good morning from new hampshire on a beautiful tuesday. glad you are with us. right now the nation's first presidential primary is under. >> dale: way. i'm live. phil mattingly is in new york. it's really all on the line here for nikki haley. this could be her last chance to pull off an upset over donald trump during her final blitz across the state. she pushed back on the naysayers who suggested she give up and drop out. >> making clear that's not going to happen. trump is predicting the race will be over after today's primary. here are the big questions we're all watching today. will nikki haley's big bet pay

off? her campaign, both money, resources, time, focused on new hampshire where she has the best chance to beat trump. the other looming question, if trump wins, is this race over? he thinks so. if haley's attacks worked in recent days we have seen her escalate her rhetoric questioning trump's mental state. >> we have full team coverage with reporters live at polling locations. we have expert analysis. start off with omar jimenez. every time you talk to a different voter, it's interesting and telling. i wonder what you are hearing now. >> reporter: there's so many interesting reasons. it's not i like trump because i like trump. it's this particular reason and vice versa with nikki haley. that's the most interesting sense.

we're in manchester at a middle school but at a polling location, as you can see. it has calmed down from the early morning rush. they processed close to 300 people in just the first two hours. you can see sort of how things roll here. they get processed at the first table, come over to the second station, and then they make their way over to the actual voting booths. as you can see, this woman finishing up with her vote there. what they do is come on over down here -- it's like a well-oiled machine here. they take pride in how they run their elections in this first in the primary state. they return the ballots here to this spot where you can see it will be received and processed there as well. basically, what's been happening is they have been all coming in through this entrance point right here, one by one. we step out of his way. voters like -- do you mind if i talk to you for a second. i'm omar. what's your name? >> chris. >> reporter: you just voted.

>> yes. >> reporter: how did you vote? >> i voted for nikki haley. she seems like the adult in the room right now. i think that's kind of what the country needs. somebody that's stable and makes sense and maybe i don't agree with her on every issue, but we need an adult in the room to unite the country. >> reporter: how long ago did you make that decision? >> i always liked the way she had presence. she did a good job as u.n. ambassador. when we look at the field, the choices -- there weren't that many adults in the room. >> reporter: i think i might be able to guess how you will answer this question. when you saw donald trump obviously as an option on this ballot, what was your immediate reaction? >> i think the time has passed. i have voted for donald in the past. but i just think that we need -- the current person in office is not acceptable for different

reasons. i'm looking for a change from what's in there now. president trump was not something i was looking to re-visit. ambassador haley gives us a great opportunity to come back to some normalcy, some youth, some energy. i'm hopeful she has a great performance here in new hampshire and maybe that springboards her. >> reporter: last question. i asked a lot of folks who have been in your position if nikki haley doesn't win and donald trump is the nominee and it's him versus biden, are your feelings here enough for you to not vote for trump in that scenario? >> i would -- i can't vote for president biden. that's just not in the cards. i don't think he is fit for office. i don't also -- i don't like his policies. that's a double whammy. i would explore other options. joe kennedy maybe as an independent. he seems to have some reasonable thoughts. i would have to look closer at that.

i can't vote for the incumbent in office now. it would take some looking at things. >> reporter: thank you for your time. i appreciate you. some of the first voters coming in here in new hampshire, first in the nation primary, well under way. some nuance there as well in his support for nikki haley. >> omar, i think i echo a sentiment of a lot of us. hearing from the voters has been the best part of the morning from everyone in the field talking to the voters. thank you. we will get back to you soon. you have been talking to voters. you closely report on the trump campaign. i wonder what you are hearing. >> reporter: right. we have actually -- we caught up with a couple voters as they were leaving the polling station this morning. it was interesting. we talked to two who said that they did vote for nikki haley. they said that they did not feel comfortable voting for donald

trump. both argue that they would consider voting for biden if it were a two-man race between trump and bide. >> announcer: t-- biden in the general election. >> i was a life long republican until president trump. i would like to get the republican party back to its normal conservative values. >> my conscience won't allow me to vote for a criminal. >> reporter: what do you like about haley? what drew you to her? >> she's not trump. >> reporter: poppy, i think it's a great example of what they are saying is how there are surprises that could come today. i know new hampshire is a state that likes to offer surprises in the primary. they take pride in being the first in the nation primary state. we are seeing that at this location. i want to quickly walk you through as well how the voting

