Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Wins South Carolina Primary; Pete Buttigieg Drops Out Of Democratic Presidential Race; Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) Endorses Joe Biden
CAMEROTA: Super Tuesday voters head to the polls tomorrow morning and former Vice President Joe Biden is hoping for momentum there after his big win in South Carolina. We're also waiting to see if Pete Buttigieg will endorse anyone else today after he dropped out of the race last night. Joining us now is Democratic Senator Doug Jones. He has endorsed Joe Biden. Senator, thanks so much for being with us this morning.</s>SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL): It's my pleasure, Alisyn. Thanks for having me again.</s>CAMEROTA: You have your finger on the pulse of the electorate in Alabama. What's going to happen there tomorrow?</s>JONES: Well, I think Joe Biden is going to win. I've always believed that. This is his state. He has been here a lot. You know, his trip to Selma yesterday was not his first. He has been talking to people in Alabama for many, many years. He's been listening to people of Alabama. Alabama know him. They know his heart. They know his character. And I think he's going to do very well. I think he'll win Alabama in a bar.</s>CAMEROTA: Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race last night, as we said, and Bernie Sanders immediately issued an invitation to Pete Buttigieg's supporters to join him. Listen to this moment.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to congratulate him for running a brilliant campaign. He is the first openly gay candidate for President of the United States. He did it extraordinarily well. And tonight I just want to welcome all of his supporters into our movement and to urge them to joining us in the fight for real change in this country.</s>CAMEROTA: That's a pretty deft move, right? Just reaching out directly to them. How do you think that the absence of Pete Buttigieg will change the race?</s>JONES: Well, I hope it will change the race even more in Joe Biden's favorite because I think if you look at the message that Mayor Pete had, it is not one of a revolution. It is not one of a Medicare-for- All. It's a Medicare-for-All who want it. I think that was a wonderful line, because that's essentially what Joe Biden has been saying for so many months now. And so I'm hoping that as we go forward, those moderate voices like Mayor Pete's are going to move and see how we can best win this election, who can best bring this country together, who is a healer, and uniter and I think that that's Joe Biden.</s>CAMEROTA: You know, we hear the conventional wisdom say that if Bernie Sanders is the nominee, it will negatively affect some down ballot races like yours, like some in swing districts or states. But can you just explain that logic to me? How -- if voters like you and like what you've done for them, Doug Jones, why would they hold Bernie Sanders against you?</s>JONES: Well, look, I think that that everybody -- you know, you have to run on a ticket to the best extent you can. You know, in my race, I'm going to run as -- in my race, I'm going to run on my record, regardless of who the nominee is. But there are any number of people who see the top of the ticket, and that's going to influence their vote for the down ballot races. They either want to support the top of the ticket or they're not. So I think if you look what happened in 2018, and you saw the moderate voices is what caused the Democrats to take control of the House, it is the moderate voices that are out there, that want to heal people, that want to bring this country together with civility and respect. They just don't want an extreme candidate who may not take compromising positions in order to get things done and actually move this country forward. But I think you have to be realistic about where things are and there are any number of people that will let the top of the ticket influence their vote and down ballot races. We've seen it throughout history it is not going to change this time.</s>CAMEROTA: So what do you think is going to happen tomorrow beyond Alabama? What do you think is going to happen in terms of the delegate share, and who's going to win Super Tuesday?</s>JONES: I think it's really tough to tell because we've seen so many early voting in early voting states like California and Texas. I'm a big proponent of early voting. But at the same time, I'm also a big proponent of telling people to just keep your powder dry for a little bit until you let this thing shake out some. I think there are a lot of people that have already voted for Mayor Pete, they've already voted for Tom Steyer, and others, and now their votes are just really essentially not going to count. So we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I feel like Joe Biden is going to do very, very well. I think clearly, Bernie Sanders has the advantage in some states, but I think Joe has got the wind in his back. I think if you look at the overall votes in the contest that we've had now, I think what you're seeing now is that the voice of a Joe Biden are rising up and that is what he's going to carry the day, but we've still got to have a long way to go even after Super Tuesday, we've still got a long way to go in this contest.</s>CAMEROTA: Would you like to see any other candidates drop out -- I don't mean Bernie Sanders -- today? Would you like to see some of the people who have not gotten as many delegates drop out today?</s>JONES: Well, I think we'll probably see that tomorrow. You know, from my standpoint, I would like to see that only because as you've said, I've endorsed Joe Biden. He is my candidate. He has been my candidate for 40 years since I first met him in law school in the 1970s. So I would like to see that, but at the same time, I have an awful lot of respect for all of those candidates. They have really put in a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of heart. They have supporters out there too, that they don't want to let down. So we'll see how this goes tomorrow. I think you'll see the field is going to winnow down. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.</s>CAMEROTA: While I have you, you are a member of the committee that oversees the CDC and NIH, and so with the coronavirus concerns this morning, what we're seeing in Washington State and community spread, et cetera, do you believe that the CDC is being proactive enough? Do you think that they are giving enough of the data that they've collected on this virus to doctors and hospitals?</s>JONES: Well, candidly, Alisyn, I think we'll find that out tomorrow. We have a hearing tomorrow. I'm going to be -- well, actually, yes, it's tomorrow, I'm going to yet be heading back to Washington to attend that hearing, and I think we'll know a lot more. Things have been moving very rapidly. You only have to look at the headlines this morning about the number of cases that just popped up over the weekend. I think that the administration was slow to react in the very beginning. I don't know if it was just denying the science or what, but they were slow to react. I think they're now doing a lot more to try to make sure they get a handle on this. You know, I've got a good bit of confidence in the CDC and the NIH And those people are scientists, they see how things go. They're looking at this very carefully. What we've got to do is try to catch up. That's the biggest problem we've got right now. We've got to be transparent. That's -- I think the biggest problem right now is there's a lot of misinformation out there and I hope people will listen to the scientist and not to the politicians.</s>CAMEROTA: And we only have 10 seconds left, but do you have confidence in Vice President Pence's Task Force?</s>JONES: Well, I'm going to hold judgment on that right now. I have confidence in the CDC and the NIH, and if Vice President Pence lets them drive the train, then they will do find throughout this crisis. If he doesn't, and he makes this a political issue, then we're in for a long haul.</s>CAMEROTA: Senator Doug Jones, we really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for being on</s>NEW DAY. JONES: You've got it. Thank you, Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: Okay, quick programming note. CNN will conduct extended interviews tonight with five of the top Democratic candidates -- presidential candidates -- that starts at 8:00 p.m. This of course is ahead of Super Tuesday tomorrow.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the Trump administration is trying to project that the coronavirus outbreak is under control. We're going to have much more of the risk of that strategy, next.