Surprise Michigan Loss for Clinton; Sanders Edges Clinton
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Here in Miami. That's going to be huge, as well. Sean (ph), it's great to see you. Thank you so much.</s>SEAN: Thank you.</s>BOLDUAN: John Berman will be joining me here tomorrow, everyone, so prepare yourself. But right now, let's hand it over. Our special coverage continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.</s>ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW. And once again the voters, not the pollsters, not the pundits, and certainly not the candidates have told us what is going on in this presidential race. Sweeping three out of four Republican contests, making up this week's Super Tuesday, Donald Trump gains another 72 delegates with 57 going to Ted Cruz, who won Idaho yesterday, and 17 to John Kasich, who hasn't won anything but came in a close third in Michigan. Marco Rubio didn't get enough votes anywhere yesterday to win anything but that big zero. For Trump, this puts to rest, at least for now, talk that party elders might finally be getting some sort of traction with their kitchen sink attempt to bring that frontrunner down. That's not to say that Trump's rivals are letting up any. In fact, this morning, Ted Cruz showed off his newest endorsements in the way of former GOP candidate Carly Fiorina.</s>CARLY FIORINA (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin. They're not going to reform the system. They are the system. So when the establishment says Ted Cruz is too conservative, he's too much of a fighter, he won't get along, I say, you go, Ted.</s>BANFIELD: On the Democratic side, these numbers don't tell the story. Hillary Clinton picked up 88 delegates in Michigan yesterday, and in Mississippi, in those primaries. Bernie Sanders won 72. And counting those uncontested super delegates, Secretary Clinton now is past the magical halfway point in the race for the nomination. The Mississippi vote was a blowout. Whoo. Those are the numbers she really likes to see. These are the numbers she does not. This is Michigan, folks. Michigan was a bombshell. A close yet stunning come from behind win for Bernie Sanders, who says coming from behind is his specialty.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We started this campaign, as many will remember, ten months ago. We were 60 or 70 points down in the polls. And yet we have - what we have seen is in poll after poll, state after state, what we have done is created the kind of momentum that we need to win.</s>BANFIELD: So now all eyes are on Super Tuesday number three with almost 700 Democratic delegates up for grabs on that day. Republicans will fight over 367 delegates. Still pretty super because many of which are going to come from Rubio's home state of Florida, where Trump is leading in our latest polls, and not by just a little. In Kasich's home state of Ohio, guess what, yet again, Trump is leading in our very latest polls. Joining me here in New York is senior adviser and spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton campaign, Karen Finney. I am sure that you have been deluged with this questions since about midnight last night.</s>KAREN FINNEY, SR. SPOKESWOMAN, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Bring it on. Yes.</s>BANFIELD: What happened in Michigan? You did not expect that?</s>FINNEY: Well, you know, look, we knew that this was a make or break state for Senator Sanders. I mean they have been talking about that for some time. They outspent us. They had more folks on the ground. So, obviously, they - they fought hard and we congratulate them for that. I - but I do think it's important to point out, we still are quite far - as you pointed out in your opening, we're quite far ahead when we talk about pledged delegates. So in terms of - at the end of the day, you know, this nomination is about winning delegates. So we -</s>BANFIELD: You're right.</s>FINNEY: So -</s>BANFIELD: And you do have the numbers on your side.</s>FINNEY: No, but just - I just don't want us to lose sight of that fact.</s>BANFIELD: I know. I hear you. but I'm negative Nancy, so I'm going to come in with a little push back here.</s>FINNEY: OK. OK.</s>BANFIELD: And that is this. You may have the numbers now, and those are great numbers. I guarantee you, you're more than halfway, but things can change and Bernie says he's the come from behind kid.</s>FINNEY: Sure.</s>BANFIELD: So when I say that, Mrs. Clinton went hard on the bailout attack and the people of Michigan spoke loud. It didn't work. Does she need to retool her message as she moves on to states like Ohio?</s>FINNEY: Yes, I don't know if we know that to be honest with you because one of the thing we saw, and I think people - there were some differences between who made up their mind about two weeks ago versus who made up their minds in the last few days. And, look, it's still - it's an important issue. We think that it's important that people know, you know, when it came to allocating the money to save the auto industry, he wasn't there on that vote. So -</s>BANFIELD: Because he didn't like the connection to Wall Street that it would bring.</s>FINNEY: That's fine. And that is the case for him to make.</s>BANFIELD: Yes.</s>FINNEY: You know, he's made - on the crime bill, for example, he said he voted for it but there were things in it he didn't like. So he can make that case. One last point -</s>BANFIELD: Yes.</s>FINNEY: I do want to say too, the second part of your question, though. Obviously there is more to talk about in terms of our economic message and how to create jobs and how to increase incomes. And we - and you are going to hear more of that as we go into these next states.