at this amhurst elementary school works. they opened at 6:00 a.m. and they have had more than 180 people come through. they have been coming in here and grabbing their ballots, checking in their names and then they take the ballots, go into these booths here, clearly they have privacy, they want to make sure no voters are seen as they are voting. then they put them through a tabulator to be counted. we are in the 8:00 a.m. hour. they will go through absentee ballots as well and processing those throughout the day. i spoke with many of the election workers who have been here. they are very dedicated to making sure that this is a free and fair and accurate election. they take a lot of pride in being part of that democratic process. poppy? >> no doubt it will be all of those things. with me now, our anchor and chief national affairs analyst

casey hunt and jeff zeleny. can i get your reaction to what we heard? >> yeah. the man on nikki haley, she's not trump, that says it all. that can be a challenge when you are a candidate. you need people to be excited about you and also not want to be with the other guy. it encapsulates the challenge that president biden is going to have in a general election. his campaign is counting on trump being the nominee, being able to energize voters who are afraid of having donald trump be president again. that raises the question of whether they can get the people that they immediate to be actually excited to vote for for biden out to vote. >> your reaction to what you heard. >> the voter omar was talking to, it's something we heard again and again for the last week and longer here.

someone who was eager to turn the page. they want someone new in the white house. they don't want that someone to be donald trump. they want someone new. the new generational argument has been a big one for voters like that. we're not sure if he is republican or undeclared. my guess is undeclared. that's what we are watching today. 40% of the electorate here are undeclared. they walk into the polling place and ask for a democratic or republican ballot. at the rally last night, it was in salem, new hampshire. a lot of former massachusetts residents there. it's a stronghold for her. one thing that i was struck by, you wouldn't know it was the eve of the election if you walked in the room. there was no sense of urgency from her that now is the time to come behind my candidacy. voters don't necessarily know this may be the end of the line here. >> she doesn't think it is. >> we will see. but that's what struck me. i remember in 2008, hillary

clinton, you could feel that this was her moment. she needed to win here. she did. john mccain in 2000, same thing. that sense of urgency was lacking, i thought, in her message. one voter walked up to her at a brewery yesterday and he said, stay in the race. she said, i will. i'm going to south carolina. what i wonder is, does it make it more difficult because it's the home state in? we will see how that goes. voting is underway. >> voters are voting. to jeff's point, it's very clear that this state is make or break for all of the forces in our politics that have been trying to stop donald trump from getting the nomination and potentially becoming president again. this is what, jeff, for a year we have been talking about, if one candidate could get that shot. there's fewer people in the republican party that support trump than others who don't want to see trump being nominated,

that's, repudiated. some is because the republican party in iowa is smaller than it used to be. they have been people that have left the republican party. the people that are still there are more likely to be loyal to trump. it really just tells you the grip he has on the entire process. >> 100%. stick with me. we have a lot ahead. phil. joining me in new york, van jones and david axelrod and scott jennings and kristin anderson. >> i have granite state nightmares. >> i have heard from a lot of people up there, you are not feeling. it doesn't feel energetic. it doesn't feel like momentum. that was the case back in '08. why? >> because i think that it's

trump's party right now. the thrust of the -- the bulk of the electorate are republicans. i said last week that haley's problem is that trump has one big cohort that's really important in republican primaries and that's republicans. that's is playing out here. she would need to have a good showing tonight, but she would have to really, really torque up the number of undeclared voters. she would have to win by larger margins than she's doing here. trump's lead among republicans and voters who call themselves conservative and very conservative is so enormous that it is hard to contain. one of the things that is true -- the reason this may be the first and last primary of the season -- meaningful primary is because when you -- this is the best possible terrain for nikki haley. i think this is a tough go for

her. >> the challenge of her strategy being built around winning over those undeclared independent voters is that they are less reliable in terms of turnout. in new hampshire more so t. we don't have to win here, we can go on to the next step, is i do think you need to make the case, this is make or break. this is your last chance to stop donald trump right now. if you don't want this to be a trump/biden rematch, get out and vote today. the fact that that hasn't been leaned into is a baffling choice. i do think this is make or break. >> on the other side, trump is arguing to the republicans that he is crushing them. this is your chance to close the door. get on to joe biden. get on to taking the country back. we can end it. >> he made the argument. >> in the textbook way they rolled out these endorsements, bringing people up from south carolina.

