Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Monday that the renewed federal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server had jeopardized Democrats’ chances of flipping control of the Congress, saying the hint of impropriety by the party’s presidential nominee could depress down ticket voter enthusiasm.
“I certainly think that it’s going to make it harder for us to take the Senate and put a dent in the House,” Dean, who now serves as a senior advisor in Dentons’ public policy and regulation practice, said in a special Dentons-moderated debate with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another senior advisor in the firm’s government sector.
“It’s the innuendo that hurts,” Dean said. “If I had to speculate, I think we still pick up the Senate but I don’t think we’ll pick up the House, and I think it’ll be tougher to pick up the Senate. People were getting giddy we were going to pick up seven seats in the Senate, which I thought was highly unlikely.”
Dean added he thought Democrats would flip the column in North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin–winning a one- or two-vote edge if the party likewise earns the vice presidency.
Despite the drag, he said he doesn’t believe the FBI’s announcement last week would ultimately flip the presidential contest.
“I do expect Hillary to win, I do expect her to take a lot of states,” Dean said. “I can’t think of maybe one or two states that this is going to make a difference, but it’s not helpful and not the type of stuff we should be engaging in ten days, nine days before the election.”
Listen to the full debate, moderated by Kathleen O’Connor:
