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- [00:00]
A
How can you free your team from time consuming office tasks? Amazon Business empowers leaders to not only streamline purchasing, but better support their teams. Smart business buying tools enable buyers to find and purchase items fast so they can focus on strategy and growth. It's time to free up your teams and focus on your future. Learn more about the technology, insights and Support available@AmazonBusiness.com Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts Radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.
- [00:50]
B
How about Charlie dropping the Papa John's at the lunch hour now we all want pizza. Charlie, thanks a lot. Producer James is going to order out. We do this a lot around here. Mario. James take it out of petty cash. Brendan will hook it up. A couple large pizzas here before the end.
- [01:05]
C
Sounds good. I'm glad it wasn't just me. My stomach's exactly growling too.
- [01:09]
B
Well, you know, you saw the pizzas coming into the Senate the other night when they were doing the big block of, of nominees. When they start rolling in the we the pizza, they're stacked up to the ceiling. You know, it's going to be a late night, but I don't know they're going to have a lot of late nights in the meantime here. I mean, senators are back in town. They're going to vote again on the continuing resolution today. It's going to fail. Then what? Do they just all go back to their apartments and wait till tomorrow to do it again?
- [01:29]
C
Tomorrow we do it.
- [01:30]
B
This is a weird cycle.
- [01:31]
C
Press conferences in the morning, votes in the afternoon and no, no give from either side right now.
- [01:38]
B
That's right. So if you're following along here on day 15, we do 215, expect another round of votes to Mario's point. Leadership already did news conferences earlier and then they'll probably come back tomorrow and do it again. When it comes to the Republican crowd, Democrats haven't been blinking. Republicans aren't blinking. We got into it last evening on the late edition of BALANCE of Power with Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts. Here's what she said.
- [02:04]
D
Democrats are really clear about what we're asking for. We want the Republicans just to roll back those cuts that are going to knock 15 million Americans off their health care coverage and drive up insurance costs for tens of millions more Americans. We're just that's asking for here. And the Republicans right now literally will not even sit down and negotiate. The House is out for its fourth week of vacation, so they can't even be here to vote. And the Senate just says no talking. You know, that's not how it works in a democracy. We're fighting to try to help Americans be able to afford their health care. And I want to be clear, I'm not defending the American health care system. I think it's badly broken. But what Trump is doing to that system, along with the Republicans, is they're going to take a creaky, barely functioning system and just smash it apart. And that ultimately is going to hurt everybody in this country. And we're just, we're just trying to push back, say, just give people back the coverage they had back in June. We're not, we're not trying to rewrite the whole system. We're not spending any additional money. Just give people what they had a few months ago before Donald Trump and the Republicans pass that one big beautiful bill, the bbb.
- [03:34]
B
Talking about this with Elizabeth Warren on Bloomberg TV and radio last evening. And we fast forward to the latest research from Ipsos on the shutdown. Of course, Cliff Young is always running numbers on any number of issues. But Mario, storm clouds on the horizon. The headline here, a pox on all your houses when it comes to blame for the government shutdown. Cliff Young is with us right now, of course, from Ipsos here in Washington, U.S. public Affairs Chair, Professor, Texas A and M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service. Cliff, it's great to see you. Are these bigger storm clouds for DS or ours?
- [04:11]
E
Well, I think it's storm clouds for all of them, really. When you, when you look at the polling and you peel away the onion, Americans are just saying are criticizing everyone, Republicans, Democrats and Trump and the Trump administration. Now, when you look a little bit deeper into the data and you force people to choose, they slightly blame the Republicans more than the Democrats. But overall, the takeaway is it's a dysfunctional system, a pox in all your houses.
- [04:44]
C
And Cliff, just the fear about the tariffs, I think, was another one of your sub headlines as well. And I'm old enough to remember when Donald Trump cast economic confidence in his policies, at least as one of the reasons that he won the election. But we're seeing some different things play out in the numbers that you've run.
