right now on a special edition of "ana cabrera reports," voting under way this morning across new hampshire in what could be the last stand for the anti-trump movement in the republican primary.

can nikki haley pull off an upset and prove that she insisted this primary isn't a coronation of donald trump. or will trump win new hampshire and win big as he signals he's ready to move past the primary and on to the general? >> and i think one person will be gone probably tomorrow. and the other one will be gone in november. >> our goal is to be stronger than we were in iowa and then keep going to my sweet state of south carolina. so the focus is you just keep going and you keep building. let's keep in mind we don't do coronations in this country. thank you so much for being with us. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we have special coverage of the first in the nation primary, the first big one on one contest between donald trump and nikki haley. right now, the polls are open

across new hampshire, where voters are fiercely independent and tough to predict. haley stopped by a poling location in hampton this morning alongside her governor chris sununu. she needs to win tonight to prove that republicans want a trump alternative and that she has a path forward. trump meanwhile is eyeing a sweeping victory in new hampshire to make the case that the gop primary is all but over already. we have reporters all across the state who will join us throughout the hour. let's start with nbc's garrett haake in nashua and ali vitali in pembroke and steve kornacki at the big board. garrett, you're in nashua, new hampshire, where trump has an election party watch night planned for latlater. what are we hearing about today's vote? >> reporter: good morning from nashua high school, home of the panthers, voters are voting. and what we have seen from donald trump in the last 48 hours or so is a bit of irony here. one of the most divisive figures in american politics is now

calling for unity or unity within the republican party. he's trying very hard to make the case of this primary, one state participated so far, is already over and that it is time for republicans to get behind him and shift to taking on joe biden in november. he had on stage with him last night at his final big rally before this primary three of the four former candidates in this race who have since endorsed him, trying to make that case that republicans, core gop voters are behind him and the people who are still backing nikki haley are independents, democrats, rinos in his terms, who need to be ignored and the party has to coalesce. we will be finding out over the next 12 hours or so whether that message is sinking in with republican voters here in new hampshire or not. but the trump campaign is also making clear kind of behind the scenes to nikki haley and her supporters that if this does go on beyond tomorrow or beyond tonight, they're going to try to make nikki haley's life miserable. they're going to be attacking

her aggressively, trying to isolate her from the party, which she seeks to lead. >> haley won all six votes from the tiny dixville knox area, which voted at midnight. how is she feeling about her prospects tonight? >> reporter: well, look, i got to tell you, standing in a gym like this one, listening to the election music just hits a little bit different. but if you ask the haley campaign how they're feeling heading into tonight, one of the key things that i keep hearing from them is they're just focused here on doing better in new hampshire than they did in iowa. that's not them saying they're going to win outright here, but they are going to try to do as well as they can. one of the things i asked her when i talked with her yesterday was how do you not argue that coming in second out of two is anything but a loss. instead, haley now saying that she just wants to do better here. listen to another thing she said this morning at a polling place. watch. >> i don't do what he tells me

to do. i've never done what he tells me to do. i want to be stronger than iowa. and south carolina, i want to be stronger. let's see what that looks like. >> reporter: we're going to see what that looks like. and one of the other things i asked haley when i spoke with her during a poll side yesterday is will she win in south carolina? she did not commit to doing that, but it is her home state. all of these are key questions we're going to be asking coming down the stretch. as for here, where i'm standing, this is one of the counties, merrimac, which mirrors the state of new hampshire writ large. it is why our team steve kornacki picked this as a bellwether county for us to hang out in tonight in large part because this is one of the places that could tell the story of haley cobbling together a coalition that allows her to bring independents and republicans together. >> ali vitali, garrett haake, thank you, guys, so much for giving us the lay of the land. haley is relying on the independents to carry her

through. where should we be looking for early indications that her plan is either working or not? >> yeah, well, most of the polls in new hampshire will close 7:00 eastern. there are a few places where it closes at 8:00. most notably in nashua. second largest city in the state. to keep that in mind as results come in. this is the map we're going to be using, keep in mind as well, they do things different in new england. most other states they report the vote out by county. there are only ten counties in new hampshire. this is not a county map. this is a map of the cities and towns in new hampshire. they report the vote out that way. with that in mind, i think there are a couple of places we'll be looking here. we have seen the polling, and we're going to -- these are places where haley has to be doing a lot better and i think we get guy sense of it. one is manchester it set of. state's largest city. polls closing here in the 7:00 hour. and manchester, more than 100,000 people, this is one of those places where haley is

