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

younger voters going 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 by ten points among 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. than it was in new hampshire.

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

hillary clinton again breathing a sigh of relief tonight. outperforming senator sanders in the critical state of nevada. >> thank you. thank you so much. >> reporter: making a left minute push for service industry union workers, more than 50% latino. senator sanders stopping by mgm grand. secretary clinton and h at >> why bernie sand sneakers. >> i love the things you supporting hillary? >> she has experience. >> reporter: nevada is a key part of clinton's fire wall to show she's not electable than sander sanders. after getting a six-month jump on sanders and pouring millions into ads. >> i spend any life fighting for children, families and our country. >> reporter: clinton's once double digit lead e evaporated. clinton has been dogged by questions about her e-mails and paid wall street speeches. the rhetoric growing heated. on display at the msnbc town hall. >> i just don't know where all this comes from. maybe it's that sanders wasn't really a democrat until he decided to run for president. >> reporter: sanders accusing clinton of playing

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

hillary clinton expecting a big boost. bernie sanders hoping it keep it close in tonight's south carolina democratic primary. both already looking ahead to the delegates up for grabs on super tuesday. >>> is he unstoppable? trump gets key endorsements. the battle gets uglier between republicans. >>> out of cuba. another side of this country's immigration debate as tens of thousands of cubans are being admitted to the u.s. some now say it's time to change the law. >>> room for rent. how $10 will get you a night inside a famous van gogh painting as life imitates art. "nightly news" beginning right now. >> decision 2016. this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. the polls have just closed in south carolina's democratic primary. nbc news projects hillary clinton will come away with an overwhelming victory in the primary over bernie sanders. in doing so, clinton solidifies her front-runner status in the democratic race for president. it was the first contest in the south for the democrats. the first where t

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

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 next up nevada and south carolina where her campaign is already focused on turning out african-american voters. >> you have to face up to the hard truth of injustice and 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 have a big team. it's a grassroots campaign. we have a lot of people on the ground. we had them in iowa and new hampshire, and we're redeploying them in the state. >> reporter: already planning to air tuesday states. if it turns out to be a big night for him, expect clinton campaign to escalate their attacks. lester. >> thank you. let's bring in chuck todd and andrea mitchell. you've seen some of the exit polling data released. what are we learning? >> look, on the democratic side, the biggest divide is not gender as some thought. it continues to be age. look at

sanders, 86% to 13% for clinton. voters 65 and older, clinton won a majority. that's not nearly a large enough gap for her to be able to win if those numbers hold. let's look at the issue make-up. most important issues among democratic voters, it sounds like bernie sanders' messaging. income inequality, economy, health care third, terrorism a distant fourth. now look on the republican side of the electorate top issues. the economy, one. 27%. terrorism, national security issues, three at 25%. this was a surprise to me, immigration. maybe not so hot if you're donald trump who has made immigration such a big deal. then of course there's time of decision. and this sometimes can tell us if there was momentum at the end or not. among republicans, nearly half of the electorate told us they made their decision in the last few days. that's good news for people with kasich. than half, 55% made their decision more than a month ago. that's good news if you're bernie sanders. >> all right, chuck. let me turn to andrea. if bernie sanders leads new hampshire with a big victor

clinton beat sanders by ten points among union households. that is everything you need to know about the casino workers that we showed there with chris kristin 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 slightly less conservative than in iowa. it's not a trump blowout. it's not going to look like new hampshire. nor is it going to be a cruz victory, because it doesn't look like iowa. i can tell you ideologically, this looks like it will be a closer race just looking at that makeup of what south carolina looks like tonight. >> chuck, there are multiple acts to this place. the republicans will hold their caucuses in nevada this tuesday. the democrats will hold their primary in south carolina one week from today. >>> as the political battle over his successor heats up, a

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.

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 the white house. >> it is very important that he sent a signal that on the morning after an historic victory that he would come to 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 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? >> 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:

. >> 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

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 that causes paralysis 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

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

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

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

clinton has more than twice what sanders has on hand. still it's cash she will need to go the distance. >> kristen welker, thanks. >>> we turn now to that terrifying story from michigan where six people were shot and killed last night by a gunman who was later arrested. uber confirmed today that the suspect was a driver for that company. blake mccoy has our report. >> reporter: a shooter on a rampage, ram donly randomly terror hissing innocent people in kalamazoo, michigan, saturday night. >> we have someone just driving around, finding people and shooting them dead in their tracks. >> reporter: tonight police have identified the shooter as 45-year-old jason brian dalton. they say his spree of terror began at 5:42 p.m. a mother of three shot multiple times in a residential parking lot. she's expected to survive. then 10:08 p.m. rich smith and his teenager son, tyler, are shot at a car dealership. a short time later, 10:24 p.m., four women shot and killed in a cracker barrel parking lot, on their way home from a play. among them, 60-year-

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