new hampshire's been very good to the clinton family. saved bill clinton's candidacy in 1992. helped extend hillary's race in 2008. i don't think necessarily it buys her time. but look, this debate is coming at a time when the two of them are having a real debate about what should the democratic party be. should it be what it's been? is it the party of obama and clinton? or does it need to go in a new direction as bernie sanders? clearly an army of supporters wants to take it. >> chuck, thanks very much. tonight's msnbc democratic debate kicks off live from the university of new hampshire, co-moderated by chuck, and rachel maddow at 9:00 eastern time. >>> in the republican race, another new poll shows marco rubio leaping over ted cruz in new hampshire, to take the number two spot behind front-runner donald trump. as nbc's hallie jackson tells us, rubio's adversaries are piling on to try to stop his rise. >> reporter: with momentum in new hampshire, marco rubio rubio's hoping for a photo finish, drawing crowds in every shot as republican rivals take theirs. >> thank you guys fo

but hillary clinton still has more minority support. and the stakes ahead are bigger and more diverse. in iowa and new hampshire, over 90% of democratic voters were white. but not in nevada with a large latino population. or in south carolina where a majority are african-american. do you think it's possible for you to win the democratic nomination if you don't convince more black voters to back you? >> it's absolutely essential. the african-american vote and the latino vote, both those, enormously important. we intend to do very well in both of those communities. >> reporter: the vermont senator making that pitch along with shooting some hoops today on "the view." >> the reason we'll do well is our views on criminal justice in this country, and that is we have a broken criminal justice system. >> reporter: sanders already has strong support among working class white voters. if he can broaden his appeal, his campaign believes he can keep winning. >> thank you, new hampshire! >> reporter: kasie hunt, nbc news, new york. >>> i'm andrea mit

>> i have been a hillary clinton. were supporting hillary clinton and not obama in 2008 speaks against the notion that african-americans it's a mono linlic vote. >> absolutely not. the issues that impact my life personally may be the same as a white american. >> do we do ourselves a disservice when we talk about it in terms of african-american vote versus the rest of the vote? >> we do. many of us have the same challenges. i think of society and the media puts that -- the separation. many of us, we're facing the same things. we have the same concerns. >> there remain issues that resonate more forcefully in black communities. >> for example, education. the incarceration. those two are tied together. >> they are the issues clinton and sanders are largely in agreement on how to tackle. can they convince voters that they mean what they say? >> it feels good to finally be acknowledged and recognized to know we have a voice and that now you need our voice. you have to listen. we're going to make some noise and hold you acco

senator bernie sanders surged pastd hillary clinton claiming 13 delegates to clinton's nine. the vermont senator channelled his innerdonald trump when describing his sizeable victory overic clinton. won. because we harnessed the energy and thye excitement that the succeed in november. [ applause ] >> clinton accompanied by her husband and daughter, chelsea, took to the stage after sanders. she addressed the youth vote in which sanders has dominated throughout the campaign cycle. >> i know i have some work to do, h young people but i will repeat again what iga have said this week -- [ applause ] -- even if they are notng me now, i support them. because i know -- [ applause ] i know i've had a but i also know what it's like

that would give second clinton big momentum heading into super tuesday. >> reporter: secretary clinton coasting to an expected win in the first southern primary. for clinton, south carolina is a key par of her southern firewall. it's a test for whether she can reclaim what was lost here in 2008. >> i want to congratulate senator obama. >> reporter: after her defeat here in barak obama that all but ended her white house bid. >> i think what happened, she wants redemption and vers here in south carolina want redemption. there are thousands of voters here in@ south carolina that were planning on voting for her. then barak obama won iowa. they don't regret who they voted for, but now they are ablee to vote for who they thought they were going to vote for. >> reporter: many of the african-americans who propelled obama to victory casting their ballots for clinton. given you voted for obama, how does it feel to vote for clinton today? >> that same way. that feeling of excitement. just ready to get the country moving in a more of a positive direction. >> i believe she's the most qualified. >>

older voters going for clinton. but she did better, believe it or not, among younger voters than previous ones. then there was the white to non-white split. a more diverse state. just over 40% of of the vote is non-white. among the non-white vote, that is where clinton had an advantage. she had a big advantage among african-americans. there's a question in the poll about hispanics. that's why we are careful there. wasn't to highlight one big number, because this is the establishment striking back on behalf of clinton. it's labor unions. clinton beat sanders union households. that is everything you need to know about the casino workers that we showed there with chriskristin welker. let's shift to south carolina. polls will close there very soon. i just want to show you the makeup of the state. as you can see, it's somewhat conservative that outnumber the very conservative. why is that important? you see that that means that the electorate is a little more broad-based. it's more conservative than it was in new hampshi

