CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: 2014 Election

Interview

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TAPPER: Can the Republican Party keep the momentum going heading into 2016?

Joining me now, the man who clinched the Senate majority for Republicans last week, winning the most expensive Senate race in world history, North Carolina Senator-elect Thom Tillis.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it and congratulations.

SENATOR-ELECT THOM TILLIS (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: So, Senator-elect, Jeb Bush endorsed you in your Senate campaign. Care to return the favor if he decides to run?

TILLIS: You know, there's a lot of good candidates or a lot of potential candidates that are thinking about it. Governor Bush is a very impressive leader. He had a great reputation down in Florida. A number of other people being talked about have to make those decisions. And then, we'll figure out where to go from there.

TAPPER: As soon as you're sworn in, maybe even before, one of the first issues you have to deal with is immigration. A year ago at the Bush library, Jeb Bush said many who come to America illegally do so as an act of love for their children and should be treated differently, he suggested, than those who overstay their visas.

Do you agree with that?

TILLIS: Well, I think that what we need to do is stay focused on exactly what we talked about during the campaign. First and foremost, seal the border, then talk about what you do once you've stabilized the growth of the population. And I think -- I'll take Governor Bush's comments at face value. I think it makes sense. I think Republicans need to have a tone that we set that will convince everybody that immigration reform is necessary. But it starts with sealing the border.

TAPPER: Speaking of tones, there's a lot of debate here in Washington, D.C. about what exactly last Tuesday's election meant.

Do you think that you were elected to stop President Obama and his agenda or do you think you were elected to reach across the aisle and find common ground?

TILLIS: I think I was elected to produce results. I believe that the American people are tired of Congress not functioning. I think that still top of mine more than any issue is jobs and the economy, getting regulatory changes in place to take burdens off of businesses, getting tax policies that make sense, make it more likely that business will invest and grow jobs.

That's what American people want to see. They're just tired of seeing bills come from the House and die in the Senate. They want to see results. We owe it to the American bill not to go up there and be a different brand of inaction. We need to produce results and we need to do it quickly.

It's the smartest thing we can do to lay the groundwork for 2016.

TAPPER: Speaking of regulations and taxes, let's talk about Obamacare, which you talked about a lot on the campaign trail. You've said one of the Senate goals moving forward should be to repeal it. A video recently surfaced of Jonathan Gruber from MIT, who's one of the architects of Obamacare, I want you to listen to what he said about how the bill was passed and get your reaction.

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JONATHAN GRUBER, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: If you had a law which said healthy people are going to pay in -- if you made it explicit that healthy people pay in and sick people get money, it would not have passed, OK? Just like how people -- transparent -- lack of transparency is a huge advantage. And basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever. But basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.

And, you know, it's the second best argument. Look, I wish Mark was right, we could make it all transparent. But I'd rather have this law than not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senator-elect, your response?

TILLIS: Well, that sounds like the means justifies the ends -- or the ends justify the means, I'm sorry.

That is exactly what the American people are tired of. They want transparency. They want to be treated with respect. We did a lot of very difficult bills since I've been speaker of the house. Some of them were controversial on both sides of the ideological spectrum. But we took the time to explain it to people and not do this sort of bob and weave.

If the American people really knew the effects of Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, I don't think it would have passed. What may have happened is a sustainable bill. What we have now is a bill that either must be repealed or substantially replaced.

TAPPER: You won the most expensive Senate race in history. Looking back, more than $100 million -- does that embarrass you? Are you proud of it? What's your feeling about it?

TILLIS: Well, we're not surprised by it. As late as July of last year, as early as July of last year, we estimated that it would be somewhere between $70 million and $90 million. Much of that was spent by my opponent and her supporters.

But it's just a testament to the fact that North Carolina is a swing state, voted for Obama in 2008, for Romney in 2012. It will continue to be a state that will be very expensive in part because of its importance in deciding elections, Senate and national elections. But it's also just a large state now. It's the ninth most populous. We have very expensive media markets. So, there are a variety of reasons why it was the most expensive state.

TAPPER: Senator-elect Thom Tillis, thank you and congratulations again.

TILLIS: Thank you, Jake.

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