Trump 'unleashed something he cannot control' and it's thrown Pennsylvania GOP into chaos: NYT's Haberman
Appearing on CNN's "New Day" to discuss pivotal Republican Party primaries in key states, each of which could have a major impact on the control of both the U.S House of Representatives and the Senate, the New York Times' Maggie Haberman focused on the race for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat being sought by multiple controversial candidates.
On primary day, any one of the three GOP hopefuls -- TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, businessman Dave McCormick and conservative gadfly Kathy Barnette could win -- although Oz and Barnette are making some Republicans cringe that they will make the cut to the November ballot and hand over a Republican seat to the Democrats.
Speaking with hosts John Berman and Kaitlan Collins, Haberman was asked what she expects to see happen on Tuesday.
"What are you watching in Pennsylvania tonight?" she was asked leading her to joke, "Who wins, is the main question?"
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"But in all seriousness, I don't remember a race like this in a long time," she continued. "They're all bunched up, the top three. It's not clear who is going to win. Trump tried pushing Mehmet Oz over the top and he may still end up doing that. But there are strategists looking at this race who say they can see Oz finishing third. The big question is, Oz comes into this with ideological issues for the Republican base of his own, but it will absolutely be seen as a measure of the limits of Trump's appeal."
Addressing the possibility that controversial outsider Barnette could win, Haberman added that the Republican leadership, specifically Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the GOP's Senate campaign chief, "don't want to cut her off if she's the nominee."
"I think he's trying to make it where she comes into the tent a little more," she elaborated. "I think he's trying to get her to sand down certain edges. and this is not unusual, when you see a contest like this. But again, what her whole message has been, essentially, is reminding us that Trump unleashed something that he can't really control anymore with this movement. I think that whether he's able to get his candidate over and turn this into a referendum on him is the big open question of the day. It's hard to overstate that."
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