swing in california, and while sanders outraised clinton for the first time last month, clinton has more than twice what sanders has on hand. kate. >> kristen welker, out of las vegas. thank you. when we come back, one little girl's emotional plea for president obama. you totaled your brand new car. nobody's hurt, but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three quarters of what it takes to replace it. drive three quarters of a car? new car replacement, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. constipated? z trust number one doctorv recommended dulcolax use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief suppositories for relief in minutes and stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief every day you read headlines about businesses being hacked and intellectual property being stolen. tha

clinton? >>> olymp fears. tonight the american star who says right now she wouldn't go to rio because of concerns over zika. >>> lessen your bills and saving you big money. the brothers who made their entire business just that, now sharing how i do it with amamang results. >>> and tom brokaw joins us to talk about something important that suddenly has gone missing. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> good evening. we're 90 minutes away from the last of the poll closings here in new hampshire. and the evening's drama is about to begin. do trump and sanders become the big stories of the night, or will new hampshire's independent-minded voters defy the polls and once again reset this game? as we look in on a polling precinct, this one in hudson, we can tell you officials have been lots of folks there this hour. as is tradition, voting began at midnight. and a handful of communities providing results so far. for the gop, trump, cruz, and votes each. r the democrats, sanders leading clinton 17 votes to nine. our t

and in 1992, voters here resurrected bill clinton. >> new hampshire tonight has made bill clinton the comeback kid. >> reporter: this time hillary clinton hoping for a comeback in nextum nevada and south carolina -- next up nevada and south carolina, where she's hoping to turn out african-american voters. >> you have to face up to the systemic racism. >> reporter: the question now, whether the sanders campaign is capable of going big. the sanders campaign is a small team. are you ready to expand across the whole map? >> we actually have a big team. it's a grassroots campaign. ground, and we had them in iowa and new hampshire. we're redeploying in the states. >> reporter: the sanders campaign is already planning to air tv ads in four super tuesday states. if this turns out to be a big night for him, expect the clinton campaign to escalate their attacks. lester? >> all right, thank you. >>> we want to bring in chuck todd and andrea mitchell. chuck, you have seen some of the new exit polling data. what are we learning? >> reporter: we're learning that the democratic electorate in particu

clinton campaign officials tell me they are feeling confident tonight. still, they are bracing for a close race. memories of clinton's defeat in 2008 are still very fresh, still after holding more than 100 events, her aides say she's determined to make history. sti after holding more than 100 events, her aides say she's determined to make histor. still after holding more than 100 events, her aides say she's determined to make histor still after holding more than 100 events, her aides say she's determined to make history. hillary clinton in the fight of her political life, hitting the ground one last time today after months of relentless campaigning. >> i hope you'll stand up for me. i hope you will fight for me. >> reporter: today an army of volunteers making a final push registering first-time caucus-goers on this college campus, a group clinton has struggled to win over but the key to winning iowa. >> we're just trying to get as many students to go out and express their views. >> reporter: it was not supposed to be this way. clinton began the race last

will set the stage for clinton and sanders. andrea mitchell joins us. >> bernie sanders put out an e-mail trying to raise money to off of what he says is a close finish. the bottom line is he needed this. she needed it more. this was her firewall. after a tie in iowa and a defeat in new hampshire, she ho h to win big. to prove that she could win here in the more diverse state, she stopped his momentum for now. she goes on to south carolina where she has the advantage. the congressman is very important endorsement that came yesterday. she will go to texas tonight. that's super tuesday. she is going to try to prove that bernie sanders cannot expand the map. he can't win in important diverse states. >> andrew andrea mitchell, thank you. >>> we are awaiting republican primary is being held. donald trump hoping to hold back a late charge by ted cruz. hallie jackson is following the race there. >> reporter: lester, the cruz pain is downplaying the potential for an upselt victory. cruz should finish strong. he and marco rubio in a fig

>> i'll say nasty. >> hillary clinton? >> in a certain way, evil. >> reporter: his daughter trying to get out the vote. >> absolutely. >> reporter: nine month pregnant, she was playing ambassador for her dad. >> ivanka trump. >> reporter: stopping at five polling stations and working the phone bank with volunteers. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> reporter: as the minutes wind down, trump is shaking hands and hoping his moment is now, not never. and donald trump has up-ended this race, he's broken all of the rules. if he wins here, it will be a big deal. dare i say huge, especially considering he'll be able to say that all of this enthusiasm we're seeing does translate into votes, lester. >> all right, katy. away from the boisterous rallies and his speeches brimming with confidence, i discovered a much more reflective donald trump one who acknowledges the trump we've been seeing on the campaign trail is not exactly the one you'd see in the white house. but i began by asking him if he believed the polls which have him leading

