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CNN Live Event/Special

Initial Nevada Results: Sanders Has Early Lead. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 22, 2020 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Welcome back to our special coverage of the Nevada Democratic caucuses. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Election Center. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

Let's check in with Miguel Marquez. He's in a key caucus site out there in Las Vegas, Nevada. I understand you that you've got some final results?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are and we're looking at the final precinct at Sierra Vista High School which is a big caucus site here. There are 15 different precincts meeting here and caucusing here. This is 6558. They are almost done.

We can tell you final numbers right now if you want to move in and show them what they're doing right now. Pete Buttigieg won this one at 39.4. Came out on top. Bernie Sanders at 37.8. Elizabeth Warren at 22.8. All three of those individuals in this precinct are viable. So, what they're doing now is trying to figure out how many delegates each one of those individuals will get.

Interestingly, Joe Biden, Klobuchar, they did not get any votes. Not only in the -- in person here today, but in early voting as well. So, interesting to see how many of these places are polling (ph) out.

I've collected numbers from about nine of the precincts here, and it is a mix. Joe Biden did well in some. Many of them, Bernie Sanders did very well. Pete Buttigieg seems to be in the race in many of them. And Klobuchar didn't do well in some. Warren did very well in certain precincts as well.

So, it'll be interesting to see as these numbers -- these final numbers start rolling in later this evening -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We got some new numbers coming in. We've got a key race alert. All right, take a look at this. Very, very early. One percent, if that, of the precincts reporting. But you can see Bernie Sanders is on top with 422 votes. These are popular votes. Elizabeth Warren second place, 350. Pete Buttigieg, 279. Amy Klobuchar, 231. Joe Biden, 215. Tom Steyer, nine. Tulsi Gabbard, one.

This is an important reminder. These are early, early popular vote results, based on select precincts throughout the state. They may not, repeat, they may not be representative of how the overall state is voting. But some early numbers.

Now, let's go over to John king. Let's get a sense of where these votes are coming in.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's celebrate that we have votes. We'll see how the rest of the place steps (ph) through. But progress. Progress. A good first time.

Look, I just cannot say this enough, Wolf. I just said it. I just want to say it again. These are very early votes, final round voting from a very small area up here in Washoe County. If you look up here, 422, 350 279, 231. We'll move on down through here. This is -- this is a final round of popular voting. It's math. We have to wait until they allocate the delegates in these precincts.

But what it does tell you is in the places where you've seen our correspondents on the scene. The great thing is to have these caucus camps live on site. They're getting their work done. They're getting their count done. And they're getting their report in.

We pull this out to statewide. Again, that's one percent statewide. It's three percent in this county in the northwest corner.

WOLF: The second largest county.

KING: The second largest county at 15 percent. So, it's progress. It's very early on. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Some from Clark County here as well. Again, three percent in this county reporting here. Sanders with a very healthy lead there, 1,193, 635, 342. Elizabeth Warren down there. We just pull -- you go all the way down and get everybody in. One vote for Tulsi Gabbard.

Again, we've got to get more precincts in, then they do the allocation of delegate, based on their delegate math. It is the delegate math that matters at the end of the night. That's what it's about. You get delegates to the state convention. Then, delegates to the national convention. That's how we judge the winner.

But if you're looking at the early vote, Senator Sanders ahead with the very, very early results from Clark County. Sanders ahead, very, very early results in Washoe County. And we'll watch as this plays out.

This -- number one, the early results tell us the entrance poll suggested Senator Sanders was having a strong day. The early results seem to back that up. And number two, we're actually getting results which we're going to celebrate.

BLITZER: Yes. We like getting results. At least we can say some precincts have reported. Now, remind us what these two important counties, that's the bulk of the population of Nevada, Las Vegas and Reno, what happened four years ago?

KING: Well, if you go back, let's just -- so, let's just circle this right now. Let me circle this for just -- so we have it. Bernie Sanders winning up here. Bernie Sanders winning up here. Now, we'll go back in time to four years ago to -- in the -- this is the -- this is the Clinton-Sanders race here. Hillary Clinton won Clark County and she won it quite convincingly.

[17:05:00]

Bernie Sanders did win -- did win up here in Washoe four years ago.

Let's -- if we back in time, go all the way back to 2008, it was Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So, these two counties have gone back and forth in the last two competitive Democratic races.

