>> next,kers -- . [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captions performed by national captioning institute] >> this week on "newsmakers" the esident of emily's list, stephanie schriock.

thank you for being here. >> pleasure to be here. thank you for having me. >> let me begin, if i could, with explaining what is "emily's list"? what are your priorities for 2014? >> emily's list is now a 29-year-old organization that is committed to electing pro-choice women to office up and down the to the top. we train, recruit, and elect women. goal. really our as we go into 2014, we have huge opportunities both in the process of being a big player, helping the democrats hold the united states senate, as well as adding voices to the house, and adding a few governors along the way. we have a whole series of priorities, but it is really about representative democracy for us, and adding more women's voices.

>> i want to start with the battle for the senate and the state of north carolina. it is one of the biggest bets that emily's list is making for the cycle. you have run a couple television advertisements. a couple questions. why north carolina as the biggest bet? also, one of the things i noticed about the television ads, they mention equal pay, but also education and tax cuts for the wealthy. >> that's exactly right. well, we have been proud to support senator hagen from her first rate race to the united states senate, and we surely want to see her elected this go-around. so it is a huge priority of ours. we are also engaged significantly, and as the weeks go on, you will see more significantly in other races, ncluding in gagha, kentucky, and -- including georgia,

kentucky, and new hampshire. we recognized quickly what our role through our independent arm was to really lay out the fferences between kay haguen and the house answer in north carolina. they have done some real damage to women's health care, and a whole set of issues that affect women and families. our job is to make sure women voters across the state of north carolina understand those differences and are aware of the choices that they have. >> let's talk about a few of the other senate races that you just mentioned. ou have senator gene s -- jean aheen running in georgia and allison grimes taking on the senate race in north carolina.

tell us what alison lundgren-grimes represents to your group. >> we are thrilled that alison took on this race. many people would say this is an impossible race to run against the minority leader of the senate. we knew two things. one, senator mcconnell is one of the least popular senators in the entire country by his own voters. there's problem number one for him. he second is, alison lundgren-grimes has an incredible record in working for women in the state and has an incredible vision. when we gotten gauged -- so we gotten gauged with alison right off the batful because one, we knew there is a clear contrast, and two, we know there is a woman who is really take this on. we can see by the polling we are dealing with a race that's incredibly close. it is one of many races that

will be decided by women voters. the gender gap in kentucky is already at 18 points. which is an incredible number, especially since the electorate in kentucky is 53% women. so senator mitch mcconnell has an uphill battle here, and we think we will make a huge change y sending alison lundgren-grimes to the senate. >> i want to ask you about a race in which you are not involved, and that's colorado. more than any other state or other race it seems like some of the emily's list core issues, such as abortion, seem to be particularly big issues there. mark udall is making a big deal of the pass for personhood legislation. why do you think it is playing bigger there in colorado and not in some of the other states you mentioned before, north carolina, new hampshire, and kentucky?

>> i think what you have in colorado, and i actually grew up in montana, where there is a good libertarian bent and all of that. what you see with senator mark udall is a clear contrast particularly on women's health care. it is a very, very clear contrast. you are sort of asking the question, what's going on? is this not playing out in north carolina, georgia, and kentucky? and indeed it is. we look at tom tillis' record, and he wants to go further on limiting women's access to birth control than even the hobby lobby decision did. so for us on emily's list, we are about winning elections, and we know, as do the voters, that our candidates are the ones that are going to stand up for women's rights period. but with the voters, in

particularly north carolina, tennessee, kentucky, want to be hearing from their leaders is about economic opportunity. it is about a fair shot for a future that will be good for their families. for women and families, health care is a huge piece of economic opportunity. i will hear that conversation play out in the weeks to come. >> tell us a little more about -- it is not just about women candidates for your group, but about getting women voters to cast their votes for them. when democrats have talked about particular issues they may have in the mid-term election, young women is one of the groups that gets mentioned most often as being drop-off voters. what kind of things is emily's list doing to ensure that that democratic leaning group is going to show up in the polls in the races you are interested in this year?