nbc news projects hillary clinton will win. hillary clinton holding back a charge by bernie sanders who came out of new hampshire with a lot momentum. again, it looks like hillary clinton will carry the day. let's bring on

clinton campaign officials tell me they are feeling confident tonight. still, they are bracing for a close race. memories of clinton's defeat in 2008 are still very fresh, still after holding more than 100 events, her aides say she's determined to make history. hillary clinton in the fight of her political life, hitting the ground one last time today after months of relentless campaigning. >> i hope you'll stand up for me. i hope you will fight for me. >> reporter: today an army of volunteers making a final push registering first-time caucus-goers on this college campus, a group clinton has struggled to win over but the key to winning iowa. >> we're just trying to get as many students to go out and >> reporter: it was not supposed to be this way. clinton began the race last april with a 40-point lead here. >> hi, everybody. >> reporter: hand now she's neck and neck with bernie sanders, her campaign sidetracked by the ongoing controversy over her e-mails. >> bernie sanders! >> reporter: and by a surging sanders tapping into voters' hunger for an outsider.

clinton with 38%. that's virtually unchanged f fm a week ago. so tonight, from clinton, a change of tone, and a dirirt challenge to sanders on who claims the mantle of most progressive. let's get the view from both camps starting with nbc's andrea mitchell. andrea? >> reporter: good evening, lester. not only is it going into the debate, does the new poll show bernie sanders is ahead of hillary clinton here in new hampshire, but he has a slight lead among women. and a giant lead with young people. prepares for tonight's showdown, her top target, reaching young voters and women. our new nbc news "wall street journal" maris poll showing clinton losing the youth vote to sanders by a whopping 22%. among women, she trails by 4%. and young women,n, 29%. clinton is noticeably toning down those sharp edges she showed in iowa. >> i will stand up and fight fororou every single day of this campaign! >> reporter: shong her softer, more reflective side in new hampshire. a rare glimpse last night. >> i've had to be in public dealing with some veryyifficult iss

. >> reporter: but before clinton gets to south carolina, she has to get out of nevada. a loss here to sanders after barely winning iowa and that huge loss in new hampshire would damage her argument that she is more electable. lester? . >> andrea mitchell, thanks. we're joined now by our political director, the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. chuck, let's take a look at what's online for tomorrow. depending on the outcomes, what's at stake here moving forward in the campaigns? >> well, it's fair to call tomorrow shake-up saturday because in many ways this race is going to get shooken up depending on the results tomorrow. marco rubio has a ton on the line in south carolina. he's got every endorsement you want in south carolina. he has spent more money than anybody else. he appears tonight man with some momentum. third place is not a victory this time. he has got to get in first or second. donald trump, he obviously can't -- any time he's losing, it's not a good day for a believe in lose so he's got a lot on the line and ted cruz can't afford third. a bernie san

i am not going to attack hillary clinton. the american people will have to make that judgment. >> reporter: with the clock ticking voters are now ready to have their say. >> who are you supporting? >> bernie sanders. >> why hillary clinton? >> i honestly think that she has the most experience. she can do the job. >> reporter: sanders could win iowa if young voters turn out in force. one campaign official telling me tonight win or lose, sanders is in this race for the long haul. lester? >> all right, thank you. the margin a bit wider in iowa among the republicans though donald trump is only leading by five points in the latest polling with ted cruz working hard today to close that gap. hallie jackson has the gop field covered for us tonight. >> reporter: in the final crunch before the caucuses, even church becomes a campaign stop. >> i pray that god's will be done. >> reporter: but the signs of peace giving way to the battle on the campaign trail. >> donald trump supports expanding obamacare. to make it full on socialized medi

where the heaviest jockeying will begin with the clinton and heat. whichever side can scoop up martin o'malley supporters could gain a significant advantage. when only viable candidates with 15% remain, delegates are awarded. this complicated system and that 7:00 p.m. cutoff explain why even the all-time high turnout eight years ago was still so low. just 16% of iowans. that means only a few hundred thousand people in this state set the political table for the rest of america. peter alexander, nbc news, des moines, iowa. >>> still ahead tonight, the excitement building here in iowa. we talked to voters shortly before they go into caucus as they prepare to cast the very we'll be back. americans. we're living longer than ever. as we age, certain nutrients become especially important. from the makers of one a day fifty-plus. one a day proactive sixty-five plus. with high potency vitamin b12 and more vitamin d. it's just a cough. if you could see your cough, you'd see just how far it can spread. robitussin dm max soothes your throat and delivers fast, po