Tonight, they're saying -- we've lost the -- we've got to come back to the final vote here. There we go. Tonight, and right now, Sanders is winning in both. We're going to watch as this fills in.

If Sanders could hold this and hold that, then, guess what? The two largest counties, this one immensely bigger, if he holds those two, he's on the path to victory.

But watch the rest fill in. Wolf, and again, as we count votes, then we'll do the -- get the breakdown for the delegates which is what matters most.

BLITZER: It certainly does. Those county delegates. All right, stand by.

David Chalian, let's dive deeper into these very early, popular vote numbers.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, these very early popular vote numbers. And, remember, we have two sets of them, and we have to explain why that is. It's what you've been seeing with our caucus reporters.

But if I show you here, there is a first round of voting. People go in. They form their initial preference, which candidates corner they want to be in. It is determined who's viable in that room. Who can move onto the final round.

And then, there is a final round of voting. And you see the very early, three percent precincts reporting of popular vote numbers in the final round of voting. Wolf, the last column on this chart that I want to show you is this one that shows who's gaining in that realignment process. Who is picking up vote between the first round and the final round and who is losing it.

So, let's look at the guy on top right now, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In that first round of voting, with these early precincts, 1,410 votes. In the final round, after he was viable and clearly was able to bring over some people who were with non-viable groups, he had 1,615 votes. He gained 205 votes in that process.

Again, this speaks to why it's important to organize. Have a good organization. Teach those caucus volunteers how to operate in that room when some candidates are not viable after the first round, bring them over to the Sanders' corner. That's how he trained folks. And it's working for him.

And take a look at the guy in the number two slot. Not a place we've seen the former Vice President Joe Biden in Iowa and New Hampshire. He was performing much worse. This is super early. Have no idea if this is how it'll end up at the end of the night when all the votes are counted. Only three percent of precincts reporting.

But his first-round number -- let me see if I can get rid of Sanders there to highlight Biden here, 742 in the first round. Then, he got 850 votes in the second round so far. That's a gain of 108 votes. Joe Biden who, you know, we didn't see much gain between first round and final round in Iowa. He -- we're seeing him grow some support there.

And then, you see Pete Buttigieg, actually, remarkably, consistent between the two rounds. He's at 623 right now in the first round of voting, 621 in the final round. That's a loss of two probably in some precinct that he wasn't viable and he lost those.

And then, Elizabeth Warren. You see, down here, she had 617 votes in the first round in these early precincts that are just reporting in, 509 votes in the final round. She lost 108 votes, again probably because, Wolf, she wasn't viable in some of these precincts -- these early precincts that we're seeing.

BLITZER: What about the other candidates?

CHALIAN: So, take a look at the other side of the ledger and you'll see these candidates lost even more, in terms of Amy Klobuchar. She was at 425 votes in that first round of voting. She's at 305 votes in these early precincts. In that final round of voting, that's a loss of 120 votes. Again, she probably was not viable in many of these precincts. That's why you see her supporters went elsewhere.

Where did they go? Look at the other side. Remember, you're seeing Sanders, Biden and now Buttigieg. He was on the red side before. He is now green. He's gained some of those votes.

Take a look over here on the right-hand side. Tom Steyer. Oh, hang on. Tom Steyer, in the first round of voting, had 361 votes. Competitive. But in the final round, 130. Not viable in many -- didn't hit that 15 percent threshold in many precincts that we're looking at. He lost 231.

And then, Tulsi Gabbard did not have much vote at all, 18 in the first round, two in the final round. She lost 16.

BLITZER: We're about to get many -- a lot more numbers coming in here on our special coverage. We will continue right after this.

[17:08:37]

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BLITZER: All right, let's check in. We have a key race alert right now. Take a look at this three percent of the precincts in Nevada are reporting. Bernie Sanders atop at 1,705. He's 831 votes ahead of Joe Biden who's in second place, 874. Pete Buttigieg at 671. Elizabeth Warren, 609. Amy Klobuchar, 335. Tom Steyer, 130. Tulsi Gabbard, two votes right there.

Anderson Cooper is joining us right now -- Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, here with a panel. Let's get some quick thoughts on what we're seeing. Andrew Yang, what do you think so far?

ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, well, it's projecting to be a really great day for Bernie which I think all of us expected.

One thing I just want to put out there. I'm not sure why we're still using caucuses in some of these early states. That they're really bad for turnout. I mean, you're looking at three percent of Nevadans caucusing in 2016. This time it might be as high as four or five percent.