they are not interested in having another meaningful primary. they want it to stop right now. i think they have been very disciplined in the way they have gone about this. i think if you look at the polling that's out there, you can see him tracking up with republicans over the last several days. anything could happen. but to david's point, if the republicans have just concluded, he is our guy and we're ready to stop this primary now, they could do it tonight in new hampshire. >> go ahead. >> i think it's interesting, in 2020 we cleared the field for biden. we saw this threat coming from bernie sanders. cleared the field to make sure this party didn't become an unrecognizable version of itself. the opposite is happening now. you are clearing the field for a donald trump. you are clearing the field for somebody who led an insurrection. you are clearing the field for somebody who has 90 plus felony counts, for somebody who is attacking a woman of color

saying, she shouldn't be president because her parents were immigrants. that's who you are clearing the field for. that's who all the people are coming out to kiss the ring for. it's the opposite of what we did. >> we are analytical about politics. so we tend to focus on the game. we should step back -- it struck me on saturday, the three-year anniversary of biden's inauguration. you remember it very well. a capitol enclosed by fencing, with national guard around it. a capitol scarred by insurrection. a president trump leaving washington in disgrace. here we are just three years later, and he is on the verge of a second round knockout and a renomination. it's an extraordinary thing. a little sobering. >> that's an understatement. in the middle of the pandemic, there was a scaled-back

inauguration because of social distancing rules. trump didn't go. there was an insurrection two weeks prior. here we. we have to see how it goes. i appreciate it. new information this hour on what the israeli military says is the deadly day since the war in gaza began. 21 soldiers killed during an operation, the biggest city in southern gaza surrounded. lloyd austin just made his first public appearance since his health scare. what he said moments ago. we will bring it to you. voting is underway across new hampshire for the first primary in the nation. live coverage continues after the break. stay with us.

new this morning, israel says 21 idf soldiers were killed during a military operation. this is the single biggest loss of life since october 7th. it brings the total number of israeli soldiers killed to 219. the idf is conducting a major military operation in khan yunis and has the city surrounded. joining us to discuss this is jeremy diamond and barack raveed. the death toll announced by the israeli government is significant. what's the latest? how did this happen? >> reporter: this is the deadliest single day for israeli

troops. if you think about it, it represents about 10% of the total israeli troop loss of life since the beginning of this conflict. what we're told is that 21 soldiers were basically in the process of clearing buildings near the border with gaza, about 600 meters from the border with gaza. they were laying explosives in buildings to make a safe area for citizens to return to their homes across the border with gaza. around 4:00 p.m. yesterday, an rpg was fired towards a tank in the area. at the same time, an explosion was set off in two buildings where those israeli troops were operating in. that building collapsed on top of them, killing 21 soldiers all together. it's not exactly clear whether that rpg fire actually caused that explosion, but the israeli military is investigating that. the israeli prime minister said this is one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of the war.

separately, as this is happening, the israeli military is conducting a major offensive further south around khan yunis which they have encircled. they are going after the khan yunis brigade. the israeli military says over the last 24 hours or so, they have killed dozens of millitant. the humanitarian situation there is worsening. the israeli military urging people at the hospital where thousands of displaced palestinians have tried to shelter to evacuate. it's very difficult for them to flee right now with the heavy fighting and with many roads in the area blocked. >> jeremy diamond, stay with us. barack, over to you. the scale of what transpired here is not happening in isolation. it's happening at the same time the prime minister is facing domestic political pressure, international pressure as well.

