Fox News Channel "America's Election HQ" - Transcript

Interview

MS. KELLY: Obama's national campaign co-chair, Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, is here with us.

Hello, Congresswoman. Thanks so much for being here.

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, it's my pleasure. Thank you.

MS. KELLY: All right. So this just broke late today about Hillary Clinton saying she is willing to take this thing all the way to the convention, telling the Associated Press that if that's what Florida and Michigan want her to do, she stands prepared to do that to get their votes counted. Your reaction to that comment?

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, actually, I think we're pretty close to agreement. The rules committee is going to meet on May 31st. And when it comes to Michigan, there has been a deal that was proposed by the Michigan party. And Barack Obama is close to accepting that. And I understand that Hillary Clinton actually may have rejected it. But I actually think that at the end of the day -- and by that, I mean the 3rd of June -- we're going to have a nominee.

MS. KELLY: Do you think Barack Obama will be at the magic number of 2,026, and do you think that number will satisfy Hillary Clinton because she's been saying the number actually needs to be higher than that because you've got to include Florida and Michigan?

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, I think that the number is going to have to satisfy Hillary Clinton because those are the rules. And the Democratic National Committee -- but even more than that, I think the voters in this country are going to see that once the rules were obeyed that we have a nominee. And frankly, I think that there will be a lot of people, including the Clintons, who, at that point, are going to understand that it's really over. But Barack Obama, our campaign is certainly not going to try and push her out. But I think there would be damage to the party if it did go all the way to the convention. And frankly, I don't expect that it will.

MS. KELLY: And when you say that you think there may be a deal on Michigan, any deal on Florida? And how close on Michigan?

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, my understanding is that there's some sort of proposal where the Clinton campaign may get 69 and Barack Obama 59. I don't know. I mean, they're getting down, though, to those kinds of specifics. Florida, all I know is that there are concrete plans that are now in discussion that are going to resolve these problems. The Obama campaign wants to make sure that those people are seated at the convention, that those two states, important states, states that he's visiting now get some resolution there.

MS. KELLY: Sorry to cut you off, but I want to get to one more topic because we're running out of time.

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Okay, sure.

MS. KELLY: And that is, as I mentioned in the introduction, Obama struggled to win over large portions of Democrats, not only in Kentucky last night but in West Virginia earlier. Fifty percent of Democrats there, Congresswoman, are saying that if he's the nominee, they'll vote for John McCain or stay home. Thirty-two percent are saying they'll vote for McCain over Obama.

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, actually, the last time that John McCain ran for president, there were actually more people, more voters who said that they weren't going to vote for George Bush in the general election. That happens all the time in primaries. And I am absolutely convinced, because of the stark difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, that Democrats are not going to vote for a third Bush term which in so many ways is what John McCain represents.

The healing process is not going to be taken for granted. We're going to see Barack Obama going all over the country, meeting with voters in every state so that they get to know him better. And I feel, by the time of the election in November, that the Democrats and Barack Obama will have done their job to unite the party. And hopefully, Hillary Clinton, too, will be part of that healing.

MS. KELLY: And just to clarify, we put a graphic on the screen that was wrong. It said 50 percent for Obama. The bottom line is 50 percent of those in Kentucky said they would not vote for Barack Obama. Thirty-two percent said they'd go for McCain, 15 (percent) said they'd stay home.

Let me ask you before I let you go, the reason he's getting those numbers in Kentucky and West Virginia and other states is he cannot win over the white working class. He has failed to do it in several states. Some states he's done it, but he continues to have a problem with them. How does he unite the party? How does he get to those people who here we are in May and he hasn't done it yet?

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Well, actually, in Oregon last night, which has a lower per-capita income than Ohio, he did win those working-class voters, people who have a college degree or less. There's a new Gallup poll that puts him ahead among those voters, and it puts him ahead among women, it puts him even with white voters. And so, you know, we're looking at numbers that are moving in the right direction in terms of uniting the Democrats, all of the Democrats.

MS. KELLY: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, thanks so much for being here with your thoughts on it tonight.

REP. SCHAKOWSKY: Thanks so much.

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