In New Hampshire, with a primary, it's much, much simpler. You had 20 percent plus. And so, if you're going to be a democracy and you're trying to empower voters, why would you make it harder for people to vote in your earliest nominating process?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I have to co-sign on that. I mean, we -- 70 -- they were celebrating about 75,000 early votes in Nevada which is just a minuscule fraction of the number of registered voters in the state. I think it really is -- it calls into question, I think, the Democratic Party's commitment to that issue.

[17:15:01]

But putting that aside, I mean, Bernie Sanders is not only doing really well, but he's showing that the rest of the field, it's going to be very difficult for them to catch up with him. He is building a coalition of support, it appears, based on what we know, that is broader than he had the last time around.

And if he finishes in Nevada, with a wide gap between him and whoever is in second place, maybe the second-place person will be rejoicing. But I think it will be a sign that -- of things to come for Democrats, as we go into South Carolina any further.

COOPER: It is --

PHILLIP: It's just going to be harder for them to catch up with him. And he -- this is a delegate game. He's going to get a lot of delegates. And I think that that is going to be a momentum game for him as well.

COOPER: Also, I mean, the idea is that he is espousing. He has talked about them so much.

PHILLIP: Right.

COOPER: The rest of the Democratic Party have, sort of, come toward his direction. I mean, they are arguing degrees of universal health care.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, and one of the stunning numbers that David was talking about tonight for Bernie Sanders is that even moderates, you know, he is doing well with moderates. People think of Bernie Sanders, oh, he's a liberal. Well, he did well with all ages, all races, all levels of education. Oh, sorry (ph). And he's the close second to Biden among moderates.

But Biden, at this point, who knows. Still kind of inches him out. So, I think, obviously, I agree with you. He's the -- he's the clear front-runner. The question I have is number two now.

If, for example, Joe Biden is number two in this, and he may be far back as a number two or he may be close. But say he's number two. It gives new life to his campaign, if he does well with African-American voters, those 60 percent of the electorate in South Carolina. It may help him, give him a head of steam there.

So, I think that the Biden campaign, which has been saying, we'll be very happy with second, will be thrilled with second. And it will help them, going into the next state. It would also help them raise some money because they're completely broke.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, this is extraordinary. I mean, people in the establishments, jaws are hanging off their faces. Nobody, six months ago, thought we'd be sitting here with Bernie Sanders on his way to the nomination. He's on his way to the nomination.

Now, something could happen to stop him. Somebody might have some marbles to throw on the stairs or banana peel. They'd better -- they'd better find it.

BORGER: Money.

JONES: They better find it because this guy is off and running. And he has -- he's done something extraordinary. First of all, and I'm sure we'll hear about it from you, this is a youth quake. You've got a new generation stepping up. They're not scared of any of these ideas.

And they're tired of hearing Republicans call everything that we say socialist. So, they've ruined the word, socialist. It doesn't mean anything for the younger people.

You've got the Latinos stepping up now, in a major way, behind Bernie Sanders. He's running as if he's a Latino candidate now. And these ideas are no longer as scary to a whole bunch of Democratic voters. This could be a disaster for us in general election. It's hard to know.

But this is a phenomenon and, you know, we've got to acknowledge people underestimated Bernie Sanders every step of the way, and including today.

ALEXANDRA ROJAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JUSTICE DEMOCRATS: I think that's right. I mean, four years ago, we saw what was possible. And, again, today, we are hopefully going to see that it's actually real. It's tangible.

And especially, I think one of the biggest undiscussed stories, particularly when we're talking about Latino voters and immigrants especially in a state like Nevada, is that his story of also having an immigrant story of his parents fleeing from persecution from Germany. And being able to really relate on a really personal level with a lot of young Latinos.

And so, I think that, looking at these results, Latinos and people of color within the Democratic Party have waited so long for results on some of these broken promises. And you are seeing movements of young people, movements like make the road who are down on the ground right now, and other Latino groups that have been doing the work for a really, really long time. And tonight is, really, a big moment for them. It's emotional for a lot of them.

COOPER: And you go to Sander -- I stopped by a Sanders rally the other day. He's the only one on the Democratic side who can say that they have a movement.

JESS MCINTOSH, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS OUTREACH, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Oh, absolutely.