- [05:07]
E
Yeah, well, the issue set is changing, right? He won on cost of living. It still is an important issue. But other issues like political extremism are more important. I would say that Trump overall In terms of his approval numbers, he's in a relatively good position, if not great position. He's in the mid to low 40s, whether it be by Ipswich polling or polling from all other firms. That's a good place to be. It's better than 2017. But that all said, there's still a high degree of trepidation and unease among Americans about the tariffs. They see the tariffs as inflationary in nature. We've already picked up in our polling, in the surveying of American households, changing our adjustment of behavior on the margins. Maybe I buy a little bit cheaper, maybe I stockpile a little bit. Obviously this hasn't fully hit. When you look at sort of the projection from economists, it looks like the tariffs will have their full impact in Q4, in Q1 of next year. So those in my mind are the real storm clouds, that is the impact or potential negative impact of, of inflation on Americans. Opin of the administration and Trump.
- [06:24]
B
Well, based on the conversation we're having today about China, this couldn't be more important for the markets, for our audience, for consumers, Cliff. And boy, we've been given the administration a good deal of space on Wall street when it comes to this. We're bumping up against all time highs unless investors seem to think that this is falling apart. Scott Besson got the gains back on track today, suggesting we may have an extension in the trade truce, but fear that tariffs will lead to inflation. You say low levels of optimism in these policies with the percentage that say Trump's tariffs on imported goods are making prices for things they buy go up is 70%. And that's consumers of both parties, right?
- [07:05]
E
Yes, it's a big number and some of that is real and some of that is anticipatory. You also have special Republicans understanding that the short term might be bad, but the long term benefits of bringing back manufacturing and jobs is more important. So it's a, it's a more complex issue than just a fear of inflation or inflation specifically. But once again, it's something that needs to be looked at and followed over time because a vast majority of Americans are worried about the future and its inflationary aspects.
- [07:42]
C
And Cliff, when we look at some of these numbers, I mean the economic, as we mentioned, indicators show the President Trump has lost some support or lost some steam since last November. Immigration relatively seems to be a stronger issue for him. But when you look beneath those numbers, they look a little bit mixed in terms of National Guard, in terms of just deportations, et cetera.
- [08:10]
E
Yeah, it's very interesting. That's a very important point, Mario. When you look at Trump, generally speaking, and his approval ratings in general, he's in a relatively good place. I already say around 43 or 44. That's better in 2017, all things considered. It's a good place to be in a highly polarized America. But when you look at specifically the issues or the policies, that support falls off considerably. When you look across the signature initiatives by the administration, he doesn't garner a majority support in any of them, not even immigration. When you go specifically immigration, you talk about deportation, it falls to around 40%, obviously still garners the support of Republicans, super majority percent of Republicans. But across the board, these signature policies do not find majority support fascinating.
- [09:05]
B
Numbers on crime here, Cliff. And it reminds me of polls that find, you know, congressional approval ratings are off a cliff. They're in the single digits, unless you're talking about someone's own member of Congress. And they love that guy. Just you fire everyone but my guy or my gal. And that's apparently the case for crime in your city. Your city is safe, just not the other ones. And when you take a look at this, you asked questions about this. Compared to this time last year, is crime in the following area higher, lower, or the same? When you look at the country through the roof, it's higher. Major cities, a little bit lower. Your state as a whole, we're down in the 30s here. Your city or community, nobody thinks that crime is a major problem. It's in the 20s. So the president has seized on a national perception here that people may not rationalize with their own town.
- [09:56]
E
Yeah, man, I love my town. I love my guy. I don't like your town. I don't like your guy. That's something we see perennially in polling since even the 1930s. And indeed, the administration has leveraged that. Right. It's all about proximity. The closer I am to the issue of crime, the less I think it's a problem. And he has, you know, pushed that agenda. Now, the Republicans have historically pushed that agenda, with their base being in the suburbia and rural areas, not in those sort of blue urban areas. But ultimately, that's the explanation of the difference in perceptions. Now, that said, there is very little support for the deployment of National Guard troops in the urban areas. It doesn't matter how you ask it. You only get somewhere between 20 and 30% of Americans agreeing with it. But still you get a strong majority of Republicans. But as a general not base issue, it doesn't fly.
