Transcripts For WMUR Closeup 20161120 : vimarsana.com

The state but i think everyone can rejoice in that the campaign is over. I try to stay positive and stay above it as best as you can but on behalf of my wife and kids, we are happy the campaign is done and we are ready to get to work. Coming into this, it was expected that if anyone will survive the kelly ayotte. Why do you think the race was different . She ran a federal message. We got in early. She had a formidable party. You have to give governor hassan credit. They had over 100 million spent in that race. And i raised about 1 million in ground game. Grassroots efforts. Persontoperson. Because we knew we would not be able to compete with the federal funds out there. So i proud of my team. They did a great job. And they galvanize around the philosophy. They stuck to the plan. And some people said we were running too much of an oldfashioned race but it is just how you do it in New Hampshire. Straight talk with straight answers in you dont beat arounh behind headlines and it resonated with folks. We stayed optimistic and we stay positive and it is clearly a volatile it is clearly a model people want to see in the state. Moving forward, what are the priorities . Is very temptation to be i have to tell you, the priorities are what we talked about on the campaign. But there are clear issues and programs that we have to address immediately. The funding is there in a lot of respects. Aggressive prevention in schools. I plan to put in business tax credit so those coming out of recovery can get jobs training skills. We instill workforce. We have a workforce issue. We have a lot of young people dealing with addiction. Whats get them back into the workforce and drive our economy forward. Me. We are losing businesses right now and we have to bring them in. Im very passionate about education. And it is about restoring local control. Making sure that parents have the ability to work with kids. Making sure teachers have the flexibility to do what kids need the best. So it isnt about just doing it 30 years ago, it is about you pointed to education. Early education is one of the keys, you believe, to solving addiction . Ask my wife is a special education teacher. She really focuses on everyone from 2yearoldfourth grade. Impressionable years. And you cant waste those years. So where we can provide a full day kindergarten or where we can take a step forward and provide child care, there are aspects we been lax on. To give families flexibility and create the best programs for kids and themselves. It is about the quality of life. The best thing the government can do is provide services and get out of the way. So people have freedom and flexibility for themselves. Took over amid controversy with the drugs, do you like the job and do you think he needs a bigger staff . X i do like the job he is doing. He reports directly to the governor. I look forward to working with him. I hate the term czar because we are not in russia. We need to get recovery professionals in here. We need to address in the state. Doing a two separate that out. Do we need an advisor to handle things like enforcement . And we need folks who have authority to make good decisions. Drug courts, recovery, different types of treatment, alternative treatments. There we bringing in enough nurses . Him. Lex i have to ask, there was an issue that came up during the campaign that had nothing to do with the campaign. A lot of questions were around that. The first call for a rebid here. Where does that stand . We will keep looking at it. It isnt just a campaign issue. We have Mental Health services t i will keep asking those questions. Can the contract be rebid . Maybe or maybe not. It is a much tougher hurdle. That doesnt mean we are not going to pursue this. It is more about making sure we have transparency. We need to provide the best options for the state and the providing options. I want to ask you this. Legalizing marijuana. In New Hampshire, it is debated. A lot of people dont even want to talk about it while advocates say this is a chance to get tax revenue. What is your take . Were not ready for that step. We have talked about the criminalizing. Which really of the punishment in line with the crime. And that is a little more common sense, closer to where we need to be. That going into full legalization, we are not ready. We just going into medicinal use so lets see what happens in massachusetts and colorado and maine, lets see what the impacts of those programs are so we can make the best decision. The road. You must be a busy guy. He had some words that sound good to you . I have immense respect for mike pence. A great governor in indiana. Rate programs there. He is in the white house now and he understands the value of letting states design systems. The value of breaking down regulation so that we in New Hampshire can design a system that meets our needs as opposed to mississippi or california. Their needs are. Design programs to meet our needs. We have a Substance Abuse crisis. These are different dynamics in other states. We should have the ability to focus the money and programs to where they need to be. I think they will be aggressive about pushing programs back to the states. It was incredibly encouraging. We have 34 republican governors you. That must feel good . I dont feel that young. I was an engineer for years. I will resign my position as ceo in a month. But i dont feel that young. Maybe i just need a rest . And again, i do have so much energy and excitement around the team