COOPER: I mean, there's no -- it's not even close. Now, I'm not talk about just numbers at rallies. But just enthusiasm and a sense of being part of something.

MCINTOSH: Oh, yes.

COOPER: As opposed to, oh, yes, I'll vote for this guy on Election Day. It feels much more like people who are a part of something.

MCINTOSH: Yes. And there is -- the phrase that gets thrown around a lot in those rallies is fight for somebody else as hard as you would fight for yourself which seems like such a bedrock of Dem -- you know, the Democratic principles. That I'm pleased to see that come out on the level that it has. I'm glad that that's the movement that seems to be taking storm, especially -- I mean, it makes sense, when you're talking about Latino voters. Bernie Sanders prioritized them in Iowa.

[17:20:00]

He prioritized Latino voters and Muslim voters in Iowa. That would not have been seen as a winning strategy until it won. And it's not because they turned out in record numbers and swamped white voters. It's because the white voters he was speaking to realized that that was an important part of their fight. It's hard to be mad about that from a progressive point of view.

The one thing I want to say about Nevada's process today, in defense if I can, Saturday voting. What -- like, if you want to make this a Democratic process as much as we possibly can, let's vote on a day that most people have off.

YANG: I do want to say, the problem with the Bernie movement narrative is that he's winning with, like, 25, 26, 28 percent. And that includes, even in a state like New Hampshire that he won cleanly with over 50 percent last time, you have the other votes getting split up among four other candidates, really, to me, the action after today is what happens among candidates two through five.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

YANG: Because they're going to have some very, very tough conversations. And then, if the field consolidates, the question is, what percentage of the vote is Bernie getting?

COOPER: Right.

ROJAS: I think what's important to recognize, though, is that what seems to be the case, at least looking at these numbers, is that Bernie Sanders is also doing well with moderates, too. So, whereas, I feel like that argument was -- you know, could be said for New Hampshire and Iowa. We're seeing that he is winning support across moderates. And it's less ideological and it's more about who is prioritizing the needs of the working --

(CROSSTALK)

YANG: This is the question. But people like winners, in general. Like, a lot of people are looking at me, like, oh, man, like, I'm starting to warm up to this guy. You know, just because after you start putting up a bunch of number ones next to your name.

ROJAS: That's true.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: We're going to -- we're going to take a quick break. We're getting more votes out of Nevada on this crucial caucus night. The numbers ahead. We'll be right back.

[17:21:52]

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BLITZER: All right, we've got another key race alert. More numbers coming in. Five percent of the precincts now on the board. Take a look at this. It's shaping up to be -- it's still early but looking pretty good for Bernie Sanders. He's ahead with 3,169 votes. These are the popular votes.

Joe Biden right now in second place, 1,471. Pete Buttigieg, 1,174. Elizabeth Warren, 1,044. Amy Klobuchar, 562. Tom Steyer, 279. Tulsi Gabbard, six votes.

Remember, this is still very, very early in the process. But it's shaping up, looking pretty good for Senator Sanders right now -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Wolf, let's check in with our reporters who are covering both Bernie Sanders' campaign and Joe Biden's as well. Let's start with Ryan Nobles, who's with the Sanders' campaign in San Antonio, Texas. Not in Nevada -- Ryan. RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And, actually,

Senator Sanders, right now, in El Paso speaking to a huge crowd there, as his campaign already thinking about those big Super Tuesday states.

But I can tell you, Dana, inside the Sanders' campaign, they are very hopeful by what they're seeing from these entrance poll results. Meaning that the work that they put in certain area, particularly the Latino vote, also their messaging on Medicare for all, appears to be paying off.

And, of course, the issue of Medicare for all. That was thought to be a potential weakness for Senator Sanders in the state of Nevada, because of how powerful the culinary union work -- the culinary union is there and their opposition to Medicare for all.

But our entrance poll results show that the majority of folks that participated in the Nevada caucus actually support Medicare for all. And that is, of course, one of Bernie Sanders signature issues.

Now, I should say that the Sanders' campaign, while they do feel very confident about where they stand right now, they are taking nothing for granted. One aide said that in a caucus situation, you don't take anything for granted until all the votes have been cast. And all the results are in, especially because these periods of realignment that take place over the course of the day. So, even though the early returns look good, they are not going to claim victory until they know that that is exactly how this is going to all play out.

