Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Election Eve Forecast

CLAY: I believe you’re going to be at our Election Night party tomorrow, Senator. Can’t wait to see you. What is your election eve forecast? How do you think Republicans are going to do in the Senate? What do you have your eye on?

SEN. BLACKBURN: I think with a good night, we’re at 52. And if we had to one of those nights where it is more of a tsunami than a wave and more like a blowout, it is going to be at 54. But, Clay, I have got to tell you, everywhere I’ve gone and I know that you and Buck have heard this, too, people are talking about inflation. They’re talking about the open border. They’re talking about crime.

They’re talking about parental rights and I personally think what troubles people so much is how rapidly the Biden administration and this group of Democrats has transformed the country, changed the country. And I had somebody yesterday at church who grabbed my arm and said, “Marsha, when do we bottom out on all of this?” Because they are just so fearful of losing businesses and losing freedoms and they’re just saying tomorrow is their chance to weigh in and repudiate so much of what the Biden administration has done.

BUCK: Hey, Senator Blackburn, it’s Buck. If we do get to a great night for the GOP in the Senate, which Clay and I are certainly hoping and I wouldn’t say quite confident will happen, but we’re optimistic that it may happen. So, we’re talking 53, maybe even 54 seats. A lot of people see this and they say, well, okay, but Biden’s still the president, what does it mean if you get to, let’s say we hit that big number of 54, which would be a pretty amazing midterm for the Republicans under the circumstances, what does that mean for the Senate? What are you able to do and why is it so important that we get those numbers as high as we can on the GOP side?

SEN. BLACKBURN: It is important that we do that because you have to get to 60 in order to have that cloture vote in the Senate. So, that is one reason. And the other is when you look at people that are coming into the Senate right now, you’ve got good, solid conservatives. Well, what does that help us do? It helps us, conservatives in the Senate be able to change the conversation. And I am one of those. I get pretty frustrated when you’ve got ten Republicans go work with Democrats and then they have a quote unquote bipartisan bill that is not acceptable to the majority of Republicans.

And what we’re trying to do is push it so we have Republican alternatives to whatever it is that is going that the Biden administration is wanting to have a discussion on. And that’s the way it ought to be. This nation has been kept free by robust, respectful debate, bipartisan debate. And that means you have a Republican approach and you have a Democrat approach. And we want to solve these problems. The first thing we should do, in my opinion, is to freeze federal spending, followed by freezing federal hiring and freezing federal salaries and then having a vote that strikes those 87,000 IRS agents and puts that money toward police officers and border security.

CLAY: Senator Blackburn, election night. What will you be watching on the East Coast as these returns start to come in? Is there a race you’ve got your eye on that you think is a bellwether? Is it New Hampshire, as you mentioned, to see how Bolduc is doing, to get an idea? Is it the early returns from Florida? For people out there who are excited to kind of have an idea but may not stay up till 2 or 3 a.m. to see the all the West Coast come in? Where should people be paying attention to get an idea of wave versus tsunami versus kind of expectation?

SEN. BLACKBURN: Yes. And I think the temperament of the voter plays into that. Having that eye on New Hampshire and on Georgia as to what’s going to happen in those two states. And then I would look at South Florida to see what is transpiring with the Hispanic vote. You remember last cycle, people were surprised when you had a Republican flip a seat, a congressional seat, there in the Miami area. And I think that portended well, for what you have seen happen with the Hispanic community over the past two years. They’re focused on the economy. They’re focused on crime. They’re focused on parental rights.

BUCK: We’re speaking to Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Senator, I just want to know, what do you think of the race right now in New Hampshire with Bolduc and Hassan? Because one of them is going — well Hassan is in the Senate — but one of them is going to be your Senate colleague the next time around. Do you think Bolduc can get it done? What’s the difference-maker going to be in New Hampshire?

SEN. BLACKBURN: One of the things that I think many of us have looked at is that the attitude of the voters in New Hampshire and their concern over what was coming out of D.C. with inflation, with the attack on energy, with the cost of heating fuel. We’ve also looked at Hassan’s favorables. She’s had a tough time getting those out of the low forties and seeming then to backtrack a little bit on her votes on energy, on what has transpired with inflation. So, those are areas that I think bode well for Bolduc. I think that also looking at the Connecticut race, no one ever thought that it would be possible to beat Richard Blumenthal. And now you have Leora Levy in Connecticut, who is in a dead heat with him.

That is certainly a race where the issues and the frustration of the American people have played out in, and you were seeing that. It means every voter in every state has to get out and vote. You know, many times you’ll hear people say, “Well, the Red Wave will carry this or will carry that.” No, it is going to be the candidates working up to the last minute getting their vote out that is going to send this over the top. I just talked to Ted Budd in North Carolina a few minutes ago. He is out working today, getting people to the polls, making certain that they go vote tomorrow so he has a solid win.

CLAY: Last question for you, Senator Blackburn. Are you at all nervous? I know you probably saw Fetterman’s campaign has put out a statement saying, “Oh, it may take a week or more, several days in order for these votes to come in.” Are you nervous at all about that or do you think that this is going to be a smoother and more rapid process of counting than we saw in 2020?

SEN. BLACKBURN: One of the things that I’ve been pleased to see as many states have followed what I think is the right course, which is making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. And that should be our approach. It is of tremendous concern to me when you hear someone who is the lieutenant governor of the state beginning to say, “Oh, well, you know what, it may take us a while to get all of this in and get the votes counted.” And that should be a concern to the people of Pennsylvania. And my hope is that you’re going to see people get these votes counted. And I wish everyone did like we did in Tennessee. The polls close, the votes are posted, the tallies are made, and the results are announced. And generally, by the time people put their head on the pillow at night, they know who won, who lost.

CLAY: Senator, I hope we have a lot of wins and not too many losses. We’ll see you tomorrow at the party. Can’t wait.

SEN. BLACKBURN: You got it. Take care. Bye-bye now.

CLAY: That is Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.