- [11:03]
C
And Cliff, I do want to go back to one point that you made at the top, just about political extremism. We saw the White House present Charlie Kirk with a posthumous Medal of Honor yesterday. Some of your research shows that this had been front and center for Americans even before Kirk's murder about five weeks ago. What are you seeing there in the numbers?
- [11:29]
E
Yeah, so as you said, Mario, that's a great point. Actually, worry about political extremism predates the Charlie Crook assassination. It already was the number one issue. What's happened since then? It's become a more national issue, not a Democratic issue because historically it had been very much a Democratic issue. Worries about threats to democracy, worries that Trump was authoritarian. Now we have Republicans saying the same, that they are worried with political violence and it's directly a function of the Kirk issue.
- [12:02]
B
It's great to have you back, Cliff, and thanks for sharing this research from Ipsos as always, Cliff Young with us live on Bloomberg, it's Balance of Power. I'm Joe Matthew alongside Mario Parker in Washington. We've got a lot more ahead. Stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- [12:21]
F
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- [12:34]
G
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- [12:52]
A
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa play Bloomberg 11:30.
- [13:11]
B
Sam Licardo is a Democrat representing 16th district of California, the former Mayor of San Jose, back with us on Bloomberg TV and Radio. And Congressman, it's good to see you. Welcome back. I want to hear your thoughts on what we're discussing here because if the Democratic calculation is correct, you wait long enough. Republicans will eventually have to address the Obamacare subsidy issue with this year end deadline approaching. How long do you think that is?
- [13:35]
H
Well, we shouldn't need to wait that long. Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday that there is no strategy moving forward. Well, there is a strategy. It's actually the oldest strategy on Capitol Hill. It's called negotiation. And I've been on the phone with a half dozen Republicans over the last day, and I can tell you that we can extend Affordable Care act tax credits to those 22 million Americans and many more. We can do so at a lower cost with income caps. But what we can't do is force the burden of higher costs on tens of millions of American families, including those 22 million Americans. We're going to see their premiums double. We can't do that. And so I think many Republicans understand that the question is whether they're going to have the courage to step up. We can do this through negotiation, but we need a speaker willing to negotiate. And we are here, more than 200 Democrats waiting for a speaker to show up to negotiate with. He's not here yet. And you know, I was mayor of a city of a million people. We passed eight balanced budgets, and every single one of them, I negotiate with people who disagree with me. That's leadership. That's what we all have to do.
- [14:47]
B
What do you think about the moves, Congressman, that the administration has made that we were discussing finding a workaround for military pay, federal law enforcement helped, helping to fund the WIC program. Did the administration effectively extend this shutdown by doing this or take the glare off Democrats? In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out the political strategy.
- [15:09]
H
It's a good question, and I don't think I'm paid well enough to be a very good political consultant to give you a good answer to that. But what I do know is that the focus now in the national debate is where it should be, which is health care. Because we know it's not just these 22 million Americans are going to pay twice as much on their premiums, but all of us are going to pay much more for our premiums because another 4 million Americans, we push out of the insurance world into getting their care in emergency rooms and from ambulances, which is more expensive because we know that passes on the cost to all of us. So we're going to see all of our premiums rise if we don't get this solved. And we're out of time because we know November 1st is when all of us receive that information about what plans we can choose and at what price. So we've got to get it done quickly.
- [15:58]
B
What is it that has you in Washington. I understand that your leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has called the Democratic Conference back into town just to be present. Are you, are you having conversations with anyone? Are you, are you doing interviews, trying to spread the message? What's the purpose of being here when the House is not actually in session?