But I do want to show you what's playing out here in San Antonio. As we mentioned, Senator Sanders not expected to be here for another three hours. Take a look at this. This is a huge line of folks that have come here to participate in this rally that's going to take place tonight. This could end up being a victory party for Senator Sanders, if the Nevada caucus results go in his direction. It looks as though these folks want to be a part of it.

And, of course, there were folks here, you know, as early as two hours ago to participate in this rally here tonight. You can sense the momentum behind the Sanders' campaign. And, of course, Dana, it shows us of how these results could go tonight. But it's very important for Sanders, as he heads into Super Tuesday, because Texas is one of biggest prizes on the map -- Dana.

BASH: It sure is. And that's coming down very quickly. Let's go now to Biden's campaign to Arlette Saenz. And, Arlette, the former vice president is still in Nevada, where the caucuses are taking place. What does that tell us? What are they trying to telegraph by doing that, as posed to going ahead to another state, like Senator Sanders is or like he did last time around?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, the fact that Joe Biden decided to remain here in Nevada signals a little bit of the good hope that they have about his performance today in the caucuses. If these early results continue on this trajectory, it could be good news for Joe Biden, based on his own metric of what success would be here. He told me that he thinks coming in first or second place would be a win for him in Nevada.

Now, looking at those early entrance poll results that we have, Biden did quite well among black voters.

[17:30:00]

That's a group of people that he was courting consistently and significantly over the past week during his time here in Nevada.

Biden stopped by a caucus location earlier in the day and he was asked by a reporter about what he would need to do to beat Bernie Sanders going forward if Sanders does end up winning here in Nevada. He said part of it is moving on and focusing on states coming ahead.

He pointed to those pollings that show that Joe Biden performs better against President Trump in head to head match ups. Biden also believes he could help in down-ballot races compared to Bernie Sanders.

But right now, the Biden campaign is hoping this day will offer a turnaround for the campaign after the disappointing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire -- Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Arlette, thanks so much for that reporting.

And, Wolf, as we're waiting for the numbers to come in, let's look at turnout. Because turnout, what that means is enthusiasm, in the first two states and where we are now. We're still waiting.

On Iowa, look at this. In 2020, that's this year, 176,000, more than that. That is more than what we saw in 2016. It pales in comparison to 2008 but it's still relatively strong when talking about a Democratic enthusiasm.

In New Hampshire, incredibly strong this time around. Over 300,000 voters in 2020. And 250,000 in 2016. And it just came a little bit closer in 2008.

The big question is whether or not the trend of strong turnout will continue now that we're in Nevada. Obviously what we know wow is that we had 75,000 early votes, right? Now, the question is, what is it going to be on the day of, today, real-time caucus day.

But as we said earlier, just even the 75,000 early vote is really close to the total vote on the day of in Nevada in 2016.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: A significant number, indeed. We'll see what the final numbers are.

We're about to get more numbers coming in from the various precincts throughout the state of Nevada.

Much more of our special coverage coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:36:23] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: We're back with special coverage. We're getting early results from our reporters at caucus sites across Nevada. We are standing by for official results out from the state Democratic Party. We expect to get those soon.

Right now, based on the votes that we have seen being cast, Sanders far out in the lead. Biden in second. Buttigieg, Warren, Klobuchar, Steyer, Gabbard. You see it there on the screen.

Back now with the panel.

This notion of, if Biden comes in second, that gives new life to him, is that, Andrew, is that really a real motion?

ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it is. Moderates have been trying to figure out who to try to consolidate behind. If Joe puts up a strong second place result here, a lot of the donors that have been on the fence could come his way. He has relationships with many of them. They have been waiting for him to demonstrate strength.

To me, one of the big outcomes of today is what happens to Amy Klobuchar if she finishes, let's say, fifth. I'm friends with all of these candidates, so it's hard to talk like this. But if you finish fifth in Nevada and you're heading to South Carolina and you're Amy Klobuchar and you're not expected to do well in South Carolina, then it starts prompting some really difficult conversations.

That's what many people have been waiting for, is for the moderates in field to start consolidating.

Joe comes up strong today. And, let's say a candidate ends up leaving the field in the coming days -- because if you imagine Amy Klobuchar, say, dropping out, I don't think those voters are going to Bernie.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: One thing they are all united against is Bloomberg. He's late to game. We saw that many the debate the other night. There's not a lot of love for Mike Bloomberg on that.