a day after he sent hillary clinton to stunning defeat in new hampshire. having breakfast with reverend al sharpton at an iconic harlem restaurant, blocks from where bill clinton moved his office when he left >> it is very important that he sent morning after an historic victory that harlem and have breakfast with me. >> reporter: there are signs of a possible sanders coalition. last night he won 83% of the youth vote and 73% of independents. but hillary clinton still has more minority support, and the states ahead are bigger and more diverse. in iowa and new hampshire, over 90% of democratic voters were white, but not in nevada with a large latino population. or in south carolina where a majority are african-american. do you think it's possible for you to win the democratic nomination if you black voters to back you? >> well, it is absolutely essential the african-american vote and the latino vote, both votes, enormously important. we intend to do very well in both of those communities. >> reporter: the vermont senator making that pitch along with shootin

the clintons seemingly shocked to find themselves so far behind. andrea mitchell, nbc news, manchester. >> reporter: i'm katy tur following the trump campaign. one door. >> how are you doing? >> i'm good. how are you. >> reporter: one voter at a time. >> reporter: have you decided on what you're going to support? >> we have not decided. >> reporter: campaign staffer jamie peevy is making a pitch >> i'm still on the edge. >> reporter: the candidate is trying to hold on to his commanding lead in the polls by blanketing the state, getting up close and personal with voters in four stops today. >> we have to get away from these politicians,able we have to bring sanity to this country. >> reporter: trump's retail politics efforts coming late in the race after an awkward sunday, barely talking to voters in a diner and meandering through an unfocused stump. >> what do you think so far? >> i think that's a bunch of garbage. >> reporter: here historically >> usually i'm a gut instinct kind of person so still trying to figure that how the. >> reporter: that m

well, hillary clinton might have a little bit of momentum, the clintons have done well in new hampshire in the past, and now we know everything could be thrown up into the air on the republican side of things. so i think that's the big change here is suddenly must-win states for sanders and trump. >> all right, chuck. thank you. >>> there are a pair of troubling new developments in the zika virus outbreak. doctors in the u.s. are reporting the first known case of the virus being sexually transmitted. while in brazil experts are trying to determine whether the virus could be linked to a rare condition in adults. nbc's rehema ellis reports from brazil. >> reporter: mosquitos are the primary way the zika virus is transmitted, but today the cdc confirmed the first case acquired by sexual contact in texas. as a result, the cdc tells nbc news it will now issue a new advisory this week. >> if a man comes back, gets sick with zika and then has sexual intercourse with a woman who is pregnant or may be pregnant, there is the theoretical risk that that woman could then become infected with zika. >

the most recent clinton a slight lead over trump. but clinton has a more immediate battle taking on bernie sanders in south carolina, where a black lives matter activist confronted clinton last night for seeming to disparage black youth while talking about the drug problem as first lady, describing, quote, predators saying, we need to bring them to heel. tonight in a statement, clinton saying, looking back, i shouldn't have used those words. still, the moment underscores her challenge connecting with some young voters. >> everyone person in this room is enormously powerful. >> reporter: they continue to flock to senator bernie sanders, today in ohio and in flint, michigan. a "new york times" editorial calls on clinton to release the transcripts on the paid speeches given to wall street. saying the stonewalling only fuels speculation. it could be a cloud that hangs over her campaign whether she's taking on senator sanders or the gop let's bring in our political director, moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. you've been doing the

is hillary clinton slowly making her way to the nomination with a win in nevada yesterday? we begin tonight with katy tur in atlanta, where trump held a rally today. >> it's beautiful, thank you. >> reporter: donald trump's grip on the nomination is getting tighter, and he knows it. to a crowd of more than 5,000 in atlanta. >> we won with everything, tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people. just won. >> reporter: trump sweeping all of south carolina's congressional districts, banking all of the states' 50 del grats, despite marco rubio's high profile endorsement and ted cruz focus on evangelicals. trump may have won, but it was a rocky week starting with him president a liar. >> they lied. they said there were weapons of mass destruction. >> reporter: by thursday, disgraceful. >> no leader, especially a religious leader should have the right to question another man's religion or faith. >> reporter: and on friday, in his last rally before the vote, recounting an internet myth praising mass killing by a u.s. general more than a century ago. >> and he took the 50

hillary clinton and blanketing iowa. a fight for the number one spot in a race finish. >> monday night could be an historic night for this we can make history. >> let's start a storm of movement toward the future that we want to together! >> reporter: just hours before voters caucus, clinton and sanders in a statistical 45 to 42%. getting people out to vote tomorrow is today's top priority. teams of volunteers last time. making sure every supporter knows two things -- where their how they'll get there. and the clinton campaign allowing nbc exclusive look at their specially developed app which is calculator helping lose tabs on caucusgoers and how tomorrow. >> it allows us to streamline the process and help the precinct quickly through the process. so they're spending more time calculating and less time persuading. >> averaged 125,000 door knocks alone. team members are in place. and sanders ground team equally impressive. 76,000 door knocks, over 15,000 volunteers. today, clinton still playing defense on her private e-ma