what is the response when a death toll comes out of a single operation? >> i want to add another element. those 21 soldiers were killed, are all reservists. meaning, it's people with most of them with families, people that at least i think half of them were above the age of 30, which means -- those are people who were away from their families now for three months. the reservists in israel came to this war in flying colors and in big numbers. but there's growing pressure within israel on those reservists that need to go back to their lives. this hit withservists killed is going to exacerbate this pressure. >> it comes at the same time the pressure related to the hostages has continued to escalate. you have reporting about some of

the negotiations that have been ongoing. does it seem like there could be a breakthrough in what has long been -- >> they are connected. yesterday, there was anticipation, yesterday morning, there was anticipation that there will be some sort of response from hamas and that this will be the day that we will know if there's a breakthrough or not. then this incident happened. it didn't stop the negotiations, but it shook up things. what i heard from israeli officials last night is that they are waiting, maybe today, to hear back whether hamas agrees to this formula that israel put on the table of two months of pause in return for multi-phased release of all the israeli hostages in gaza. >> there are so many moving parts. this is such a significant news day on these issues. we appreciate it. poppy, back over to you.

thank you. breaking news this morning. we are getting our first look at lloyd austin since his controversial health scare and long hospital stay. he just attended this virtual meeting with the ukrainian defense contact group. he did not address his stay in the hospital or his diagnosis. secretary austin and the pentagon have been under intense scrutiny after failing to notify the white house or congress he was hospitalized for complications from the prostate cancer procprocedure. the white house and the president i should note weren't notified until january 4th. we are seeing him doing his job for the first time out there, not addressing this. we will keep a close eye on it. in new hampshire, voting underway. president biden will hit the campaign trail in virginia with kamala harris. some wish he would pay a visit to michigan. the worry some democrats have.

live coverage continues next.

good morning. live from new hampshire. glad you are with us for our special coverage of the new hampshire primary. i'm live at a famous diner here in manchester. phil mattingly is in new york. the polls are open. our reporters are there. let's go to omar jimenez. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we have been talking to voters all morning here at this polling site in manchester, since they

opened the doors at 6:00 a.m. eastern time. they processed hundreds of people since then. one of those who just voted, jeff wall here. good to see you. he told me he just voted for trump. i want to ask you, why did you want to vote for trump? >> i voted for trump the first time. he did an outstanding job, despite of all the controversy. i continue to be a solid trump supporter. i believe in his border policies. i'm just flabbergasted by the fact we have 12 billion illegal aliens. that's not counting the got aways. every day it's costing u.s. taxpayers billions of dollars. because all of these people are on some program or another. i understand they want to come to the country. i'm for legal immigration. you just can't have 12 million people. it's an invasion. >> reporter: immigration -- migration is one of your top

issues for the migrant issue. it has been an issue over the course of multiple administrations. i'm curious for you, how did you weigh your decision versus someone like ron desantis, someone like nikki haley? where did you draw the distinctions? >> i thought ron desantis would be outstanding. he has done a fabulous job in florida. i like nikki haley as well . >> reporter: i'm assuming you voted for trump in 2016, 2020 and now? >> absolutely. i did. >> reporter: thank you for your time. you see the wide range of support we have seen for him as a trump supporter. immigration was top of his list, despite being here in new hampshire, which is not along the southern border. we have seen nuance in the reason that -- the reason why trump supporters have supported

him versus also why they have decided not to and go towards someone like nikki haley. you have a wide range of opinions in a place like this. >> yeah. immigration, the border, number one issue in our recent cnn poll. thank you. new hampshire voters are casting their ballots. president biden's name is not on the ballot. supporters can write it in. here is one democratic voter who did that. >> wrote in joe biden. >> were you disappointed that his name actually wasn't on the ballot? was that a secondary issue to you? >> disappointed but very happy to vote for him by writing his name in. >> dean phillips tried to take advantage of the fact that joe biden is not on the ballot. did that get through to you, matter to you? >> i was unwavering. i found him annoying.

>> in michigan, democrats like governor whitmer say democrats cannot take their voters for granted. are you concerned about the state staying blue? >> everyone should focus on michigan. it's going to be close in the state. >> how concerned are you the president is struggling? >> we have work to do. there's no question about it. former president trump's supporters are religious about their support for him. a lot of the challenges we're having is bringing democrats home, getting that enthusiasm up again. >> bring the democrats home, that's what the congressman told manu raju. congressman, i appreciate your time. you told "the wall street journal" the biden campaign is not where it should be in your state. are you worried about the president's chances of holding on to michigan, winning

