CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: 2014 Elections

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

And joining me now is the second most powerful Republican in the Senate, Senator John Cornyn of Texas.

Senator, good to have you with us.

I want to start though with Vice President Joe Biden. I don't know if you heard, but earlier today, he said, look, the Democrats are going to hold the Senate. They're going to do it with 52 seats. He says that, in Kansas, the independent candidate Greg Orman is going to win and he's going to choose to go ahead and caucus with the Democrats. That how he gets to his 52. Is he right?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: No, he's not. I think we will get an early indication tonight in New Hampshire, North Carolina and Georgia what's happening, how big the wave is.

If we pick up two or three of those seats, then I think it's going to be a big wave and a big night.

BURNETT: All right, so you're looking at -- and some of those obviously with the Eastern Time Zone, you're not waiting all the way until we get to the Alaska issue or even down South, so New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia.

You also of course are up for reelection tonight, Senator. The latest polling shows you not one of these tightly contested races. You're ahead 57 percent to 35 percent against your Democratic opponent.

If you win, you though stand to gain a great deal of power, if your prediction comes true, if you get the Senate, if you get those six seats in the Senate. You're now number two in terms of Republican power in the Senate. Will you run for majority whip if your party wins those six seats?

CORNYN: Well, I will. And I look forward to work with the new majority leader, Mitch McConnell, to change the Senate back to what it used to be, which was the world's greatest deliberative body, where Democrats and Republicans, people in majority, people in minority actually got a chance to offer good ideas and get votes on them in the Senate. That hasn't happened under Harry Reid.

And I think there's bipartisan disappointment, to put it mildly, with the way the Senate is being run, and we need new management. And I think there will be bipartisan accord when it comes to actually getting the Senate back to doing the country's business once again.

BURNETT: So, there's a couple things I want to ask you about that.

First of all, though, let me ask you about something. Ted Cruz is where I'm going here. But before I get specifically to Ted Cruz in terms of his leadership, he told "The Washington Post" this weekend that he would not pledge his support to Mitch McConnell for Republican leader.

Is that where you're going? If McConnell wins that race that we were just hearing about and the GOP wins the Senate, will you back McConnell?

CORNYN: I will.

Mitch McConnell has got the most experience. He's one of the sharpest minds. He's been a good leader for the Republican Conference in the Senate. And I think we need somebody who will return the Senate back to its traditions, where we actually are trying to solve problems and working on a bipartisan basis to put legislation on the president's desk.

As I said, that hadn't happened under Harry Reid. I think that will resolve a lot of people's concerns about the Senate and about Congress.

BURNETT: And those are the concerns people have. Maybe that's part of the reason people just basically ignored this election until the last minute, right? They're so disenfranchised with what has been happening in Washington, which brings me to someone like Ted Cruz, who has rallied a lot of people to his cause.

But when he speaks, it's about let's repeal health care, going down paths like that. That sets up a gridlock scenario. That doesn't set up passing major legislation and moving things forward. Is Ted Cruz somebody that is going to hurt the Republican Party, you get that power and then you can't pass anything because you have Ted Cruz there?

CORNYN: Our party is big enough for the whole spectrum of approaches we have from the right to the left. And what we need to do is actually to have a chance to vote. Nobody is guaranteed a right to win every vote, but you are given an opportunity to propose your ideas and get that vote.

I think health care, Obamacare has been a disaster for the American people. I believe it's more likely we will have a step-by-step approach to dismantling it and then replacing it with consumer- oriented, more cost-effective health care that won't interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

That's what the American people want, and that's what our goal is to provide.

BURNETT: All right, we will see if you and Senator Cruz can work together on that one.

Thank you so much, Senator Cornyn.

CORNYN: Thank you, Erin.

BURNETT: And coming up, the North Carolina Senate race, the Democratic incumbent has gotten a last-minute push from President Obama. Is it too little too late? You just heard Senator Cornyn saying North Carolina, it's crucial, it matters. Big prediction coming up after this.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source