- [16:18]
H
Well, yes, we have had caucus meetings and certainly we're talking to media, as I am now. But frankly, my conversations with Republicans have been over the phone because they're not here. They're at home. Look, we're on duty. They're on vacation. We need everybody to be on duty because we need to do much more for the American people. They deserve better than this. And since the big, ugly bill passed, what, 104 days ago, Speaker Johnson has called us into session exactly 19 days. So that is not a record of hard work that's going to be required to get us to negotiate, to move forward. He's got to call the House back into session, and he needs to get his team here so we can negotiate.
- [17:02]
B
Well, I know you have a unique view as a former mayor, and as we say frequently on this program, mayors don't always have the luxury of lawmakers in Washington when it comes to playing partisan politics. What is going to happen when these notices start going out? Many of them, to your point, are out already. Open enrollment set to begin on the 1st of November. Does your phone start ringing off the hook? Do you actually. Are you able to provide constituent services in the middle of a shutdown? And what would it mean? How many people would see their premiums rise in your district?
- [17:35]
H
Well, we'll see. 22,000. I'm sorry, 24,000. Excuse me, 24,000 families see their premiums nearly double as a result. And in my district, that means about 30 $200 a year more that they'll be paying for their health insurance. But really, this is going to be a burden on the entire health system. We know it's going to force the closures of some clinics and hospitals and it's going to increase the cost for all of us, even if we're on private plans that we don't purchase on the exchange. And so everyone's going to feel the pain here. Yes, we're going to get the calls and yes, we will be there manning the phones and receiving the emails because our offices have been open. In fact, I even opened an additional office back at home in the last couple of weeks to ensure that we can handle what we know is a lot of pain for folks have been meeting with federal employees and their unions and so forth to try to figure out how we can reduce the burden that so many Americans are feeling.
- [18:27]
B
I understand the Capitol Police have missed their first full paycheck. Now for the first time, they are not included in the military or the federal law enforcement coverage. Unless you can tell me otherwise. Congressman, we've had a big conversation about security in the Capitol recently with the uptick in political violence. How concerned are you about the Capitol Police not being compensated? What does that mean for your security?
- [18:52]
H
Well, forget my security. I think it's a shame and we should all feel shame because these are women and men who struggle to pay their rent to live in a very extreme, expensive Washington metro. They deserve to get paid just like everyone else does. Who's working hard, by the way? Members of my team. I'm also not taking a paycheck during this time. We all need to get the government open and we need to be, we need to be able to treat all of our employees and the American people more fairly.
- [19:21]
B
I want to ask you about the rhetoric that we've been hearing from the White House and I'm not sure what the president will say. He's going to have a news conference later on today and I suspect will add to this conversation. But in promising mass layoffs, as Russ Vote has has at least begun to announce the rifts with this shutdown, the president has also suggested that on Friday he will have a list two days from now, a list of what he refers to as Democrat programs that will be cut. Let's play for our audience what he said yesterday. Congressman, will have you respond. Here's the president.
- [19:54]
H
The Democrats are getting killed and we're going to have a list of them on Friday. Closing up some of the most egregious socialist, semi communist, probably not full communists, we're saving that for New York, but semi communist programs and we're closing them up. We're not closing up Republican programs because we think they work.
- [20:17]
B
Congressman, I remain confused on this one because obviously citizens who are, who are members of both parties and independents all tend to make use of these federal programs. Which programs are you aware that he's talking about?
- [20:32]
H
I'm not sure. I really know. Is he saying Social Security is semi communist? I don't know. But nonetheless, I'm, I'm confident as you are, that many Republican and Democratic Americans depend on all these programs and we need, need to keep them up open and running for America. But let's keep in mind this threat is no different than the threat that we have heard since January 20th, right, we have seen 55,000 federal employees fired, 150,000 more pushed out the door. The most recent announcement was for another 4,000. We know it's all illegal. Obviously that's in litigation. We've had many federal judges weigh in on this and we've seen Republican appointed judges telling this administration it's a violation of the APA and other laws. This continues to be illegal. We'll continue to fight it. But this is just more of the same.
- [21:23]
B
Well, really interesting wrinkle here. Do you take him at his word? Will there be more firings? Will programs be closed down?
- [21:31]
H
Oh, sure, he'll close them and then he'll reopen them when he realizes he made a mistake just like he did a few days ago. Look, these folks are shooting from the hip and more importantly, shooting before they aim. And we've seen that constantly from the times of Doge through the rescissions and now these decisions. We know what the framers of the Constitution decided, which was the power of the purse lies with Congress. Obviously everything that they're doing is illegal and they're going to find that some of these things they're doing illegally are probably not very well considered even for them as we have seen them routinely back up. So yes, we're going to see more of this. Then they'll back off. Then we'll have judges shut it down. We're going to continue to fight.
- [22:14]
B
Well, we'll find out if you're right on that, Congressman, because it all does seem to be headed to the courts here. Sam licardo, many thanks. California 16th District, the Democrat in Washington with us live on Bloomberg TV and radio. We'll have more voices from both sides of the aisle as we make our way through this shutdown and we'll assemble our panel next. Stay with us on balance of power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- [22:38]
F
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- [22:51]
G
I need right now with my biz plan. Get our best price as low as $25 a line. Visit verizon.combusinessbonUS to get started today. New lines only. Price per month with 5 plus lines. Includes auto pay and paper free billing and promotional discount, taxes, fees, economic adjustment charge applicable, add ons prices and terms apply, guarantee applies to base monthly rated stated discounts only. Add on prices. Additional offers in November 17, 2025.
- [23:09]
A
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg 1130.
- [23:28]
B
I'll tell you what, Mario, the fact that the government is shut down is not keeping politicians from turning to the campaign trail. And in the case of Seth Moulton today, this is fascinating. Democrat from Massachusetts, member of Congress. You've heard him many times, seen him many times on this program. Right. An Iraq War veteran, Marine Corps combat veteran with an incredible story to tell who has reached for leadership positions in the past. He in fact challenged Nancy Pelosi at one point for speaker and did launch an ill fated run for president. Now it's on to the Senate. Yes, Seth Moulton making the announcement in video form today. Watch and listen.
- [24:11]
I
We're in a crisis and with everything we learned last election, I just don't believe Senator Markey should be running for another six year term. At 80 years old, even I don't think someone who's been in Congress for half a century is the right person to meet this moment and win the future. Senator Markey is a good man, but it's time for a new generation of leadership and that's why I'm running for U.S. senate.
- [24:36]
B
Wow. You know, Joe Kennedy tried this as well and it was the end, at least for now, of his political career, is the end of his congressional career. Ed Markey's like part of the woodwork up there. But Seth Moulton's right.
- [24:48]
C
He's turning 80 and that's part of the risk, Right. When you challenge these members in Congress who have been there for a long time. I'm from Chicago. I remember an upstart named Barack Obama who challenged Bobby Rush years ago and lost the only election that he had run in.
- [25:04]
I
Right.
- [25:05]
C
So we see how tough this can be when younger upstarts and ambition go this route. But what's striking to me is that even as the Democratic Party is seeing some signs of lifting itself from the mat right from last November with the shutdown argument, coalescing around health care, etc. That you're still seeing some of the demons that bedeviled them last November taking.