going to be running very close to trump. maybe losing it by a few points. ideally for her winning it by a few points, but manchester itself could be a bellwether. if she's getting blown out in manchester, that could signal a result that is looking a lot like the polls have looked coming into this. i mentioned nashua. nashua closes at 8:00. when it does close, it is going to be a good bellwether. haley probably needs to be winning nashua to have a chance state wide. if she's losing it by a wide margin, that doesn't portend well for her at all. concord, third largest city, the state capital this is one that haley doesn't just have to win, she has to win it by a big margin to have a chance. i think look at her -- if she can hit 60% in concord, you say, whoa, maybe something is happening here. if she's not getting that, if she's even losing concord, very, very bad sign for her campaign. couple other towns to keep in mind tonight, the towns in new hampshire, state with a million and a quarter people. some of these towns actually you would think in other states not

a huge part of the mix, but take a look at a place like londonderry, south of manchester, this is a place that is pretty much a bellwether tonight. goff's town, bellwether, haley needs to win, needs to wins there, needs to win londonderry. milford, a lot of towns like this, decent sized towns, if she is competitive in those, that could signal something is happening. if she's not, i think that will signal the polls have been right. >> okay. i was writing these down, nashua, manchester, concord, londonderry, milford, you'll be with us every step of the way. we have our other correspondents throughout this hour, we'll be checking in. thank you so much. let's bring in democratic strategist bazell smikle and susan del percio. new hampshire has been called

haley's last stand. how big or little does she have to win or lose by today to prove she should and can stay in this race and be competitive? >> i believe she has to win it to really look like there is a movement and a path for her to go forward to south carolina and super tuesday. now, she is trying to lower expectations. but as ali vitali said, when you come in second of a two-man race or two-person race, you're losing that race. you lost it. but if she does come in within five, it can make a difference. i've been disappointed with the energy coming from the haley campaign. it seems that the governor, chris sununu, is just more into it and really barnstorming the state. more than haley. >> you think just fatigue for her? >> i don't know, right? even leaving iowa, coming in this week after iowa, or last week, she should have -- shouldn't have been out there. she should have had a lot of

energy. i think that's what they're talking about on the ground that is missing. >> we keep talking about how independents are so crucial for haley. and we know there in new hampshire, there is a lot of them there. that's independent of the republican vote. and republican voters are telling the pollsters that they are largely behind donald trump. do you think there it is enough buzz for haley among the unaffiliated, the independent voters there in new hampshire, to make this a very competitive race? >> i don't think there is enough of an electability argument and the reason i say that is if you're a voter that says we want somebody that is the best, that has the best chance of winning a general election against joe biden, that kind of can move us back to the middle, that's a nikki haley argument. generally speaking, most trump voters wants someone that shares their values. and that's donald trump. that's not nikki haley. >> nikki haley values different

than donald trump? >> here's what's interesting about that, let's say they are different, what nikki haley did, the slavery comment and the america's not really racist comment, right, what she did after she made those comments is back track. what donald trump would do is not do that. he would double down and triple down. and that sort of act alone is what brings his supporters to his doorstep. they say this is a person of conviction. i don't believe that. but what they believe is that that kind of -- that kind of strength is what they need to lead the party, so even if they share the same values, they don't come out the same way. to your point about energy, she didn't bring that same energy to new hampshire. she's not barnstorming the state in the ways we would expect at this point. >> she's barnstorming much more than trump, when you look at how many events each held in that state. trump has not been tre a whole

lot. 13 events total so far in this election cycle. he's been so dominant in the polls. what is he doing right? >> he is the incumbent in many ways because you've never seen a former president turn around after a loss and run again. he's had the lock on the party and also been engaging the party since 2015. so, that never went away. even when he wasn't in office. he still held rallies, still did endorsements, still engaged his people and that's actually really important for a politician to do. so they don't go anywhere else. so, anyone running against donald trump really had to decide to change the political landscape. and make -- figure out who they could go after, who was out there, and in doing that the last minute, like nikki haley is trying to do, saying i'm the trump alternative, it seems a little too late, just doesn't feel right. now, she should have at least come out yesterday, and really gone after trump if she wants to