michigan? >> i am concerned. so much is at stake. michigan is a necessary part of the equation for electing a president. when we have the possibility of returning to the chaos and the danger of a donald trump presidency, we have to take it very seriously. i'm rolling up my sleeves. we all are here in michigan to make sure people understand the choice. it's a stark one. >> you talked to the president a couple weeks ago. i would assume your message was a bit more emphatic in private than you are sharing publically. tell me what you told him, if you could, and what he said to you about michigan. >> well, we talked about its importance. he called me after i made the decision to not run for re-election. we talked mostly about that and about the time we spent together working. i told him, we need him here in michigan. it makes a difference when he comes here. we can explain the biden record

against the four-year chaos of donald trump. talk about the progress we made in the last congress. there's nothing quite like having the president here himself delivering that message. that's what i encouraged him to do. >> you know, the uaw has not endorsed the president yet. he went to the picket line. that's extraordinary for a sitting president to do during the auto strike. does it worry you that they haven't endorsed him yet? >> it doesn't. last election, they didn't endorse until april of the election year. let's be clear. the uaw had other issues on its mind than injecting presidential politics into the 2023 challenges. they had an unprecedented strike, with the support of president biden, they received an unprecedented contract. when i talk to auto workers, they understand that. i'm very hopeful that organized labor and the uaw specifically

will remember joe biden's record and will stand with him as a result. >> you know, congressman, not sure you heard the voter that omar spoke to. he is a trump supporter. he always has been. his reason is the southern border. for the past year, we have seen a record number of migrant crossings at the southern border. other polling last month in your state, in michigan, shows michigan voters support the republican party on immigration more than they support the democratic party. how big of a vulnerability is this for the biden administration if the numbers don't change? >> it's clearly an issue that we have to address. i think it's noteworthy that donald trump was president for four years, part of which he had complete control of u.s. congress, talked a good game when it came to border security, did nothing. i think in our case, we are more interested in solving the problem. i think one of the challenges that the president has, that

president biden has is a republican party that is more interested in keeping the issue of border security going rather than actually solving the problem. if they want to solve it, we're all ears. we will sit down. we have our own ideas. we will come up with solutions that are bipartisan solutions that get at this. but we have a republican party that's so hellbent on winning, that they don't focus very much attention at all on actually solving the big problems that we face. president biden will. they don't. >> we appreciate your time, congressman. you look like you are recovering well. we wish you all the best. talk to you very soon. >> thanks. moments ago, new hampshire governor chris sununu arrived at a polling site in hampton, new hampshire. back with me, casey hunt, jeff

zeleny. he is governor here, endorsed nikki haley. i think we're -- we will see if we see nikki haley at some point very soon. what are you thinking this morning as you listen to voters? it looks like she's pulling up now. >> on immigration, that's something that former president donald trump's campaign has been hammering nikki haley on here in new hampshire. it's more of an issues based campaign from their side, pushing social security and immigration. she's been refuting that saying, when i was governor, i passed a tough immigration law. that's one of the things that has been a challenge for her here. we saw that voter there and many we have spoken to are concerned about the fact of illegal immigration. >> trump tried to muddy the water with her stance on the southern border saying she opposed a wall. she didn't. she said, you can't just have a wall. if he convinced people, this is the number one issue in the state, we know that, if he convinced people of that, that's an achilles heel for her.

>> what's the thing about donald trump that made him different from all the other candidates you and i have covered? he is a master at putting a very complicated set of ideas into a phrase that's three words long. build the wall. you heard that phrase. even if you could, you see this in polling when you ask, who do you trust? you will see, president trump float to the top of that. trying to run against that, especially in a scenario where he has been president once before, he is one of the most famous people on the planet. it's almost like, yes, in a primary, we can talk about the specific issues. i think there's an argument to be made when we look back it was an impossible task from the get go. >> for anyone to take on trump? >> he is an incumbent. ron desantis aggressively tried to say trump didn't build the

wall. that fell flat in iowa. >> he didn't get mexico to play for it. >> stay with me. we are waiting for nikki haley to arrive in hampton, new hampshire. we have the governor there. special lilive coveragage conti after r this.

welcome back to our special live coverage from new hampshire. i'm poppy harlow in manchester. voting is well underway in the granite state. you are looking at live pictures of hampton, new hampshire. the governor of the state already there waiting for nikki haley to arrive. that's where she's expected to cast her ballot. we will keep a close eye on this. casey hunt back with me. we appreciate you guys sticking with us. what are you watching? >> i want to take this opportunity because ebony -- for those would don't know, has been our reporter on nikki haley.

