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Voting Underway Across New York; Trump Poised For Big New York Win; Giuliani Says Rules Should Be Changed; GOP Delegates At Stake Today; Clinton Looks For Big Win In New York; Will Clinton End Sanders' Winning Streak Tonight In New York?; Interview with NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 19, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm really honored and putting in that vote in today was really something terrific. Have a good time.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello. We're feeling very good. There is a large voter turnout despite the impediment of 3 million people not being able to participate, I think we're going to be just fine.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just urge everybody, please come out and vote before 9:00 p.m. tonight. That would be terrific.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

The presidential race here in the United States is in New York. It's a New York state of mind right now. It's primary day with millions of New York voters expected to make their choices. A choice which could have a very profound effect on both parties and where we go from here.

The battle lines are drawn and the three candidates with New York roots are looking for some hometown magic. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton cast their primary votes this morning while Bernie Sanders went hand to hand out on the streets of New York City.

Here's what's at stake today for the Democrats. New York has 247 delegates up for grabs. Right now, Hillary Clinton has a lead in pledge delegates by more than 200 and a 700-delegate lead when you add the super delegates.

For the Republicans, there are 95 delegates at stake today. Donald Trump leads the Republican delegate battle right now but Senator Ted Cruz has been closing the gap with a string of victories over the past few weeks.

Polls close in New York state at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Please be sure to stay with CNN for complete coverage throughout the day and the night.

Our Brynn Gingris -- Gingras, I should say, is at a polling station in Brooklyn, New York right now. Brynn, what are you seeing there? Is the turnout expected to be a factor?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's actually a quite good turnout at this particular polling place, Wolf. We're in a little bit of a lull right now so it's hard to see that behind me. But that might be just because of the lunch hour. Certainly, it was busy this morning. The line was actually out the door, down the street at one point, so maybe we'll see that again when dinnertime rolls around.

As you said, polls stay open until 9:00. And since it's a little bit more quiet, we have a little bit more advantage to move around. I kind of just want to show you how this particular polling place looks. It is separated by certain districts. Everyone lines up according to their district.

And then, as we loop around a little bit more, that is where the electronic ballots are cast and paper ballots even further right to where I'm standing.

And you said it, Wolf, this is a battleground. We've been talking about it for weeks. It is Bernie's hometown. It is Hillary's home turf. So, the big question is who are they coming out to vote for? Because, right now, as our number stands, 1,650 people have come to this particular polling place. A large majority of them are Democrats, 1,557 to 92 Republicans.

So, certainly as we get more people in here, we're talking to them, learning about who they're deciding for, if they wish to tell us. And also, just seeing why they made that decision. Of course, we'll get more information about that coming up -- Wolf.

BLITZER: As Bernie Sanders suggested, a lot of people probably would have liked to vote for him. They can't vote because they didn't register as Democrats. This is a closed primary. Only registered Democrats can vote for the Democratic candidates. Only registered Republicans can vote for the Republican candidates. A lot of Bernie Sanders supporters out there, and I'm sure you have spoken, Brynn, with many of them, they feel left out.

GINGRAS: That's certainly true, Wolf. And that just shows the excitement around this particular election. You can't come in unless you are registered either Democrat or Republican. And, of course, you have to vote for your party.

But I will say, when people do come and they don't have either affiliation and they're not sure what to do, the nice people here, they are handing them affidavits or handing those affidavits over to the board of election. So, their vote is actually mattering. We're not sure how, if it's counted or sort of the process after that. But certainly people are trying to figure that all out. But it's important to still come out and vote, of course -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brynn Gingras is our newest CNN Reporter in New York. Brynn, welcome to CNN, good to have you on our team. Thanks very much.

Donald Trump is counting on a --

GINGRAS: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: -- big win today in his home state to change the conversation. His campaign knows that the path to 1,237 delegates, that's the magic number, the amount needed for the Republican presidential nomination, goes right through the empire state on this day.

Let's discuss the race. Joining us, our CNN Politics Executive Editor Mark Preston. How big of a win does he really need tonight? There are 95 Republican delegates at stake in New York. He'd like to get as many of them as possible. There is a possibility, if he does really incredibly well, he could wind up with almost all of them.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: He could wind up with almost all of them.

[13:05:00] Look, he needs a decisive win for two reasons. One, he needs the number in order to get to 1,237. If you look at the numbers right now, he has to win about 62 percent of the remaining delegates that are left on the board. A win in New York tonight, a decisive win, would help chip away at that.