>> it is such an important part of a mid-term game we are playing here. how do we assure that the voters get out to vote. it really is a lot of young women voters we need to get out to the polls. so emily's list has a unique history on this. about 20 years ago -- in fact, it was 20 years ago, we started our women vote program which is our independent expenditure arm. so it is not something we started recently. we have been doing this a long time. over those two decades now we have been doing research on how women are thinking about voting, and how they best get their information. with that, those years of history and information, we're able to really mobilize and educate women voters across the country. so as you look at, again, back to north carolina, and you are seeing some of our television spots there, we're talking about the issues that they wnt to -- want to talk about. they have candidates that are supporting the issues that they

see are going to provide them opportunities moving forward. that is a big piece of moving women to the polls. you have to be talking about the issues that are affecting their daily lives. for young women, not getting paid the same as their male counterpart is a huge issue. in fact, our affiliated research arm, has done some amazing research. lks should check it out at americanwomen.org, and how a huge percentage of the population are really moved by this issue, and we are looking at this as a driving motivation factor for women getting to the polls. that's in states across the country. >> you mentioned earlier that you are from montana. know that last year after max balkous' retirement -- max

baucus' retirement, your name came up as a possible replacement. this year montana democrats spent a long time looking for a candidate again. were you approached about running and potentially reconsidering? what was your answer, and why? >> i won't get into any conversations that i may or may not have had about this particular senate race and my involvement. what i will say, though, is that we've got an opportunity here in montana. we are -- the state democratic party is going to be coming together to choose a candidate and we'll see how that plays out. montana is a really interesting state as so many of the western states are. lots of folks think it is very conservative, but it is that combination of libertarian, and also with a populous bent that the right candidate can really

make a huge difference. i worked for senator john tester prior to becoming the president of emily's list. i think he is a great example of the kind of leader that you can elect in montana. i think that's what the people of montana are looking for in this election. we'll have to see what's going to happen here with the choice of who is going to be the nominee for this election. it is a short amount of time, and it's going to be -- it is not easy to mount a campaign statewide as quickly as they are going to have to. but with the right issues, i think we could see some of this play out in montana as well. >> here in washington we are obviously very focused on what is going on in the senate and keep therats' fight to senate. at that point in time there is only one woman occupying a governor's mansion. tell us about the races emily's

list is looking at across the country. >> thank you for reminding everyone that we only have one democratic woman governor in the country. i appreciate that. by the way, she's fantastic. it's governor maggie hassen out of new hampshire. by the way, she is up for re-election again, because new hampshire only has two terms. so we are standing with maggie hassen right now. but we have an opportunity to add some women to the ranks of governorship this year. some of our best opportunities remain in the new england area. we have gina remondo, currently the state treasurer, running for governor of rhode island. the momentum seems to be building with gina right now, and we are proud to be supporting her and looking forward to that primary coming to task and focusing on the general election. just really down the road or up the road from rhode island is

massachusetts where the very popular attorney general martha cokely continues to lead in the primary and in the general, by the way. we are proud to be standing with her and hope to see her adding her name with governor hassen to the list of women governors. we also have a couple other races that some folks haven't looked at as closely, although i shouldn't say that quite that way, in wisconsin. i hear it all the time, "we can't beat governor scott walker." i'm here to tell you, this race is dead even. we have a huge opportunity with mary burke. she's a business woman, a job creator. she served as secretary of congress in a previous administration, and really understands the economic needs of wisconsin. and governor walker remains to state. polarizing in the

he did not fulfill his promise to bring jobs into the state, and it is a real, real problem for him. i think we have an opportunity to pick up the governor's race. a lot of folks will be surprised at the end of that one, i think. i think it is going to be marry -- mary bureaucratic -- burke. >> what do you think the grounding is going to be for think the t do you ground game is going to be for democrats? >> i think it is going to be massive. what we are really seeing. the koch brother interviews really pulling behind governor walker. they see him as a potential presidential nominee. for the people of wisconsin, it is all about wisconsin. that's exactly what this should be. it is the governor's race. this is one of the most important jobs in the state.

so as we see more and more activity on the ground on the democratic side from a large coalition of folks who really want someone in that role who is focusing on the economy, on education and the future of the state of wisconsin, and that's why i think this race is going to be close. it is a very polarized state right now. the truth is, we're in a great position with mary burke. we may not spend as much money, but we will have the feet on the ground. >> what about bringing in high-profile people in states like wisconsin. normer -- former secretary of state hillary clinton, do you think she will hit the campaign trail for some of your candidates? >> both hillary clinton and president clinton have been very helpful in helping candidates. so yes, we hope to see some activity here, and we are hopeful. i think this is all hands on