</s>BANFIELD: I think you're right. And I'm assuming that you guys are looking at our numbers real closely when we put them up on the screen. And exit polls are mana, you know, in terms of what these voters are thinking, especially in the rust belt. Let me throw up a couple of exit polls with regard to how Bernie Sanders outperformed Secretary Clinton in Michigan. When they were asked about if they were very worried about the U.S. economy, 56 percent of them went for Sanders, instead of 41 for Clinton. When they were asked if they believe international trade takes away American jobs, 58 percent -</s>FINNEY: Sure.</s>BANFIELD: You know, voted for Sanders, next to Clinton's 41. And then this most important priority, whether it was, you know, being honest and trustworthy, Sanders ran away with that one.</s>FINNEY: Yes.</s>BANFIELD: Eighty percent of them went for Sanders, as opposed to 19 percent for Secretary Clinton. So I know you've seen numbers somewhat like this before, but now that you've seen them in the place where you're going on Tuesday, I mean this is really the same geography. Are you going to have to -</s>FINNEY: You mean Michigan from yesterday, yes.</s>BANFIELD: Michigan from yesterday.</s>FINNEY: Yes.</s>BANFIELD: You're heading to Ohio. Are you going to have to take into account this kind of thing and start tooling the message directly to fight those numbers?</s>FINNEY: Well, there's a couple of things. I mean, obviously, trade is an important issue and Senator Sanders spent a lot of time talking about the '90s and attacking Hillary for her husband's record, but he didn't talk a lot about what he would do now and in the future. So we think that's an important conversation to have. He also didn't talk that much about her record as senator, when she actually had a vote. She did vote against trade agreements. She did vote against CAFTA (ph). But, again, that's one part of the economic picture and the economic message. So, absolutely, we are going to talk about things like, you know, how to create jobs, how to increase incomes. And I guess, you know, the other piece that I want to talk about here is, I mean, when you've had the amount of money, sustained money, being spent against you, undermining you, attacking you, you are going to see those - you might see those kinds of numbers. So, obviously, that's, I think, a factor we have to take into account and I think the Sanders campaign should be asking themselves, you know, when they have that kind of attack coming at them, are they going to be able to, you know, sustain that kind of lead? Bu, most importantly, as we go into next Tuesday's states, the Sander campaign had the opportunity - they need to know, I think, that they can put together a winning coalition of voters. They say they're come behind. That's great. Let's see if that bears itself out next Tuesday. One of the thing I think that's so important about what we saw last night, not just in that landslide in Mississippi, but still again in Michigan, as well because, again, it was very close. Hillary has been able to put together a coalition of voters, and that is how you win an election, both in the primary and in the general. You cannot win the presidency in this country - I know Donald Trump likes to say otherwise - without African-Americans, Latinos, women. You simply can't. So he's, I think, still got to show that he's capable of putting that coalition together effectively.</s>BALDWIN: OK. Book your calendar for Wednesday right here.</s>FINNEY: You got it.</s>BALDWIN: OK. Let's talk Wednesday of next week after Super Tuesday.</s>FINNEY: You got it. We'll do it.</s>BANFIELD: We'll see if that works. Karen Finney, thank you. Do appreciate you coming in.</s>FINNEY: Absolutely.</s>BANFIELD: So, from the University of Miami, I am now pleased to welcome Jonathon Tasini with the other side of this whole argument. He's a political strategist and author from "The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America." And I think by the motion, you know, of that cover we can assume pretty clearly he supports Bernie Sanders for president. Thank you so much, Jonathan. It's nice to have you on the program again. I guess you weren't expecting to be on the show with me today talking about what happened in Michigan last night.</s>JONATHAN TASINI, AUTHOR, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Well, we might have been talking about a different result -</s>BANFIELD: Yes.</s>TASINI: But, actually, I'm not that surprised Ashleigh.</s>BANFIELD: Really?</s>TASINI: For - for - for a few reasons. And I'll tell you why. I want to start, first of all, by what - repeating what Bernie said last night and congratulating the thousands and thousands of activists out there because you are the backbone of this campaign. And they are the people that deluge Michigan with phone calls from all over the country, trying to basically put forth to the voters there that Bernie Sanders - and the reason I support - is the most authentic politician that we've had in my lifetime. And I think that very much resonated with the voters. The second thing that happened, and I felt this right at that debate, when the Clinton campaign lied about Bernie Sanders' position on the bailout, it gave Bernie a chance to talk about the far more important, the far as important -</s>BANFIELD: But it wasn't a lie. I think that's unfair, Jonathan. Come on, that wasn't a lie, it was just - it perhaps wasn't couched (ph) appropriately.</s>TASINI: He didn't - no - no, it was an - it was - I would say it was a lie because I think they absolutely knew what the facts were about the auto bailout. And in Michigan and Ohio, and industrial states, people care very much about the question of trade and certainly in NAFTA (ph).