- [25:26]
B
Hold right now with the generational problems, the generational issue. So enter Janet Mills. This is where it gets interesting and we're going to bring our panel in here on this, Janet Mills, the Republican governor of Maine, has decided to run for Senate. It's going to primary Susan Collins, Janet Mills, this is the opposite effect here would be the oldest, from what I understand, based on my research, the oldest freshman senator ever elected if she were to win at 78 years old. So this is an interesting push or pull. We've also got a fascinating one that we're waiting for in New Hampshire that could well be the knockdown drag out primary between Scott Brown, the former senator, and John Sununu. So let's bring the panel in here because we like talking campaigns. I miss this stuff, to be honest with you. I mean, we have to cover the governing of this country, but campaign season is what gets the political junkies moving. And just ask Rick Davis and Jeannie Shan Zaino, Bloomberg Politics contributors. They're both with us. Jeannie is democracy visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash center and Rick is partner at Stone Court Capital, our Republican strategist. So Rick, I'll start with you on this campaign by way of Maine. What do you make of this with Janet Mills running to the Senate at 78 while Seth Moulton says Ed Markey should run away at 80?
- [26:41]
I
Yeah, there's no question that part of the debate that's going on inside the Democratic Party is a generational one. You know, when you've got Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, you know, as a geriatric in the Senate, and, and, and so, you know, the symbolism is should not be lost and it's not lost on voters. Voters have been pretty grumpy about older candidates in the past. And wouldn't surprise me that age is one of the dominant issues in this year's election cycle. Not just here, but also in places like Texas. And as you pointed out, you know, you've got other barn burner races. But I think age is a, is a constant in politics and it's going to be a hot one in this election cycle.
- [27:24]
C
And Jeannie, just from the Democratic side, I mean, does this hurt or help the party having these type of arguments in public view right now, these challenges that Moulton is making along the, these lines of generations and age.
- [27:40]
J
Yeah. I first want to thank you guys because to Joe's point, I am so thrilled to be talking elections. It means we are in midterm season almost. And of course, as a New England person, I love three good New England stories. You know, we are seeing these generational fights, but there's a big difference on the Democratic side between what we're seeing in Maine and what we're seeing in Massachusetts. You know, the problem, the difference is we can't conflate age and ideology. It's so fascinating because in the Massachusetts case, Moulton is the younger and more moderate of the candidates. Markey is much more or at least somewhat more progressive. And I should also add, I believe I have these numbers right, that, that Markey was elected to office two years before Moulton was born. So that'll tell you something. But Markey is the more progressive of the candidates. It's flipped around when you get to the Democratic side in Maine and you see somebody like the governor, Janet Mills, and you see somebody like Platner, who is the younger and more progressive. So it's running along two tracks. The debates in the Democratic Party, generational and age. But one thing, a generational, sorry. And ideological. But the one thing that joins them all together is they are all talking about issues of cost of living. Same thing we're seeing with Mandani. Same thing we're seeing with molten. Can you afford to live in this 2.0 world? So that is what joins them all together, regardless of age and ideology.
- [29:17]
B
To be clear, by the way, I should have said Janet Mills is a Democrat. She's got to get through a primary, as Jeannie is describing, to face off with Susan. Susan Collins. Jeannie. We remember the race that former Congressman Joe Kennedy ran against Ed Markey. And anyone listening to us Right now on 92. Nine in Boston remembers that was a tough one. That was a tough slog. And there were a lot of young progressives who had backed Bernie Sanders who said, no, we're sticking with Ed Markey. He also had a campaign manager in John Walsh who followed him to Washington and has since passed, who will not be with him this time. I just wonder how different the dynamic will be in this race with Seth Moulton.
- [29:52]
J
Yeah, I was just thinking about that. I mean, that gives you a sense as to how strong Markey has been for years as part of the fabric of the Massachusetts political scene, that he could defeat a Kennedy. And he did so with a lot of support. This race will be different in part because of our experience in 2024 and the issue of age and questions about both Markey and Mills. You know, is it. Does it make sense for Democrats to be running people in their late 70s for office after what happened in 2024? That's a big question. But, you know, another part of this is that Moulton not only is more moderate, but he has been challenging Democrats and doesn't have quite as many, I don't know if you want to say friends, a lovely guy that doesn't have as many allies in the Congress. He's been there a while, doesn't have as many allies as Markey. So very different styles as well. But I think this is going to be a much tougher race for Markey because of the environment after 24.