But he also needs momentum. Momentum that will propel him into the five states that will vote next week. Those include Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania. A big win in New York. Similar type of voters in these states would help Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Because if he does really well today and he does well in those five states a week from today, that would certainly help. And the polls show that Ted Cruz is actually in third place right now going into the race. Obviously, that could change as the Republicans go out and vote. But he needs to emerge today and next week in relatively good shape to keep this going, even if he's not going to be able, mathematically himself, on the first ballot, to get to 1,237.

PRESTON: Right. What Ted Cruz doesn't want to have to happen is that he loses so decisively in New York that it does affect him next week, that people see a slowing of momentum in his only path, is a contested convention.

Now, we pretty much know that that is the case. If you look at what he needs to do to win outright, he would need to win 89 percent of the remaining delegates. Wolf, that is almost an impossibility.

But Ted Cruz, when he made that comment about New York values a couple of months ago, he was sending a message. New York voters were not necessarily the voters he was counting on. It is now coming back to bite him.

BLITZER: The polls show that John Kasich, the Ohio Governor, has only carried his home state of Ohio. He's actually in second place going into the elections -- into the primary today. But he really hasn't won anything since Ohio. That's the only state he's won and he's way down in delegates. Mathematically, he doesn't have a chance of getting that nomination --

PRESTON: Right.

BLITZER: -- on the first ballot. But he's staying put. He's staying in this race.

PRESTON: He's staying in this race. And what he's hoping tonight in New York is that he gets enough -- more gasoline, is able to pick up enough delegates to keep his campaign at least viable to his supporters, specifically in the states that are coming forward.

For John Kasich though, in many ways, he's not looking, obviously, at winning this at 1,237. As you said, he would have to win 142 percent of the remaining delegates which is an improbability, impossibility. What he wants is that contested convention. He wants Donald Trump, Ted Cruz to bang heads, to be knocked around so much and for John Kasich to come out of it in Cleveland and say, listen, I am the uniter of the party.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to what the former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, had to say earlier this morning on CNN. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: I also believe, if he's within 20-30 of the nomination. They have got to give it to him.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CO-HOST, "NEW DAY": It's not the rule.

GIULIANI: I know but they're going to change other rules so why don't they change that rule?

Also, one of the points --

CUOMO: That's a pretty fundamental rule though. I mean, as a -- nobody knows rules like you. You were a U.S. attorney. But I'm saying, you know, that's your magic number of showing that you have the right percentage of 50 percent plus --

GIULIANI: Right.

CUOMO: -- in delegates. That's not like a procedural rule.

GIULIANI: Well, I'm not so sure about that. I mean, you can be elected mayor of New York with 42 percent of the vote. I mean, there are plenty of places where plurality is election.

CUOMO: Plurality is enough.

GIULIANI: So, just because it's a rule, doesn't mean it's fair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Yes, he says he's voted for Donald Trump even though --

PRESTON: Right.

BLITZER: -- he insists he's not formally endorsing Donald Trump or going out campaigning for Donald Trump. Although, I did hear him say he wants his friends to vote for Donald Trump. They've been friends for many years.

Is that realistic though, what he's suggesting the RNC could wind up, the rules committee, a week before the Republican convention in Cleveland, and change that rule so you don't need that 1,237? If you come just short, you're still going to get the nomination?

PRESTON: And that's the big fight we're going to see play out over the next couple months and certainly into Cleveland. But a lot of folks are saying, that are supporters of Trump, is that if he comes within 20 or 30 delegates, should he just basically be given it? You know, Rudy Giuliani might not be correct that it might not be fair, in many ways, because he's gotten so close.

But the rules are the rules. You know, the deck of cards was already shuffled before the game began. And I think that that is enough that Donald Trump will have to get to 1,237 to win it outright or to take it to the convention and win it in a contested convention fight.

BLITZER: Mark Preston, thanks very much. It's going to be a long night for you. It's going to be a long night for me.

PRESTON: As well as yourself.

BLITZER: The entire CNN political team that will be covering all of these elections throughout the day and into the evening, well into the evening. All right, thanks very much, Mark, for that.

PRESTON: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, can Hillary Clinton clinch a win in New York and end some of Bernie Sanders momentum which has been significant in recent weeks? And take a look at this. These are live pictures of a polling station in Lancaster, New York. That's right outside of Buffalo. Much more on the coverage of the New York primary right after this.

[13:09:39]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Right now, voters across the state of New York, they're heading to the polls. Take a look at this. We're getting some live pictures in, voters in Brooklyn and in Staten Island. The turnout is going to be a key factor. We'll watch that closely right now.