that we are building at the opportunity we have in the state. Take a nap. You should take a day off, it is ok. Any surprises that will be in there . People will be looking at key things. I dont think so. I am excited to work with the senate president. The gentleman who crafted the budget over the last couple of years. He knows this stuff inside and out. Integrate those issues into the budget and make sure we are being responsible about our projections forward. Breaking down regulations and growing our economy the right way. It isnt about increasing taxes, it is just about bringing more business in. I think that is a philosophy that we all share right now. So i am excited to get to work and work with them and put together a great budget and then we can look at other things we have to look at. Initiatives, issues with environmental services. We have to be willing to get our hands a little bit dirty in those departments to figure out what is working and what isnt and then move forward. You do have the opportunity here and responsibility here. The speakership holds the gavel but he is being challenged. We will see how this goes. How hopeful are you that the being challenged, there is a challenge. And that is ok. It is a fair process. I think he has done a good job. No doubt about it. And i think the folks challenging him could also do a good job. It isnt about picking sides. I think the process will be a fair one. We will ensure impartiality. And im sure whoever comes out as the speaker, i take pride in the fact that i you can do. Even if you disagree with somebody. You have to maintain a relationship to know that down the road you have to Work Together in some capacity to get things done. So whoever comes out as the speaker, it will be republican. Best of luck. We will keep the lines of communication going, for sure. We will be be right back with the Republican State Party okay, google, show me korean restaurants in boulder. Google Assistant i found a few places. vo the new pixel, phone by google. Exclusively at verizon. The only next gen network that lets you get the most out of it. How is this possible . vo because verizon lte advanced delivers 50 faster peak speeds in 450 cities, coast to coast. Buy a pixel and get up to 400 back. And get 20 gigs of data with no surprise overages, have it all on verizon . Welcome back. A year when a lot of democrats were talking about a potential sweep but in a lot of cases, the exact opposite happened and now the discussion is about how republicans can accomplish what here. Great to see you. Congratulations. Thank you for being here. Did you sense, heading into election day, that the assumptions were wrong . I rejected the idea of the Republican Party being in disarray, all along. We had a good sense, going into election day, where we were. We knew the top of the ticket would be a net a regardless of the way it went. And from our point, we were pleased with the work we had done. We had a tightly coordinated effort with mike bianco at the trump team. The party. The rnc. It was a tightly coordinated effort. And we were fairly confident moving in that we were in a good place. Disappointing. In particularly, the loss for senator ayotte. There were a lot of things that influence that race but she was outspent by 15 million. That is a heartbreaker, for me, personally, because i have been struck as i have been out and about this week at the Grocery Store and in the parking lot or the mall, i have had strangers come up to me and say how hard a real loss for New Hampshire because she was an outstanding senator. We will see a lot more from her going forward. Other than that, i am very happy. The Corner Office for the first time in 14 years. An anonymous, schmidt. And that came as a result of hard work and teamwork. Donald trump and trying to keep people under the umbrella. I think it is important for republicans to come together. We were able to hold the majority during a president ial election. It looks like we increased our maturity in the senate and held it in the executive council. So now it is republicans to stand up and lead. I think the people in our state have put a tremendous amount of trust in us and it is time for us to show that we deserve it. What is next for you . Reince priebus was singing your praises. Do you have any thoughts . Or are you just focus on what you have coming up . An outstanding choice for chief of staff. President elect. And im pleased. I think people see that as an encouraging sign. For me, i still have a lot of responsibility. Our race doesnt come up until the end of january and i am focused on making sure that chris sununu and chuck morris, they all have what they need to have a strong structure in the party. Im ready to back them up. You are a mom and you are from New Hampshire. National aspirations. This is all about New Hampshire . It is always about New Hampshire and my kids. What i do next, im not sure. I have 2 it is a stepbystep process. Am i going to do this . Yes or no . And what are the other possibilities out there . Before the gop right now. Are you concerned about trying to do too much, too soon . Im always worried about overreach. Under barack obama we saw that when you go into an attitude to do what anything you want, it is bad. But i am confident that between paul ryan and Mitch Mcconnell and trump and the team that he is building there is important work that needs to be done. Looking at things like obamacare and health care and the budget and the deficit. National security, more than anything at this point. I think