kate sullivan is here, too. she's been covering the trump campaign. we have others who have been working so hard for us. we are waiting here. chris sununu is here. ebony, talk to us about -- i wanted to give you a chance to tell us what you have been experiencing. going through this where you are day in and day out with the candidates, it's a unique experience. you see and understand voters, why people are doing what they're doing in a way the rest of us don't. what have you learned about the voters you have been talking to and hearing from about our country as you have been doing this job? >> as you know, we are the eyes and ears on the ground. i'm following nikki haley. i have been for a month now. it's been exciting. she's seeing momentum. for me, it ramped up with events, speaking to so many voters excited to see nikki haley. they want new leadership. it has been exciting. it's been exciting to watch history unfold as we -- i have

never covered a campaign in this extensive way before. lately, it has been seven, eight events a day. i'm hopping in and out of a press van. i'm following her every move. it's been exciting. it's nice to hear from voters. there's a lot of different perspectives. hearing from voters, seeing what they want going forward with the country, for me, it's been nice to hear from the voters themselves. it's nice to make connections. i have been going to a lot of events. they are able to talk to me. they remember me from months ago when i started following her. catching up and sitting here right now and realizing today is the primary, for me new hampshire, it's moving on to south carolina tomorrow, it's very -- it's an eye-opening moment. >> ebony, what would you say to people who are trying to understand what it is about the final days of a campaign? are you seeing the stress on the campaign's face? is it more intense here in the

final moments? >> definitely intense. for me, i feel like it is constant communication with the campaigns. you are constantly looking for answers. you can feel the crunch time with the campaign. i think it's, for me, it's actively seeking editorial threads, seeking answers. it's getting in the mindset where the campaign is going, what they are thinking about. you can definitely feel that's crunch time. after going straight from the caucuses at iowa to new hampshire, i think that for me it has been a very eye-opening thing. you see how fast-paced it has been. you can feel it. you can feel the importance of it, how we all know that all eyes are on nikki haley and trump going into this. >> speaking of, we have chris sununu. we have live pictures. we will keep an eye on that. if nikki haley pops out, we will listen in. kate sullivan is with us. thank you for -- you are

exhausted. i appreciate you being here instead of asleep. this is such -- it's the moment for you. you have covered trump rallies. that's a particularly unique experience. how have you -- i think one thing that people who don't see this the way we do, they wonder, they're trying to understand trump voters, what they want, what they care about. you have seen so many at the rallies. what you have learned? >> absolutely. like you said, my job is to go to every single trump rally. a lot of i do is talk to trump voters about what they care about, how motivated they are to turn out. i think one thing that has been really interesting to see is trump is a defendant in multiple criminal trials. i think i have seen the progression of how much more fired up his base has become just with each indictment that comes down. the thing i keep hearing over and over again is, i can't wait to vote for him. i'm so -- i feel like he is being targeted. they're going after my guy.

that has been an interesting thing to just watch. he is facing 91 criminal charges. a unique thing about covering trump is juggling the courthouse with the campaign trail. he will be in court in new york and go to a campaign in iowa. that's a unique thing. i'm with him at all times. i'm also juggling the court with the campaign trail. it has been a new, interesting, challenging part about this. >> it is a presidential campaign unlike any other. that's really interesting that you have been able to pick up that people -- we heard the other political candidates say, well, if he hadn't been indicted, maybe i would have had more luck. what you are talking about speaks to that. what would you say -- there has been in the past vitriol toward the press. how has it been for you personally dealing with some of the negativity that comes with this campaign? >> it's challenging.

it's part of the job. i think the former president does still go after reporters in every single speech. they turn around. i talk to people who have a preconceived notion of who i'm going to be and what i'm going to be like. as soon as we start chatting, i do feel like my -- the best thing i can do is just smile and listen and really tell them what i'm there to do, which is to listen to what they want to talk about and to -- i'm here to talk about what you want to talk about. i think it has been a challenging thing, but it's not about us and it's more about them and what they have to say. that's what i just keep remembering. >> yeah. the humanity -- the human element is so important. it's an important lesson. kate, ebony, thank you. the network and to -- i know not all of your c compatriots coulde here.