be the alternative to donald trump. but the problem is being the alternative is not enough. >> you got to have something else and i just didn't see that something else. >> trump is dominating the endorsement battle and we talked about this, but they keep on pouring in for him, even with his former rivals in the 2024 race, ron desantis just the latest, but also you see there vivek ramaswamy, doug burgum, tim scott, home state senator in south carolina, those last three were all at a trump event in new hampshire last night. here is what trump said about them. >> they have to been really good and they have a lot do with what's happening in the country over the next four years and i'm sure long beyond that. that's a great group of people. you'll be seeing a lot of them. >> so, is that why people are just so quick to line up behind trump? they're thinking about their political future ambition, maybe a place in a trump

administration should he end up back in the white house, or is there more nuance or more layered? >> so both things can be true. they could be looking at their own political future, but they're also afraid of the backlash of the moment, right? what does it mean for me to go against donald trump to susan's point. i think about this very quickly. back in 2008, there were two really important moments that really changed the democratic primary with hillary and barack. it was caroline kennedy writing this op-ed in "the new york times" if i remember it correctly and john lewis changing his endorsement from hillary to barack. those two things did factor very heavily in how voters saw the narrative of that race. what we don't have in this instance is one of those leaders in a republican party saying no, we have got to change direction and we have got to get behind nikki haley or anybody else besides donald trump. that has not happened. so what is happening now, everybody is just going in

lockstep because the political downside to not doing that is too steep. >> need to stay quiet, i guess, they're all sticking their neck out there and saying i'm on trump's team. stay close, guys. we'll check back with you. coming up, what it takes to win in new hampshire. i'll talk to experts who have run campaigns in the state. plus, are we about to witness the last breaths of the anti-trump movement in the republican party? if they can't find a home in the gop, where do they go? and all hour, updates from our reporters on the ground in the granite state as voters head to the polls and we watch democracy in action, even if it means going at the crack of dawn. t means going at the crack of dawn >> it is a tough time right now. it is my duty as a citizen to do my vote. >> it is a freedom that we have. and that's what i'm here for. i have no problem. i would have got up at 4:00 if i had to. problem. i would have got up at 4:00 if i had to i know what it's like to perform through pain. if you're like me, one of the millions suffering

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we're back with the polls open across new hampshire this morning. new hampshire is the place for comebacks and surprises from bill clinton's comeback kids second place finish in 1992 which re-energized his struggling campaign to john mccain's 2000 upset over george w. bush and hillary clinton's 2008 new hampshire victory. nikki haley is betting it all that new hampshire could deliver her a similar surprise. joining us now is boston globe politics reporter emma platoff and former adviser to marco rubio, jim meryl. nice to see you both. i understand you're both in manchester, new hampshire, on the ground, in the thick of it. jim, could this be one of the times when the candidate pulls off a surprise? >> sure. i mean, look, we have that history here in new hampshire, as you pointed out. new hampshire is stubborn. i hear a lot of talk right now about trying to bring the campaign to a conclusion and

rallying around donald trump. and from our standpoint, you know, voters are out in polling places now, casting ballots, and we have shown that stubborn streak before. there is always that possibility. it is difficult to poll new hampshire. i'll say this that nikki haley has run the most authentic full spectrum new hampshire campaign i've seen this year. she put a lot of investment on the ground early, a year ago, and it paid off to get her into striking distance here. we'll see if she can carry it off today. >> let's talk about potential turnout. according to the new hampshire secretary of state, independent voters make up 40% of the electorate. that's ail little bit less than 2016. how do you expect voter enthusiasm and the independent vote to compare this year? what is your sense?

>> the good news for nikki haley is undeclared voters are the biggest bloc in new hampshire. that's a group that tends more toward donald trump. the bad news for nikki haley is those people don't always show up. how many can she get to the polls? i was at the rally last night with governor chris sununu urging everyone to get to the polls, bring their crazy uncles, cousins, pets, but we'll see if that comes to pass. >> jim, you've been there, done that. take us inside the haley campaign. what do you think they're watching and there anything they could be doing right now to make a difference? >> you know, look, you're in a vortex, the eye of the hurricane on election day. all of your paid media efforts are under way, you're going to be out there, hitting polling places, you know, really kweezing every last drop out of the new hampshire electorate. there are some tactics you can

