Gillibrand Drops out of Race; Georgia Senate Seats up for Grabs
CAMEROTA: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the latest Democrat to leave the presidential race after failing to make the debate stage next month. So what does this mean for the other candidates and the future of the race? By that I mean the presidential race not --</s>BERMAN: Not the human race?</s>CAMEROTA: Not the human race.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you for clarifying that.</s>CAMEROTA: Back with us is Frank Bruni, Sarah Isgur, and John Avlon. John, is this a harbinger of something? I mean the fact that Kirsten Gillibrand was one of the first to go of this crowded field, what do you make of it?</s>AVLON: Gillibrand-mentum never happened, but its spirit lives on. Now, I -- I think that, look, this was a candidacy that never really took off. It was on her, I think, YOLO to do list. It didn't --</s>CAMEROTA: But just on that note for one second --</s>AVLON: And lots of people run for president simply because it's something they want to cross off a list apparently.</s>CAMEROTA: OK. But, I mean, her -- I think that her issue or the market that she wanted to corner was women's issues --</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: And the Me Too moment. And I guess those just didn't catch fire.</s>AVLON: I wouldn't -- I wouldn't blame it on the moment or the -- as much as perhaps the messenger. I do think there was a bit of blowback she faced within the party for the decisive role she played in forcing Al Franken out. I think that looks a little bit different in retrospect than it did at the -- at the heat of the moment. But I don't think that can account for her candidacy. Look, she definitely tried to frame everything through not only women's issues but mom's issues. And that's an issue that should be relatable, but just didn't quite connect. But this is a very broad field. She didn't have a totally distinct lane. There are a lot of senators running, a lot of very -- you know, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar and other folks who are going to be on the debate stage. I don't think she will be particularly missed because she never particularly caught fire.</s>BERMAN: I will note two things. One -- sorry, Frank, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I think she thought she could win. I mean Gillibrand --</s>FRANK BRUNI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Sure.</s>BERMAN: And John Hickenlooper are two candidates who got in the race thinking they had a chance to win.</s>BRUNI: Sure.</s>BERMAN: Unlike some others there. So I think their departure is significant. I have another thought, but I didn't mean to cut you off.</s>BRUNI: No, it's just -- I think there is a larger lesson in her exit from the race, which is, when you put one issue -- you mentioned Me Too in that. When you put one issue very far in the foreground, you risk coming across as a one-issue candidate. And look at somebody else who dropped out, Jay Inslee. He said my entire candidacy is about climate change. She didn't always say this, but she gave the impression, my candidacy is founded on, grounded in, you know, Me Too women's issues. And those are important things that matter to voters. But I think voters understand, they want in their politician, in their presidential candidates a much kind of more diverse and broader pallet of issues.</s>BERMAN: Sarah, there are 20 candidates left at this point, I think. It could be 21. I forget every once in a while.</s>CAMEROTA: Math is not his strength.</s>SARAH ISGUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Are you running?</s>BERMAN: But the point -- but the point is -- but the point is, with Gillibrand out, are we going to be down to ten effectively? Is it just going to be the candidates on the debate stage? Is there every reason to think we're going to get more announcements in the next several days?</s>ISGUR: Yes. And whether we get more announcements or not, we're down to ten. There may be one or two more candidates that actually can qualify for the October debate, as we've seen. The October debate rules will be the same as the September debate but just give you another month to qualify. But, even so, I think this will look like the debate stage. And it would be smart for other candidates to drop out at this point. What I think we saw with Senator Gillibrand is the downside of running for president. It doesn't always help you. And I think she came off poorly in this race. I agree with Frank entirely that a one- issue campaign usually doesn't work very well. But I think in particular with this, it came off as a caricature. There are other women running for president who were able to talk about all of the issues. But for Senator Gillibrand, it sounded like a caricature of a female candidate, like she was pandering. Democrats are up with women by 30 points and none of them were that interested in Senator Gillibrand. So I think that should speak to the moment. They're ready for a female candidate, they want a female nominee, but they want a female nominee who's just running for president, not a female nominee.</s>CAMEROTA: John, I'm just curious, for the other 10 candidates who are not going to make the stage, the debate stage --</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: Are they running for vice president? Are they running for cabinet positions? I mean what is their play now?</s>AVLON: Look, I don't -- I don't think you stay in a race simply to run for vice president. You need to show some momentum. But I think there's also another question about whether they -- they're staying in the race adds something that the Democrats don't currently have. We've talked about this before, but the fact that there are currently -- there's only one governor left running for president is a big deal. You want folks who can run in red states and win swing states and so that's why I think Bullock should stay in despite the fact he hasn't -- because he's got his own lane.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, I hear you, but to what end?</s>AVLON: Because I -- because he still has his own lane and I think he could make that -- the debate stage. Tom Steyer is going to stay in because he's got all the money in the world, apparently.</s>BERMAN: He can buy his own lane.</s>AVLON: Yes, he can buy his own lane.</s>BRUNI: Bullock is staying in for another reason, I think. Bullock is staying in for the same reason that Bennet is staying in, that Tim Ryan is staying in, which is, while you've got two progressives, Bernie and Elizabeth, doing very well, Joe Biden, there's a sense --</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>BRUNI: Will he go the distance? Will he falter? And there are people who want to be the moderate alternative should Biden falter.</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>BRUNI: The question is, can they stay in long enough that if that falter happens, they're still around?</s>BERMAN: So with all due respect to Senator Gillibrand, an even bigger development yesterday may have been the announced retirement of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, stepping down at the end of the year for health reasons. And this means there will be two open Senate seats in Georgia, which is getting swingier in 2020, Sarah. So as a Republican looking at this, and we know that one or two Senate seats could tip the balance of power depending on how the numbers shake out, how concerned should Republicans be that control of the Senate is in jeopardy?</s>ISGUR: This is a big test for both parties. And we also have a race in Texas as well. There are two open seats. You can't really blame this on candidates at this point because you're going to have two options. Can the parties, you know, work this out in Georgia? And I think that there will be a ton of money spent in Georgia. A lot of that -- this will, in a lot of ways, be its own presidential race in Georgia now. I think it's a huge deal for Texas and Georgia to show whether they are, in fact, turning purple. I think all indications are that they haven't been up until now. Texas in particular, tons of money. Every two years someone says it's turning purple and the Republican wins by sometimes double digits. But with Trump on the ticket, and two open seats in Georgia, ooof (ph), I think that that's going to cost both parties a lot.</s>AVLON: Yes, but let's just -- reality check Georgia for a second. Obviously it's in the deep south. There hasn't been -- folks haven't been able to flip it. But Donald Trump's approval rating in Georgia is 40 percent, 56 percent disapprove. That's stunning for a state in the south. The question will be, does Stacey Abrams, who said again yesterday she's not getting in, can she be persuaded? Because that, I think, changes the dynamic on the ground for the presidential, as well as those critical Senate seats. And if Democrats don't win the Senate, but they win the presidency, it could be pyric (ph) victory for them in terms of the changes they want to make.</s>BERMAN: But if they can't win either open seat in Georgia --</s>AVLON: It's a problem.</s>BERMAN: It shows that maybe -- maybe, you know, the purple notion of Georgia isn't as true as people think it might be. But we don't know yet. Frank, Sarah, John, thank you. All right, so it had people waiting in line for hours and then it sold out. So is Popeyes chicken sandwich craze, is it a true phenomenon or savvy marketing or option "c," something we haven't even thought about? All right, NEW DAY's senior chicken expert Harry Enten joins us to break down the numbers.</s>CAMEROTA: I hope he's bringing some research.