CBS "Face the Nation" - Transcript: Midterm Elections

Interview

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BRENNAN: We're back with another look at what's going on within the Democratic Party.

Last week, we spoke with New York Congressman Joe Crowley, who lost his primary in a stunning upset to a political novice.

This week, we welcome the woman who beat him, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is in Kansas campaigning for Democratic candidates, along with a very familiar figure in the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders.

Welcome to FACE THE NATION.

It's great to see you both side by side.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, you have said it was Senator Sanders who really inspired you to enter the political race in the first place. What is it like for you to be out there campaigning alongside him?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, it's certainly surreal.

Just two years ago, we were both in St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx. I was in the crowd with thousands of other people across ages, races, creeds, incomes.

And to be here two years later pushing that revolution in Kansas is pretty amazing.

BRENNAN: Senator Sanders, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez still

Senator Sanders, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez still has a November race to win. What advice are you giving her?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: To keep doing what she has done.

She ran an extraordinary campaign. And the reason that she won is, she ran on ideas that were relevant to the working people in her district. She put together a strong grassroots campaign. And she worked her tail off. And any candidate in America who is prepared to do that, I think, has an excellent chance of winning.

BRENNAN: Let's talk about some of the candidates you are out there right now trying to help win.

You're in Kansas. This is a solidly -- or at least thought of as a solidly pro-Trump red state. It voted overwhelmingly for the president in the last election.

SANDERS: Well, Margaret, I happen to believe passionately that there really is not a blue state/red state division in this country.

I think there is a lot of mythology attached to that. People believe that health care is a right. People believe we should raise the minimum wage to a living wage. People do not think, as Trump does, that we should give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top 1 percent, but in fact we have got to demand that the rich start paying their fair share of taxes.

So, whether you are in Kansas or the Bronx or in Vermont, we have common interests and common aspirations. And we have got to fight for an America that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.

BRENNAN: But, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, does that populist message bring out new voters?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: It absolutely brings up new voters.

And, in fact, we found this here in New York back home. We expanded the electorate 68 percent over the last off-year midterm primary. So, for us, this is about inspiring people to the polls, giving them something to vote for, creating hope for this nation, and knowing that so long as there are working-class Americans who believe in a prosperous and just future, we will have hope, no matter how red the district.

BRENNAN: Last week on this program, we had the man you defeated, the New York Congressman Joe Crowley. And he congratulated you on your win. He said you very much deserved it.

He also explained two factors he thought that were decisive here, one of them being the year of the woman, he called it, and also the timing of the primary. Are those factors, in your view?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, I think that the factors that ultimately created our win was the fact that we had bold commitments and I campaigned on hard commitments of Medicare for all, tuition-free public college, ensuring a green new deal for our future.

And championing those issues were the reasons that we won. We won across demographics. We won. We expanded the electorate ourselves. We did the work of organizing.

BRENNAN: So you reject the idea that your gender was a factor here?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: You know, I think that -- I think that, in this moment, there is a confluence of factors that makes this moment inspiring.

Right now, more women than ever are running for office. And I do think that women want representation in Congress, absolutely. Congress right now is 80 percent male, and that creates blind spots in our legislation. It means we don't have family leave, we don't have paid maternal and parental leave. It means that we don't get the equal pay that we want.

So I think those issues certainly were important.

BRENNAN: Well, right now, there is a female leader within the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi. If you are lucky enough to win in November and come here to Washington, will you support her?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: You know, I need to get to Congress first. I need to work on winning my general election.

BRENNAN: You don't see her as the party leader?

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OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, she is the current party leader, absolutely, and I look forward to be a part of that conversation and winning back the House. There is no decision about the party leader until we win the House first.

BRENNAN: So, you are leaving open the possibility you may endorse her if you win in November?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yes.

BRENNAN: Senator Sanders, Vladimir Putin was invited to the White House this fall. Do you think it should be withdrawn?

SANDERS: Look, the truth is, it's hard to comment on anything that Trump says, because he can change his mind tomorrow.

But I will tell you that I was absolutely outraged by his behavior in Helsinki, where he really sold the American people out. And it makes me think that either Trump doesn't understand what Russia has done, not only to our elections, but through cyber-attacks against all parts of our infrastructure, either he doesn't understand it, or perhaps he is being blackmailed by Russia, because they may have compromising information about him.

Or perhaps also you have a president who really does have strong authoritarian tendencies. And maybe he admires the kind of government that Putin is running in Russia.

And I think all of that is a disgrace and a disservice to the American people. And we have got to make sure that Russia does not interfere, not only in our elections, but in other aspects of our lives.

BRENNAN: Well, picking up on that note, because there is some responsibility here on both parties to protect themselves, it was one of your campaign staffers who went to the Clinton campaign and Obama administration to say there were concerns or suspicions here of Russians spreading anti-Clinton messages.

How do you protect yourselves in the next race against something like that happening?

SANDERS: Well, Margaret, that is a -- Margaret, that's a great question. I don't think anyone knows all of the answers, but one thing we do know is that we need a president who is going to do everything to work with statewide officials all over this country to make sure that, when people cast a vote in November, that vote is going to count.

Congress has allocated money to beef up and strengthen the protection of our electoral system. The president has got to be aggressive in implementing that. We have a lot of work to do, but the integrity of American democracy is at stake. And we have got to do everything that we can to protect the integrity of our election.

BRENNAN: Senator Sanders and Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, thank you so much for joining us in this exciting joint interview. Good to speak to you both.

We will be back in a moment.

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