What do devastating polls mean for the midterms?
Fox News Poll: 62 percent of Americans lack confidence in Obama's leadership
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," October 28, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Bill Burton is executive vice president and managing director of the Global Strategy Group and a former White House deputy press secretary and Obama campaign veteran. We'll begin with Bill, although it will be so fun to have you guys debate because --
BILL BURTON, GLOBAL STRATEGY GROUP: I agree.
KELLY: There's no way you like each other.
No, sorry, Bill.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: All right. Let's start with this.
BURTON: I love him.
KELLY: First let me get you -- your broad brush view. Do you agree that the Democrats are likely to lose the Senate?
BURTON: Look, what I think is amazing -- I think it's definitely possible. But what I think is amazing is that given the polls that you just showed and the polls that everybody already knows, that we're still talking about races like Georgia and Kentucky and Arkansas and Louisiana and North Carolina. Considering that the environment is so bad for Democrats and at the president is not as popular as he was once, you would think that states like that would be completely off the map at this point.
But the truth is there's so very much in play, you've got very close elections given the strength of our candidates and the strength of those campaigns, and I think they come election night, there is a path to victory for Democrats all be it a narrow one.
KELLY: Why do you thing the environment is so bad for Democrats?
BURTON: Well, it's a lot of things. I think that on the economy, even though the numbers are getting better, the jobs picture is improving, the stock market is going up, middle class Americans don't feel that. Their wages are stagnant and you know, as a result, I think that depresses how people feel about the economy overall.
And then you've got ISIS, you've got Ebola, you've got all these world crises that are happening. It's hard for people to feel really good about the direction of the country when it just feels that things aren't going that great.
KELLY: Do you agree with David Axelrod that it was a mistake for President Obama to say that his policies are on the ballot even though he's not?
BURTON: Well, you know, I didn't see exactly what David said.
KELLY: He said it was a mistake.
BURTON: Yeah, that general sentiment I do agree with, because at the end of the day what politicians often get wrong is it's not even about the actual names that are on the ballot. When a voter walks into the ballot box, they're voting on themselves, they're voting for their families and their communities and that's what voters are thinking.
And so -- yeah, I think if the president can get those words back, he probably would admit that it was a misfire and maybe try to reframe them, but at the end of the day these races are about the individuals who are going into the ballot box and you know, that's why I think the Democrats are still in the game because voters generally see Democrats as more on their side than the Republican candidates.
KELLY: What do you think of the top three races that are being prioritized right now in terms of money and other means by Democrats?
BURTON: Well, what are the top three that are being prioritized? Well, I would say that if we're talking about the top three that are being prioritized by Democrats, you have to look at North Carolina where $100 million has been spent so far in that race. It's a tremendous amount of money, and the fact that Kay Hagan is up a couple of points or tied is unbelievable and a real testament to the kind of campaign that she's run.
Kentucky, you know a state where you've got this Republican majority leader running, millions and millions of dollars have been spent in that race, she's the most unpopular senator in the United States Senate right now, and that's why Alison Grimes has really stayed in it. She's run a great campaign, but also Mitch McConnell is really unpopular and folks are looking for a change there. And so you see a real realignment in that state as a result.
KELLY: What do you mean?
BURTON: And then --
KELLY: Yes, sorry, go ahead.
BURTON: Well, I was going to say you know, and another race the Democrats are watching very closely, me myself, very interested in, in Georgia where Michelle Nunn has run an amazing campaign. I don't think anybody would have thought six months ago let alone two months ago, that we'd still be talking about this race today. And it's in part because of all the voters they were able to register down there, over 125,000 so far, and because she just run a strong campaign and David Perdue has really been hurt by the outsourcing attacks that come against him, not that dissimilar to what happened to Mitt Romney in 2012.
KELLY: Bill Burton, good to see you. Thank you.
BURTON: Good to see you, Megyn.
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