Fox News "Fox News Sunday" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Interview

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WALLACE: Peter Doocy reporting from Florida -- Peter, thanks for that.

Joining me now, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who leads the Democrats' effort to take back control of the Senate.

Senator, this was always going to be a tough year for Democrats. You're defending 26 seats this year in the midterms while Republicans only have nine Senate seats up and 10 Senate Democrats are running in states President Trump won in 2016, many by 20 or 30 points.

So, realistically, don't Republicans have a better chance of not only holding a majority, but adding to it than you do of flipping the Senate?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, D--MD., DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, Chris, you're absolutely right. This is the toughest political map any one party has faced in 60 years and if you were to have asked people year and a half ago where we would be, you would not even be asking the question about whether or not we have a path to a Senate Democratic majority.

The answer is we do have a path. It is a very narrow path as you indicate, but the fact that we are as competitive as we are is a real testament to our senators and our candidates who have always said that their North Star is standing up for the people of their state. So, that's the first and foremost priority and that's what they've been doing.

WALLACE: All right. So give me your two best chances to pick off Republican Senate seats. Where are they? And in fact, isn't at least one of your Democratic senators, Heitkamp in North Dakota, isn't she in trouble?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, first of all, never count out Heidi Heitkamp. People did that six years ago when she was 10 points behind. She won that race.
She's less than ten points behind right now. That's a lesson everybody has learned. Don't her out.

In terms of the Republican seats that are very competitive right now, Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas. Mississippi may go to a special runoff.
And the reason is that you've got Republicans running in the states who have betrayed their voters primarily on the issue that is the top of mind for voters on the country, which is health care issues and taking away protections for people who have pre-existing health conditions.

WALLACE: President Trump is hitting Democrats hard in these final days on immigration and the caravan headed up through Mexico. Here he is on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A Democrat victory on election day would be a bright flashing invitation to traffickers, smugglers, drug dealers and gang members all over the world, come on in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And the president ran a controversial ad this week about a Mexican who was deported twice, came back into this country and then shot and killed two California police officers. Here's a bit of the presidents clip.

(POLITICAL AD PLAYS)

WALLACE: Senator, I'm sure you don't like the tone, but isn't it working? Republicans in red states say immigration is now a top issue.

VAN HOLLEN: I don't think it's working, Chris, because what the president is doing is driving away the independent voters and swing voters and a lot of moderate Republican voters in these swing states.

Look, the president says lots of outrageous and untrue things and there's another example right there. The reality is Democrats are for strong border security. We're against open borders.

We are also against separating parents and their children, and it was pretty outrageous for the president to suggest the other day that the United States military would fire on unarmed people and that the military had to tell the president that's not what we do, that's not what the United States military does, but the real thing going on here, Chris, is an effort to change the national conversation from what people wake up every day thinking about, which are there economic circumstances and primarily uncertainty over health care costs and the fact that Republicans for the last two years have tried to eliminate protections for people with pre- existing conditions. That remains the top issue on voters' mind despite all the president's efforts.

WALLACE: Well, you talk about the economy and then you segue into health care, but let's talk about the economy because Republicans have a -- have a pretty good story to tell there. Let's put up the numbers: 250,000 jobs created in this last jobs report for October. Unemployment at 3.7 percent.
Wage growth, the highest since 2009.

Isn't that a strong economic record for Republicans to run on?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, Chris, I think voters know that the economy was on this upward trajectory long before President Trump was sworn in. We saw growing job growth, lower unemployment and interestingly, when you look at real wages, real wage growth was stronger in the last term of the Obama administration then in this term so far of the Trump administration.
That's because even as wages have gone up, so have costs, like the cost of health care.

So, for most Americans out there, they are actually not seeing their real wages keep pace and in fact they were keeping pace at a faster rate under the Obama administration. That is why people are focused on this issue of health care and the uncertainty that the Republican plan to eliminate protections will bring.

WALLACE: I've got 15 seconds left. Yes or no, are you going to take the Senate back?

VAN HOLLEN: We have too many close races, Chris, and you know it's all about turnout.

Here's what I would say: the early vote in states like Nevada and Arizona has been very strong. It does appear young voters are coming out. And it looks like the president's effort to distract voters from the real issues they care about like health care and like the Republican efforts to take away protections for pre-existing conditions is not working.

WALLACE: Senator Van Hollen, thank you. Thanks for taking time from the campaign trail to talk with us, sir.

VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you, Chris. Thanks.

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