do on election day to raise your profile and i suspect the haley campaign is doing that as we speak. as we know, from prior history, new hampshire voters, a lot of them make up their mind heading into the polling place. another factor that we haven't talked about is not only the current registered voters. but in new hampshire, we have same day registration, if you are not registered as a voter, domiciled here, you can go in and register to vote on election day and see often voters will do that. it is difficult to figure out where exactly they're coming from and what they're reacting to to bring them to the polls on election day. it is the eye of the storm, exciting, stressful. and they're putting every last ounce of energy into getting the vote out as we speak. >> when you talk to voters, what is resonating, what's not when to comes to the issues and the different attacks haley and trump are lobbing out there. >> this might be a surprise to folks watching from across the

country. in new hampshire, immigration has consistently been top ranked issue. we know that is an issue where donald trump does well. the economy is also huge. you also just hear a lot of people talking about democracy and decency. i talked to a lot of voters at haley events who say they want a return to normal, they can't understand the way that donald trump has taken their party. and interestingly, an important note for nikki haley, with less excitement on the democratic side, there may be a draw for undeclared voters who tend to lean that way to participate on the republican primary today this and could give her a boost as well. >> i appreciate both your insights and your reporting. thank you so much. a programming note, new hampshire governor chris sununu who is backing nikki haley, will join my colleague andrea mitchell at noon eastern here on msnbc. next up for us, is the new hampshire primary the last stand for the anti-trump forces within the republican party? e anti-trun the republican party

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join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. welcome back. voters up and down new hampshire heading to the polls as we speak. the big question for nikki haley's campaign, can she pull off an upset? her team hoping to spark big turnout from a unique coalition of voters, republicans open to a newarty leader, thosenside and outside the party turned off by trump, and even democratic leaning voters who see haley as a vessel to defeat trump before the general election. let's bring in shaquille brewster in lacona. you've been looking into how haley's trying to build this coalition. how does it square with what you're hearing from voters there this morning? >> reporter: hi there, ana, good morning to you. we're hearing hints of that

coalition here in lacona. this is a town somewhat of a bellwether where in 2016 it almost mirrored the results you saw in the primary state wide. based on the conversations i've been having, you get a mix of voters here, but one thing that keeps coming up is even among those voters who aren't planning to support former president donald trump, he is the dominant factor. listen to just a few of those conversations i've been having. >> your vote for nikki haley was more about donald trump? >> yes. we didn't want him, but we thought we just wanted to vote for somebody else and we wanted to vote. we almost didn't vote at all, but then we said, no, we have to vote. >> reporter: what about nikki haley got you to support her? >> anything but trump. >> reporter: say that again. >> anything but trump. i have no problem with the ladies running things.

i have one here. >> reporter: there is also a clear sign of how fragile this coalition could be. i spoke to one gentleman undeclared, which means he can pick up a republican ballot or democratic ballot and he was undecided up to when he woke up this morning and said he want on facebook, saw the news about the record stock market and decided to pick up a democratic ballot and vote for joe biden. what he was considering nikki haley. shows you how fragile this coalition can be. and that's why margins will be a big factor once you start getting in those election results tonight, ana. >> shaq brewster in lacona, thank you. let's bring in political science professor at the university of new hampshire dante scalia. what is your reaction to what we just heard there from those voters in laconia, a bellwether town, and what it could signal for the two campaigns, the nikki haley campaign and the donald trump campaign tonight? >> what donald trump needs to do

today is very simple. republicans turn out to vote, conservatives turn out to vote. and re-elect their party leader. when nikki haley needs to do is quite complicated. reaching very different parts of the electorate. and the question is, again, how is that all going to hang together. >> so, trump won new hampshire last time around. but there were more than a half dozen candidates in the race that time. he ended up with 30 plus percent of the vote. he wins. with a one on one matchup what is your sense about the anti-trump sentiment there in new hampshire? is it enough to put haley on the map? >> it is strong. it is going to put haley in a respectable second place for sure. keep in mind, this is a moderate state. but conservatives will very likely outnumber moderates today in the new hampshire primary. and conservatives have for weeks been locked in. they seem to have their minds made up for trump and i don't know what would dislodge them. >> why is that, do you think?