deck this year. so much of this is about turnout and making sure our voters get to the polls. anything that is mobilizing that is energizing to get women to the polls, to get african-americans and hispanics and the entire coalition to the polls is going to make a huge difference. i think, as i said, it is going to be all hands on deck to hold the senate and to pick up some governor seats. >> one thing you didn't mention, i suspect you were going to, is in texas, wendy davis. >> i had a feeling you were going to say that. yes. >> polls show her down significantly, the republicans in the general there. do you think she still has a chance to win that general election there, or for your group is this more about taking advantage of the democrats there will and making it competitive down the road? >> i do believe she has a chance. here's the thing about this texas governor's race. we watched it evolve a long

time. really, it hasn't moved that much. it isn't about who has fallen behind and who made big gains. there has been some movement on her side. really, what's happening, it is just getting started. it is a huge state. folks just got up on television and are just really now having a much broader conversation with the voters. and what we've seen really in the last week or so, since wendy davis went up on television with a very hard-hitting ad that has put greg abbott on the defense for his lack of response in supporting women. this is a very serious issue. women are going to be shocked in texas, as they are seeing this ad. this is the conversation. who is greg abbott? people are just figuring out who greg abbott is. he's incredibly conservative with a backwards view of where

the state should go. this race is going to get closer as we get closer to re-election. i'm not saying it is easy. i'm not blind to the fact that we are dealing with a race in texas, but this is far from over. >> is it more difficult for women to get elected to executive positions? i know there are 16 democratic women in the senate. there is a lower number of democratic women governors. there are a number of attorney general -- or attorneys general, i should say, and there were some high-profile mayoral candidates in new york and los angeles who didn't do as well. is there a barrier in terms of executive positions that you are trying to help people over the hump with, or is it really just a fluke of the numbers at this point? >> let's not forget our mayor. i know it is not the largest city, but it is getting there.

so it is -- it is a really, really good question. we are very engaged with it at emily's list. what we have found is that once you have that breakthrough, whether it is a mayor or a governor, folks really you know, think well that seems so normal, that's what we should be doing. we still live in a country where 24 states have never had a woman governor. i mean, that's half the country has never seen a woman governor. so part of it is just breaking through. emily's list has been at this work for 29 years. we have helped elect 10 women governors. on the other hand, we've only helped elect 10 women governors, so we do have a lot of work to do. we do find once women and men see her, whoever she is, in that role, it just becomes common place. that's the work we do every single day.

>> scott mentioned governors and mayors. if we are going to talk about executive position, i think we're here in d.c., it begins and ends with the president of the united states. we talked about secretary clinton earlier today. to what extent is that really a -- an issue for her? femalericans ready for a president? >> i thought you were going to bring up our candidate for mayor here in washington, d.c. that is an interesting question. days question we had at emily's list. as a matter of fact, in the research we did last year we wanted to tees that out a little -- tease that out a little bit. is america ready? the good news in what we found is they are absolutely ready. they are not only ready to support and see a woman president, they are ready to vote for a woman candidate for president of the united states. the other thing we saw in this

research, and again this was a year ago, was that voters -- and these were in battleground states where we did the polling -- voters see women bringing the right priorities and right judgment to the job. they also see them breaking through the partisan bickering and putting family and country in front of partisanship. i would have to say, in the current environment we are in today, this is a very good environment for a woman to step up and run for president of the united states. >> we have time for a few more questions. >> thinking a little bit about the house of representatives also, the kind of last field to -- that we brushed off to the side, 2i7 at this point, most of the forecasters looking at what might happen in the house project republicans to pick up a handful of seats, but one of the things we haven't talked about that emily's list does, in addition to getting into battleground states, when a safe

to shows up, maybe a woman run in democratic primaries. do you think there will be more women in congress next year even if there may be fewer democrats? >> should i knock on wood or something? there have been a -- well, not a lot, but quite a few democrats n these -- female democrats in these safe democratic seats. i'm glad you brought that up. so much of what emily's list does is train women to run for the senate. that becomes our pipeline for what you are talking about. these house races, and those house races become our senators. so that's what we've been trying to build. we have had some success this year in moving women through primary. most recently brenda lawrence who is up in michigan. just won her primary. again this is a state democratic district. she is going to be heading to congress in january. that's where, you know, a lot of

our work is done in adding new voices, and particularly not just women, but women of color. that is really important, we believe, not just in the work we do at emily's list, but in that representative democracy we believe in so strongly. that is a piece of the work we are doing. so we are hoping that we might end up with a net gain. i wouldn't throw out the fact that there could be some pickups by democrats in the house. i understand the forecasters when they are plus or minus five or down 10. the game of d.c. is going on. we have some good women running in pickup opportunities. you know, women like gwen graham in florida. recently another poll came out tight race.as a she is running a fantastic race.