Hillary Clinton is hoping today's New York primary will mark the end of Bernie Sanders' winning streak which has been impressive in the past few weeks. Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former President Bill Clinton, they voted at an elementary school in Chappaqua in New York. That's outside of New York City. That's where they have a home. Afterwards, she headed to a trade union conference here in Washington, D.C. She promised to support organized labor and took aim directly at the Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: The Republican front-runner for president actually says wages are too high in America. Now, I've said before, I do not know who he's talking to because Americans deserve a raise. Yet Republicans and governors and their legislators across the country are waging a relentless assault on workers' rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now from New York is Chirlane McCray. She's the first lady of New York City, a strong Hillary Clinton supporter. Thanks so much for joining us. What are your expectations? How do you think Secretary Clinton will do today in New York?

CHIRLANE MCCRAY: I think she's going to do fantastic. I went to vote for her this morning and it was really just so exciting to be voting for the most qualified candidate for president in history. And I'm so happy to be voting for a woman.

[13:15:09] It's quite something to vote for someone who has a different perspective on some of the changes we need. Some -- some of the changes in terms of the minimum wage, pay equity, domestic violence, family leave and the list goes on. She's a bold progressive and a bold progressive who actually knows how to get things done.

BLITZER: Senator Sanders, he was out in midtown Manhattan earlier today. He spoke with an independent voter who actually can't vote because these are closed primaries. Only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary, only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary. Senator Sanders took the opportunity, though, to criticize the voting rules in New York state. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Three million people in the state of New York who are independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary. That's wrong. You're paying for this election administered by this state. You have a right to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

SANDERS: And that's a very -- that's a very unfortunate thing, which I hope will change --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SANDERS: In the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think of that argument that Senator Sanders is making?

MCCRAY: Well, I think that everyone should have an opportunity to vote. And, you know, we need voting reform. We need it -- we need it desperately. There's been no investment in anything that has to do with voting in this country for years and years. We need -- we need early voting and we need next day, you know, early registration. We need -- there's so much we need to do. And that's why we need a strong president. A strong, progressive president who knows how to get work done. And that's Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: Because, you know, in some states, the Democratic primaries are open. Independents, for example, can get out there and vote for a Democratic presidential candidate. You think that should change in New York. Would you like to see it open or remain closed?

MCCRAY: I think open is better. I really do.

BLITZER: All right, so that's your opinion on that. You agree. The senator said, that's not going to happen this time. We'll see if that changes in four years.

You have described Senator Sanders campaign as, in your words, "getting desperate." What examples of that desperation do you see?

MCCRAY: Well, I think this latest episode with the FEC and accusations of misconduct is one example. I think if he has a problem with that, he should have gone to the FEC and not to the media and not to the DNC. And all of this -- all of these -- these, I don't know, accusations that he tends to make, which take away from -- really take away from the serious issues we need to be talking about. You know, whether or not she should release a speech that she made years ago really takes away from -- from what -- the things that we should be talking about, like gun control and how to unify this country.

BLITZER: Because I don't know if you listen to it, but in a Sirius XM radio interview, Senator Sanders' wife Jane accused the Clinton campaign of distorting his record, misrepresenting his positions. I don't know if you heard that, but your response?

MCCRAY: I did not hear that. I did not hear it.

BLITZER: All right, so then you don't want to respond to that.

MCCRAY: No.

BLITZER: But, in general -- in general, you're a New Yorker. What do you think of the tone? How this campaign -- it clearly has escalated over these past several weeks and months, culminating almost last Thursday in that Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn. I assume you watched that very carefully.

MCCRAY: I did. I did. And I -- you know, I think there's just so much at stake now with this election, and I'm really happy that we're here in New York and it's a diverse state and we're getting so much attention and they really asked the hard questions. I think that that's what is escalating the emotion a bit because Bernie has shown that he really doesn't have solutions for many of the problems that we face. And some of the problems he's brought up, he just does not have solutions. And that makes it tough. I think he feels a little threatened. Hillary has more votes, more states, more delegates, more super delegates and she's got -- there's so much tremendous enthusiasm out there for her. It's -- it may be quieter, and not as theatrical, but I felt it yesterday at the rally, I felt it last week when I was at Medgar (ph). It's just -- it's just amazing. And I know that she's going to be our -- our next president.

BLITZER: Chirlane McCray is the first lady of New York City. Clearly a very strong Hillary Clinton supporter. Thanks so much for joining us.

MCCRAY: Thank you.

[13:19:51] BLITZER: Take a look at this. We're getting some more live pictures coming in from New York right now as voters head to the poll to vote in the state's crucial primary. Earlier, Bernie Sanders, he took a stroll through the streets of New York City before hitting the campaign trail in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary is a week from today. Is that a sign he's giving up on New York, that he's already moving on? We're going to talk with a strong Bernie Sanders' supporter. The former NAACP president, Ben Jealous, he's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Right now voting underway in New York state. You're looking at live pictures coming in from Lancaster, New York. That's just outside of Buffalo. A total of 342 delegates, Democrat and Republican, they are at stake in the state's primary today. A critically important day in the race for the White House.