they are exhausted and we are proud of all of them. we will be right back from here in manchester, new hampshire.

right now, we are waiting for nikki haley to arrive at a polling location in new hampshire. chris sununu arrived a few moments ago. we will take you there live when that happens. new this morning, we have nominees for the academy awards have been announced. k we are live in los angeles. since i gave a list of all the

things, can i ask you, what were you surprised by? were there snubs? >> there were some major snubs. i was very surprised to see no margot robbie. "barbie" made a lot. to have her snubbed was huge. the director not nominated. it's still having a good morning, nominated for best picture. two songs in the category of original songs. ryan gosling getting a nomination for supporting. one big surprise, continuing with the theme, america ferreira sliding in for best supporting actress. she had the great empowering monolog. one big snub, no leo. any time leo is not there,

that's a snub. >> we will have to cut you off. we have moving political news at the moment. governor sununu is with ambassador nikki haley. it's the moment, the day the haley campaign has been pushing toward. the new hampshire governor, very popular, has been her biggest endorsement and has made clear how critical he views this day to be. i want to go there. >> reporter: they haven't set any specific expectations. they have been very careful to say they expect she will have a strong showing here in new hampshire. we are seeing ambassador and the governor walk up. this is the first stop of the day. governor, what is a win for you here today? >> happy election day. it's great .

>> we have been listening. we see the governor sununu and nikki haley stopping. looks like they will speak to reporters on what is a critical day. >> we are super excited. we were excited to get the endorsement of the conservative union leader. it's amazing to get the first six votes in the country. we are grateful for that. it's a good start to the day. i am blessed to have had two amazing friends with me along this ride, general don voldik, who was with me literally from day one, and governor chris sununu who has worked tirelessly alongside me. two great friends. we worked new hampshire hard. we're excited to see what the day brings. >> do you think you could notch votes? >> right now, we will take whatever we can take. it was a good start. it gave us some good energy and momentum.

>> we're not promising it's 350,000-0, but we are on track for that. >> you talk about needs to have a strong finish in new hampshire. if you don't, will you move on to south carolina in. >> we're going to south carolina. we are there. this has always been a marathon. it's never been a sprint. we wanted to be strong in iowa. stronger in new hampshire. stronger in south carolina. we are running the tape. >> you saw the secretary of state's projections. do you need more than that? >> the secretary of state has predicted a record turnout. it would be hard to ask for more than that. the number of folks that are saying, i never voted before, but i'm coming out, that's a great sign. that's not just in terms of what nikki can do, it's a great sign for new hampshire. everyone wants to get engaged. this is the 56,000 vote like out in iowa.

>> how is campaigning in new hampshire? >> it's interesting. it's colder in new hampshire. i love the fact that granite staters wear their feelings on their sleeves. you know exactly what they expect. you know exactly where they stand. i love that. i like the blunt approach of that. new hampshire and south carolina, very similar. you have to work it. you have to fight for it. you have to earn every single vote. they want to see work. south carolina is like that. i think that's why this was a natural state for me to campaign in. i have done it multiple times in south carolina. i know what it takes. i'm grateful. they showed up to town halls. they asked questions. they were kind to me and my team. good people here in new hampshire. >> you have resisting defining what a strong showing looks like here. why won't you define what it looks like? former president trump last night said you will probably drop out today. what's your response? >> i don't do what he tells me to do.

i have never done what he tells me to do. i think -- i have always said, we will know strong when the numbers come in. it's not a certain number. i don't say i have to have this number or that number. what i have always had in my mind is, i want to be stronger than iowa. then south carolina, i want to be stronger. let's see what that looks like. y'all will be talking about. you can decide later whether that's strong or not. >> if trump beats you by double digits in new hampshire, do you think your campaign has a future? >> when we come in and we start the day and there were 14 candidates in this race, i didn't get here because of luck. i got here because i outworked and outsmarted all the rest of those fellows. i'm running against donald trump. i'm not going to talk about an obituary just because y'all think we have to talk about it. i'm going to talk about running the stape and saving this country. i'm a fighter. i work hard. i do it because i love this country. e