we see a real opportunity in picking up that race. another one i want to bring up, if i may, is stacy apple. she's running in iowa's third godge district. now, wawwaw -- iowa has an interesting history, which we want to change. head.e all shaking your iowa has never elected a woman to congress of either party nor to the senate. we want to change that this year. we think stacy apple is the one to do it. we have a handful of great female democrats. there are six or seven we are watching closely that we think might be picking up seats along the way. >> one more question. al franken, you ran his campaign in 2008, which went about eight months overtime, big recount, the republican senator 0 coleman. >> a win is a win.

>> i want to ask more about the profile he cut in the senate. i know you worked on his campaign. but looking at the way he's cut his profile here in washington, for someone that was a comedian and actor and wrote pretty outlandish books and was a big personality, he's been sort of the opposite here in d.c. i was wondering if you could talk about that. >> well, senator franken had a career change. he deeply, deeply wants to represent the people of minnesota. he became a united states senator. if i dare say, and i may be a little bias, he's become an incredible senator for the people of minnesota, and for the institution. it's about his priority. he put down one piece of his career and he shifted over and has become a united states senator. i couldn't be prouder of the work he has done. and also, if i may say, for

women and families. he has become a leader on many issues. the job is to represent the people from minnesota, and i certainly hope the people from minnesota see how well he has been doing in that role. >> we will have to leave it there. stephanie schriock, president of emily's list, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> and we're back with scott plan much and steven shepard. scott, i wanted to begin with you. what role, what impact will emily's list have, do you think, in the 2014 election cycle? >> i think they will have a big impact. we kicked off by talking about senator kay hagen. that's one of the big races in the country. it could be the tipping point deciding whether democrats or republicans hold the senate in 2015. so to have emily's list there not only helping kay hagen raise

money, which they do very well, but also making contact on their own with women voters and trying to make sure that, you know, the type of dropoff voters that you typically see vote in a presidential year and not in a d-foremen -- mid-term turn out. i think that is a huge point. >> steven shepard, what is their ground game like? >> it is not just the ground game, it starts with their pipeline of candidates. emily's list, more than any other group, has been responsible for this inclusion of women in congress that the republicans haven't necessarily had. i think the biggest test thus far is for them in the u.s. senate. they are spending $3 million in north carolina. like scott said, they are going up on television there, which is not something they typically do.

most of their candidates they provide training, p and mostly fund-raising help so the candidates can get their fund-raising going. this is their big vetting of the cycle. whether they can turn out those young women that traditionally don't vote in mid-term elections, that's the big test. >> they have raised over $45 million so far this summer. scott, the female vote, how important is it in 2014? >> it is very important. we talked about how traditionally now you see a gender gap in almost every race. you see women support the democrats by a wider margin than support the republicans by a wider margin. so to the extent that they can leverage that three decades worth of research that stephanie talked about and figure out exactly how to get more women to go to the polls could be decisive. >> it is not just more women. in 2010 women voted evenly for the democratic house candidate and the republican house

candidate. in 2012312, democrats had a more than 10-point advantage over women. it is not just about turning out more women, it is also about convincing them that they should vote for the democratic candidate. >> so t -- is this war on women campaign that the democrats say republicans are doing, is that working? will it work for 2014? >> it seemed to turn the tide a little in 2012. one of the ads against tom tillis in north carolina mentions specifically that he blocked equal pay in the north carolina state legislature. you are not seeing necessarily a lot of the abortion attacks. in colorado it is a big part of enator mark udall's game plan. if you take a look at the democratic list, you will notice a lot of women in the ads.

you will see there are women to speak to women and families and this type of voters. >> what about president obama and his role in 2014? do the democrats want him out on the trail? >> the president is certainly more popular among women than he is among men, if you look at public opinion polling. some of these states he will be valuable in getting these voters to the polls that voted for him in 2008 and 2012. but in the states where this will be decided, including north carolina, but other states like arkansas, west virginia, louisiana, he's not as popular. so you have these sorts of competing values. do you turn out your base that in a lot of cases does not come out and vote for the mid-term election, or do you focus on those swing voters, as few of them as there are, getting them