- [30:56]
C
And Rick and just looking at Maine, I mean, whether it's Janet Mills, whether it's Platner as well, I mean, for a long time Democrats have tried to take that seat that Collins has held. From your perspective, I mean, is she finally vulnerable or is this a mirage that Democrats risk just throwing a lot of money at?
- [31:16]
I
Yeah, that's a good point. It was a mirage last time she ran, you know, $50 million spent on both sides to unseat her, the number one target. And she survived quite well. And you're right, I mean, she is the number one target again this time. And so I do think the Democrats have found a much more competitive opponent this time. Janet Mill, very popular governor, two terms, survived quite well in the state that Donald Trump has a lot of supporters in. In fact, has actually done pretty well in hand to hand combat with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. So she's not somebody that Republicans are taking lightly. It's highly anticipated she'll cruise through a primary and we'll have plenty of money and this will be again, one of the most expensive Senate races of the cycle. That being said, Susan Collins, chairman of the arms of the Appropriations Committee, incredibly powerful in her own right and a terrific campaigner and someone who's been taking this race very seriously since day one, has stockpiled a lot of cash both in her campaign account and in her super pac. So it's it could be a knockdown, drag out. I would say that it will be the number one race Republicans focus on. And yet there are other more growing more competitive races, especially depending upon how some of these primaries turn out.
- [32:41]
B
What do you think about next door in New Hampshire, Rick, I consider you a bit of an expert on New Hampshire politics, having spent so much time there on the presidential campaign level. But you've got Scott Brown now who's no stranger to New Hampshire. And of course he tried to beat Jeanne Shaheen once, already up against apparently, and it's not official yet, but expected to be up against John Sununu. What does New Hampshire want in its next senator?
- [33:03]
I
Well, as you say, Scott Brown's not a stranger, but he's also not been a resident of New Hampshire for a long time. So, you know, it is a bit of a twist. Very hard to beat a Sununu in New Hampshire, especially considering how popular John's brother Chris was when he, he left the governorship just recently. I don't anticipate this being that tough of a primary for John Sununu. But I would say the general election there could be really material to Republican chances of holding the Senate because Chris Pappas, who I've gotten to know over the years of hanging out in bars in New Hampshire, not that he's a heavy drinker or anything, but, you know, he's a, he's a formidable Democratic opponent. And in a state where, you know, even the current governor has, you know, Republican governor has all kinds of efforts to try and like, distance herself from Trump, this will be an interesting one when it gets to the general, too. So good primary to watch, knock down, drag out, but even an equally more interesting general election, I think.
- [34:08]
C
And Jeannie, to Rick's point about Pappas just being a formidable candidate should, should shake out that way. I mean, Democrats have otherwise we're talking about some of these existential and philosophical differences or, excuse me, generational differences within the party. But Democrats are doing a pretty good job of putting forth some solid recruits, right?
- [34:32]
J
Absolutely. And you know, Mario, well, I don't know if you know, but I always like to challenge Rick Davis. So when he says that the governor of Maine is going to sweep into the primary on the Democratic side, I wouldn't count Platner out. He is a very, very attractive, to your point, Mario, young and progressive up there. So, sure, she has an incumbency, sure, she's friends with Susan Collins, sure, Collins would much rather like to run against her. But Platner is a force to be reckoned with as well. So I'm just putting that out there, taking it to Rick Davis. And yeah, I think the Democrats are absolutely trying to recruit candidates and that they, that they believe can win. And that's why we are seeing, you know, Chris Pappas. He is a formidable candidate. So that is certainly a race to watch.
- [35:24]
B
You'd never say anything bad about Rick Davis. I know how this works. Jeannie Shan Zaino, Rick Davis, our Bloomberg Politics contributors, thank you. We'll meet you back here tomorrow. Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already, at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find us live every weekday from Washington, D.C. at noontime eastern@bloomberg.com.
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