they are going to focus on the issues that people elected them to take action on. And im confident we will get the leadership that people are expecting. Early on, you openly question you took heat for that. What do you hope to see . Lets talk about that a little bit. I have always stood up for republican principles. And a vance the message and the values of who we are as republicans. I will continue to do that, regardless. What we have seen unfold is a fair constitutional process. The people of spoken and they have spoken clearld for our state and country has to wish well for the people who have won the election. I think folks need to conduct for a minute. Let him get his team together. See what direction he heads with this. If him a chance to lead in the way that supporters believe he can. And maybe people will be surprised. Maybe they wont. Situation compared to barack obama . Everyone thought obama would be able to fix everything and many people think he did do a fantastic job. Trump is the opposite. The bar of expectations is quite low. In 2008 i lost a congressional race and i wrote an editorial for the union leader after that wishing well because if we want our country to succeed, we have to want our leaders to succeed. I think donald trump bidders trump deserves the same successes. We will be right back with we just heard from horn and i enjoyed by her counterpart. Good to see you. A lot of republicans out there say they were the victor on Election Night. The reality is that chris sununu when the governors office. For the first time in New Hampshire history, democrats have all four congressional seats. Maggie hassan will be voting together. New hampshire has been represented in washington. How concerned are you about the republican agenda which could include things like right to work and that . Certainly. We understand that it is a government. There is an uptick every two years. And every time the republicans has had an opportunity, i have and we are very confident in on friday, chris sununu said one of his Top Priorities is to eliminate sameday Voter Registration because he contends it is fraud but there is no proof. Disenfranchising voters is your First Priority . Not fixing roads or bridges or schools . Not dealing with property taxes or creating jobs . He thinks the law should be strengthened so there are not embarrassing issues. Moving forward. How shocked were you with the results of Election Night . A lot of people were expecting Hillary Clinton to come out on top. I think even the Trump Supporters were shocked. It was an election that will go down in the books where everyone was surprised with the results. Whether you won or lost. Assumptions of who was going to win on Election Night. I think that make selections more competitive and that is a good ink. What do you think happened . A lot of people are blaming james comey. What is your take . A number of factors. The Democratic Party on the Grassroots Level in other states get more support from the Democratic National committee which is essential. Withstand the swing that occurred late with republican states. The james comey letter obviously was a huge factor. But there were a number of factors. I think there are a whole lot of things that can be learned from the selection. And i trust that we will. And we might learn in the next election t new party. Your name has been mentioned. How likely is that . At this point, more likely than not. I bring a perspective that other folks looking at running they simply havent had. Serving as a state party chair for 10 years, i know how to win. And i think that is part of what conversation and we have that meeting coming up soon. The election isnt until february so we have time. More likely than not . 6040. Some say the Democratic Party needs to rebuild itself to a certain degree, how accurate is that . Absolutely. Something i have been figh have been pushing and it has been hard for people in washington to understand but elections are won on the ground and in communities and not in the beltway. And that opportunity may present itself. If so, i would love to be able to reorganize and refashion how we operate. You have senator cory booker. Elizabeth edwards. Amy klobuchar. Maybe governor martin omalley. There are a good dozen or so people who i can imagine coming in in the next few months. The next Democratic Party chair, nationally, it will be an interesting job because donald trump is appointments will get called into question. How different will it be . One thing that i have is experience of running a party and staying neutral. Having a level Playing Field for the candidates. And that attitude and behavior that we displayed in 2008 in the primary and now is that every talking about fairness, how do you change it . The rules are the rules . I think rules can be adjusted. And there will be significant changes with delegates. Best of luck to you. Congratulations on a good Election Night. That wraps it up. Stay tuned. Soledad right now, as a matter of fact any announcements today . Soledad the trump transition enters uncharted territory. Would you grant his children top security clearance . Jonathan it is not uncommon for advisors to have clearance. Soledad plus, want a lower tax bill . And a better job . Can republicans deliver both in the new administration . Journey from somalia to the state house. How this young lawmaker rose from refugee to representative. But first, the Supreme Court under a trump administration. Im soledad obrien. Welcome to matter of fact. . Soledad justice ruth bader