</s>BANFIELD: OK.</s>TASINI: And Hillary Clinton has sided with corporate interests all along the way. So - wait a minute, let me finish.</s>BANFIELD: All right, I'm listening.</s>TASINI: Supporting NAFTA, which has cost people thousands - tens of thousands of jobs and has depressed the middle class livelihood. And I think what happened was, people saw, on the one hand, a man named Bernie Sanders authentic, a man of principals versus someone - and you pointed out in our exit polls that Hillary Clinton is not trustworthy because now, in the wake of this victory in Michigan, and your former guest was saying this, they have to figure out how to retool their campaign. The problem is, they can't sell their product because it's not based on principles.</s>BANFIELD: All right, I've got a couple of polls that I want to read for you right now going forward and I know that you're probably going to say to me polls, schmolls, look what happened in Michigan last night. But as you look forward, and this is what I was talking to Karen Finney about -</s>TASINI: Go - hit me with it. Go ahead.</s>BANFIELD: I'm going to hit you with them. As we look forward to states like Illinois, to states like Ohio, to states like Florida, it looks kind of bleak, if you look at the polls, and more so than Michigan. You know, Clinton is over Sanders 67-25 in Illinois. She's over Sanders 63-33 in Ohio. And in Florida, the most critical, that's a winner take all as well, well it's Republicans, I beg your pardon, she's leading Bernie Sanders 61-34. That says 33 right there, but I wanted to talk about the Florida, was 61-34. There it is.</s>TASINI: Sure.</s>BANFIELD: So you've got to admit that while Michigan was a huge upset last night, do you expect to have upset after upset after upset in these other landslide like polling places?</s>TASINI: So because it's - I'm in Florida and because spring training is in this air, let me quote that great philosopher Yoggi Berra. It's deja vu all over again. If you look at all the contests going back to Iowa, we started 25, 30, 40 points behind. Nevada, which essentially was very, very close, Bernie was 25 points behind five weeks out from the election. It's astounding for someone in many ways to make up that ground. But the reason is, and it's what Jeff Weaver said earlier on your show on CNN, every time Bernie - people hear - every time voters hear Bernie's message about inequality, about the corporations taking over our livelihood, about billionaires controlling the election process, the polls narrow. And so to me it's a question of the calendar. Do I think we can win Florida in seven days? Absolutely, yes. And I'll tell you right now, I've been meeting with people and I'm going to go over to the office in a little bit, there are hundreds if not thousands of people around the state and outside the state that are making phone calls into Florida, doing voter contact. And that's what makes the difference, not the polls.</s>BANFIELD: Let me ask you this, Jonathan. I'm curious that - whenever I - CNN Money sits behind me in the newsroom here and I hear them talking all the time about how things are going so well. How - I mean gas prices down below $2 a gallon in most places in the country. The Dow is up. Unemployment is way down. And yet I am so curious as to how Bernie Sanders' message of, your life stinks economically and the exit polls show people are the most concerned about the economy, there's a disconnect here. Why is this happening?</s>TASINI: Well, no, there's not a disconnect. Just because we're making a lot of stuff in this country does not mean that the average person is doing well. So if you're making a lot of stuff and the GDP is going up, most of that wealth, as Bernie has pointed out, has been going to the top 1 percent. The average person who's working one or two jobs with very little health care, they have no pension to look forward to, they are very worried because, at the end of the day, at the kitchen table, when they look at trying to pay the bills, they can't do it. They're in deep debt. Young people, particularly who have flocked to Bernie's campaign, are burdened with student debt. The real life reality of people, not Wall Street, not what we're reading about in the Dow, it very, very difficult. And Bernie has put forth a very clear plan on how to solve those problems.</s>BANFIELD: All right, Jonathan Tasini, nice to have you. I so appreciate you in baseball land coming out to join us live. Take care.</s>TASINI: Appreciate - good to be with you.</s>BANFIELD: Always good to be with you. Sanders and Clinton go head to head tonight. Big reminder here, one night after what happened in Michigan is likely not to stay in Michigan. Less than one week, too, until a critical Tuesday, yet another critical Tuesday. It is a Univision Democratic presidential debate airing tonight here on CNN as well at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Can you say awkward? I can't imagine what those opening shots are going to look like on that debate stage tonight. I will be watching. And on the Republican side, it was a huge night for Donald Trump. And that means the math is getting even tougher and tougher for any other Republican to get the nomination. Next, the battle between Trump's supporters and the people who are spending millions upon millions to stop him. Also this hour, live pictures coming into us from Santa Monica, California, where members - family members of former First Lady Nancy Reagan are holding a private service to remember her. From there she will lie in repose at the Reagan Library before her funeral on Friday. We're going to have a look back at her incredible legacy coming just ahead.