way that is respectful, that is responsible. I think that's part of, you know, what is so disturbing about what we see Mr. Trump doing, it's not respectful.

BLITZER: So when people stand up and shout at him during a -- during one of his rallies, you don't want that. You want him -- let him make his speech. If they want to protest peacefully outside, they can do that. Is that what you're saying?

FINNEY: Well, I certainly think it's dangerous. If you go into -- I mean given what we know about the tone and tenor of the Trump rallies and his sort of inciting irresponsibly people -- you know, when he's made those comments about, I wish I could punch that guy myself. Be careful, as Hillary said, if you're going to go into that environment and disrupt because you are in the middle of the lion's den to some degree. And, you know, clearly, Trump has made it very clear he is not at all uncomfortable with the violence that is occurring in his -- in his events.

BLITZER: Senator Sanders says Secretary Clinton is getting, in his words, a little bit nervous right now. What are your biggest concerns about the five contests today?

FINNEY: You know what, Wolf, we expect it's going to be -- and I think we've said this for a while, we expect it will be a mixed result. I mean, obviously, we have always planned for this to go on for the long term. You know I was at the DNC when we change -- made some changes to the calendar, and that was part of the intention because we think that it's important that our candidates are vetted. Obviously, Hillary, I think, you know, she has a very sizable lead. I expect that lead is going to grow with regard to the pledge delegate tonight. So we're feeling good about where we are.

BLITZER: He says that Hillary Clinton is evolving, changing her positions to get more in line with him. I want to play a little clip. Listen.

FINNEY: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's evolved on the Keystone pipeline. She's evolved on the Trans Pacific Partnership. She has apologized for supporting the war in Iraq. She apologized for supporting this homophobic DOMA legislation of the 1990s. So, yes, I suppose that one can get satisfaction from seeing her move closer to our positions. But I think what the voters have got to decide is, will she be apologizing 20 years from now for actions she takes today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, tough words.

FINNEY: Tough words. But, you know, Mr. Sanders, Senator Sanders likes to talk about Hillary's what he calls evolutions, which I'll take that on in a moment. But what about his own evolutions? I mean he sort of acts as though he himself has not had some evolutions. I would love for him to explain his evolution on gun safety measures, for example. This is a guy who voted against the Brady Bill five times. This is a guy who voted to give -- to shield manufacturers from liability. And then when he started reaching the southern states, he started to say, well, maybe I'll take a look at that and I'm going to sign on to some legislation. But as I understand it, I don't think he's actually signed on. So he's had a few evolutions of his own, frankly, and that one seemed to be pretty politically convenient.

[13:20:15] I would say with regard to Hillary, you know, look, with TPP, with Keystone, she made her position very clear. Both of those were instances where, because she had been part of the process, she felt like the president deserved the time to make the decision before she weighed in because obviously once she weighed in, that would change the dynamic. I think that's a responsible thing to do. I think that's some -- what somebody who is loyal to, you know, the president would do.

So -- and when it comes to marriage equality, I mean, look, she is a -- you know, she is a strong supporter of LGBT rights, obviously, and she has been very strong support -- we've got the support of the HRC, the other HRC, and a number of organizations. And --

BLITZER: The Human Rights Council (ph).

FINNEY: The Human -- yes. And I think it's important, as she herself has said, over time you learn new information. Your -- you change.

BLITZER: Yes.

FINNEY: And your -- and your both -- and your (INAUDIBLE) can change.

BLITZER: I think both Hillary Clinton and President Clinton, as far as the Defense of Marriage Act, they now say they regret that they supported that at the time.

FINNEY: Absolutely. But I think it's a good thing for our leaders to be able to change when the world is changing, when it's the right thing to do. And I think there are instances where that's part of good leadership.

BLITZER: Karen Finney, thanks very much for coming in.

FINNEY: Great to be with you.

BLITZER: All right, Karen Finney of the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The polls have opened in Missouri. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they're locked in a tight race in that state. Can Bernie Sanders build on his Michigan upset and sweep the Midwest? His campaign manager Jeff Weaver is standing by live. There he is. We'll talk to him right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:26:10] BLITZER: Senator Bernie Sanders is hoping to close the delegate gap with Hillary Clinton today as voters go to the polls in five states. At a campaign stop in Chicago earlier this morning, Senator Sanders sounded optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think that if there's a large voter turnout, we're going to do just great here in Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio and hopefully in North Carolina, and Florida. I think that in the states that are coming down the pike, we have great opportunities to win many of them. So we're feeling really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Jeff Weaver is Bernie Sanders' campaign manager. He's joining us now live from Chicago.

Jeff, thanks very much for joining us.

I want to get your quick reaction, also the spokesman for the RNC, the Republican National Committee, just a little while ago, Sean Spicer, here on this program, he said this. He said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, they need to acknowledge their party's role in disrupting these Donald Trump campaign rallies. I want to get your response to that.

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Look, Wolf, you know, we have never been involved in organizing any kind of protests at anybody's rallies. As you know, early in this campaign, you know, Senator Sanders was protested at a couple of times and -- but this is the big difference, right, people have a First Amendment right. They protest. You know, obviously candidates don't like to be protested. Nobody does. That's why they're -- that's why people protest them, right?

But this is the difference. When someone protested a Bernie Sanders event, those people were treated with dignity and respect. And when people protested at Donald Trump's rally, he incited people to violence. He offered to punch people -- you said he said he wanted to punch people himself and people should be taken out in stretchers. And then he even offered to pay the legal bills of his supporters who would -- who would do violence against protesters and others. So it's a very, very different situation.

So we have not ever asked anybody or encouraged anybody to protest. But I think if you look at how the camp -- the respective campaigns have responded when there were protests, and I know that Secretary Clinton has been protested at times and she handled it with dignity and, you know, respecting the individuality of the person there and the issues that they are raising. So Donald Trump is a very, very different situation. It's really thuggery.

BLITZER: Speaking of Donald Trump, I interviewed him here yesterday. He said Senator Sanders, in his words, is a terrible senator, that he did -- has done very little as a United States senator, says he hasn't passed much legislation at all. What is the greatest accomplishment or legislative accomplishments of Senator Sanders in the Senate?

WEAVER: Well, look, I think if you look just two years ago, when he worked in a bipartisan way with John McCain and with House Republicans, frankly, in a bipartisan way to enact the greatest reform to veterans health care in the modern history of our country, putting billions more into veterans health care to try to eliminate those terrible lines and to improve treatment for veterans across this country, that was a phenomenal accomplish and I -- you know, it's been hailed by some news outlets as the greatest accomplishment of that entire Congress.

So he does have a long record. "The New York Times" just wrote a very long piece about how Sanders has been an effective legislator in his entire time. You know, there was a 12 year period in the U.S. House where it was a Republican controlled House. He passed more amendments by a voice vote than any other member of the House, Republican or Democrat. So he is a very effective legislator, fights hard for the people of Vermont, fights hard for the people of this country, the working people, and fights against, you know, a lot of the corporate backed initiatives that come down the pike, like these trade deals.

BLITZER: You heard Senator Sanders say just now that he's feeling really good about what's going to happen today. We shall see soon enough. Jeff Weaver, thanks very much for joining us.

WEAVER: Always a pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Right now, by the way, voters in five states are heading to the polls. We're going to show you some live pictures right now from polling stations in Hialeah and Winter Park, Florida. The state has the biggest delegate prize of the day.

[13:29:57] And Republican candidates have been working hard to connect with voters there, but it's former candidate Jeb Bush who may grab a major headline there on this day. We have details. Stand by for that.

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