COOPER: But if you're somebody who is going to be donating money and you're looking at moderates --

BORGER: Right.

COOPER: -- and see Bloomberg ALSO in that area, that might influence whether or not you decide, oh, yes, I'll give money to Biden with Bloomberg.

BORGER: Well, Bloomberg is not going to want your money, right, first of all. So that's good if you're a donor.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: But then you don't need money from anybody.

BORGER: Right. But if you're another candidate, is what I'm saying, and you're looking for -- if you're Amy Klobuchar, does she say, if she drops out -- and we're playing a hypothetical obviously -- who does she go to? Does she go to Joe? We know not Pete Buttigieg. No love loss. But does she talk about Joe Biden? Does she think about Joe Biden? I think she would do that over Mike Bloomberg any day of the week.

But we don't know yet. We don't know whether this would happen, whether it's feasible, whether --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Yes.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It does seem a bit like Bloomberg has become a strawman in this race. People are spending a lot of time thinking about how to take Bloomberg down and really diluting their power, if you're an Amy Klobuchar, any of the moderates.

That's what's really happening here is that Bernie Sanders is running away with progressive support, and even a bit of moderate support, and the rest of the field is divided. And they all have just enough money to keep going.

What's interesting about Klobuchar is she doesn't need as much money as Elizabeth Warren does to sustain her campaign. There's less of an incentive to drop out at this stage, even if her long-term chances are low. She only needs a couple of million dollars and say, well, I can continue going.

The hard questions, the real hard question that I think Andrew is referring to is, what is the objective here. Do the moderate candidates just want to be in the race to prove they can stay in or do they want to be in the race so they can see a candidate who is like minded advance? I think, frankly, it does not seem like any of them are thinking in those terms right now.

As a result, Bernie Sanders is running away from the race and Michael Bloomberg is waiting on Super Tuesday where he's likely to make a big impact.

[17:40:07]

YANG: I want to give three key variables for a candidate if they're looking at the road ahead. Number one, are they in the next debate. Number two, do they have the money to operate. Because you're right, Amy's operation is much more smaller than Elizabeth's. And number three, if you project a contested convention, are you going to finish strongly enough to hoover up delegates in the states, which often means something like a 15 percent-plus threshold.

When I decided to drop, it was, in part, because I looked at these three variables and I said, I don't think I can get delegates moving forward. If I thought I could get delegates, I would still be in the race and I would not be here having this delightful conversation with you. (CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

YANG: But really, that's the question for each of the candidates. If they think they can be, if not the king or queen but the king or queen maker at the convention, then they probably --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I want to talk about the logic model after you.

ALEXANDRA ROJAS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, no. I was just going to add in, I think, just to add another perspective, because I think we get so caught up in the moderate versus progressives that we forget that people are rationing insulin, that 60 percent of Americans can't afford an $800 emergency bill.

And that despite those ideological differences, we had 62 percent of people say they want a government-run health care system.

COOPER: In Nevada.

ROJAS: In Nevada. That's been the trend we have been seeing in white states and now we're seeing it in diverse states.

So I would make sure all of our politicians are centering the poor and working people that are the core of our Democratic Party, and the diverse base that's the next generation of Democratic voters. Those young Latino voters are going to represent a growing block of --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: To your point, union leadership in Nevada might say -- might not endorse somebody that they have concerns about the union benefits. But the actual rank-and-file might have a very different perspective of --

(CROSSTALK)

ROJAS: Their voting for little sisters or brothers and others.

COOPER: If they lose their union job, where they're working --

(CROSSTALK)

JESS MCINTOSH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's what they're saying. In these entrance polls, they're saying, sure, my union says this and I have good health care now but if I lose this job, I won't.

That's been Bernie Sanders' core argument the whole time. You might like your insurance at the moment but -- nobody likes their insurance, they like their doctor -- but you might like your situation at the moment but we don't have any health care security in the country. And it seems like that's going to be the defining issue of this election.

COOPER: Van?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & CNN HOST, "THE VAN JONES SHOW": I just think that this is an insurgency. The rules to the way these things work, everything that we were just talking about, with Trump in 2016, we had the same conversations. Which one of these people will drop out in the interest of the greater good?

But the reality is, these politicians, except for maybe present company --

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: -- their own hand.

COOPER: Also making the argument he's only getting 30 percent here.

(CROSSTALK)