[13:25:02] Senator Bernie Sanders is looking ahead to one of the next big states out there on the presidential primary calendar. We're talking about Pennsylvania. He's holding a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the next hour. Sanders and his wife also made one last push for votes in New York earlier this morning, walking the streets of midtown Manhattan. Both Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they have New York ties. She was a senator from New York state for eight years. He was born in Brooklyn.

Ben Jealous is a former president of the NAACP. He's a Bernie Sanders supporter. He's joining us from Baltimore right now.

Ben, thanks very much for joining us. What are your expectations about today's Democratic primary?

BEN JEALOUS, SANDERS SUPPORTER: You know, look, we are surging and we're surging because people have really, you know, come together across races, across ages. I mean we have these young activists throughout the state who have been door knocking and calling, joined by older activists. And this campaign really from the beginning has been fueled on faith. You know, we stepped out there. Folks said that we were a joke. I mean as recently as two months ago, we were down 48 points in New York. We will do much better than that. We could actually win. But, you know, we will come in much closer, I think, than most folks thought was even possible.

BLITZER: Well, do you think you will win? Because, as you know, the senator has complained, a lot of his supporters have complained, that only registered Democrats can vote. That independents can't vote because they didn't register as Democrats before the deadline. And that clearly is a source of a lot of his support, the independent voter out there.

JEALOUS: Look, the deadline was last October, which is one of the most extremely, kind of long deadlines that you'll see in any state. I mean here, you know, I'm down here in Baltimore. We're south of the Mason Dixon. And you can still sign up to vote at least through this Thursday, through the 21st, when the early voting period ends. In fact, you can sign up to vote and do your early voting right at the same time. So for New York to require people to have changed last October is a bit crazy, quite -- quite frankly. It's less than a closed primary. It's more, quite frankly, typical New York voting laws that try to make it hard to challenge the status quo.

With that said, we've seen lots of Democrats shift. We've seen polls suggesting we're surging with black men. We're actually beating Hillary by 23 points with black men who are 54, you know, and, you know, down to 18. So a much older, not just voters under 30, but voters under 55. And so, yes, we could win. But as you know, this is all about turnout. It will all come down to who turns out, who shows up. But things will be much closer than folks thought were possible. We, frankly, expect to draw even unearned delegates in this state.

BLITZER: Pledge delegates you're talking about. Even though she has a significant lead among those so-called super delegates. The fact that he's already campaigning today in Erie, Pennsylvania, is that a sign that maybe he's already moving on, sort of maybe, as some have suggested, giving up on New York?

JEALOUS: Look, I think that's crazy. She's down in D.C., you know, talking to her -- you know, her donors, the trade unions that have supported her. He's in Pennsylvania talking to voters. The reality is that voters are going to the polls in New York and both campaigns have responded by, you know, focusing on their, you know, frankly focusing on winning the next states. And, you know, one thing that's, I think, best about our campaign is that you will never see him divert for a fundraiser. You'll never see him, frankly, make a call to a donor. I've traveled with him from state to state. We focus on the people because we're funded by the people.

BLITZER: Because a lot of her supporters say, you know what, in addition to raising money for her own campaign, she's also raising a lot of money for other Democrats, House races, Senate races, down ballot races. And they complain that Bernie Sanders is only raising money for his presidential campaign. He's not doing anything to help other Democrats. What's your reaction to that?

JEALOUS: Well, first of all, that's not true. We have begun to raise funds for down ballot folks. We're also funded week to week. We do week to week fund raising. So we don't do all this fundraising in advance. But, quite frankly, we haven't seen, though, that money that she's raised go to down ballot candidates yet. We've seen about a third of it -- about a third of it going to fundraising, it's funneled back to her own campaign. We've raised concerns, you know, with the DNC about this. We've never seen this before. Usually this money's held in a locked box for down ballot races, but instead it's being funneled back, about a third of it, into her campaign to help, frankly, acquire new donors for her campaign. And one of the most disturbing things is that the lawyer for the DNC is the lawyer for her campaign. So there seems to be a clear conflict there. So, look, you know, I mean all that stuff will be fleshed out, but right now, to be clear, when we raise money online for down ballot candidates, we send it to them. We have not seen her campaign do that yet.

BLITZER: Because basically so far you've only sent money to those Democratic candidates who have endorsed Bernie Sanders. That's the -- the criticism. You've heard that.

[13:30:01] JEALOUS: Well, I mean, the -- you know, what we've also seen, right, with all these super delegates is that most of the Democratic folks who are in office, who are super delegates, pledged to her before this race even started. And so there's a bit of that on both sides.