that is something we keep hearing from trump. haley isn't conservative enough. is that fair? how do you think they differ on the issues and how does it translate with the new hampshire electorate? >> yeah, i mean, you know, on the issues i think there is much more in common in overlap than there are differences. it is striking how republicans these days define themselves ideologically by how they view the former president. one key difference, though, is foreign policy. internationalism versus isolationism, especially centered around ukraine, is dividing the party's voters as well as its members of congress. >> has haley done enough to define what she is all about? >> the problem is, i think by attracting moderates, attracting chris christie voters and so forth, she's become the symbol of what she is against and it has been difficult for her to

breakthrough to say exactly what she's for. that's the worry. especially with conservatives. that new generation of conservative message she delivers, i wonder if that has broken through. that's key. >> dante scalia, thank you so much for joining us. there is a lot for us to be watching in tonight's vote and results. i appreciate it. up next on "ana cabrera reports," a check in with our reporters on the ground in the granite state. where is the energy this morning? what they're hearing from more vote areas cross the state. heae vote areas cross the state >> just important to show up. every vote matters and i took his input. matters and i took his input. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ ( bell ringing) customize and save with libberty bibberty. liberty bushumal. libtreally blubatoo. mark that one. that was nice! i think you're supposed to stand over there. oh am i? thank you. so, a couple more? we'll just...we'll rip. we'll go quick. libu smeebo.

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welcome back. new hampshire secretary of state has predicted record turnout for today's republican primary. we heard about the independent voters who can participate, 40% of new hampshire's electorate is undeclared. they can take a republican or democratic ballot today on primary day. to be clear, registered democrats can't participate in the gop race and vice versa. the deadline to change party affiliation was back in october. so, again, we're zeroing in on the undeclared voters. dasha burns is with us and vaughn hillyard is in milford.

dasha, what are you hearing and seeing on the ground? >> reporter: so, goffstown where i'm at is a bellwether town because the results here in 2016 almost exactly matched the state wide results. i'll have the cameraman chris jackson give you a picture here of what we're seeing. there has been a steady stream of voters here. so trump did win goffstown, but there was a decent amount of opposition here as well, and so for nikki haley this is one of the areas where she is really going to want to run up her margins, get about 50% or so in an area like goffstown. as we have been talking to voters, we have been seeing folks all across the map supporting trump, supporting haley, even write-ins for biden. listen to what we heard. >> this is the first in the country and it is important for every citizen to make sure their voice has been heard. >> i want the economy to continue to get better, more jobs and shut off the border. >> instead of voting for haley,

i voted for donald trump this morning. >> you voted this morning. >> i think the election -- the primary is over. i think that mr. trump is going to be our next candidate. >> reporter: there is a bit of that sense of an inevitability, but there are folks who are for haley here. what is interesting, when i ask people who voted for trump why they didn't vote for haley, some of the rhetoric he's been using on the campaign trail like calling her a globalist, he had posters saying that -- banners at his rallies calling her a globalist. people are using the same language that trump uses to describe haley. it goes to show how powerful he is when it comes to defining his opponents. he did it to desantis. now to haley here too. >> so, vaughn, let's check in over in milford. polls opened at 7:00 a.m. how busy has it been there this morning? >> there is lines of folks that have been coming throughout the course of the entire morning

here, which would suggest we're looking at a good -- to give you an idea of milford, in this polling location, in 2016 in a general election, donald trump beat hillary clinton by 500 votes. but in 2020, joe biden beat donald trump by 34 votes. a large concentration of unaffiliated voters. it was notable over the course of the last hour, asking person after person, leaving this polling location, who they were supporting, i can tell you there was only one couple, registered independents, who told me nikki haley. the rest of them, donald trump. listen to two folks i talked to. how did you make up your mind? >> pretty simple really. i voted for trump. he's got a record. and you got to look beyond the personality. trump or haley?

>> trump. >> did you consider haley? >> i was, actually. >> reporter: when did you decide? >> this morning. >> reporter: how did you make up your mind? >> i like how when trump was already been in there he has the experience, and just kind of having second guesses about nicky. >> reporter: that last gentleman you heard from there, we were talking a bit more and he told me, frankly, he said he thinks that nikki haley has less of a chance to beat joe biden in the general election. that was part of his calculation this morning. when much like that voter that dasha talked to, he decided to come to the polls and select donald trump. we still got several hours ahead of us and many more voters to hear from. >> eye opening and enlightening to hear from the voters directly what's on top of mind what is important, what their priorities are and why they choose one candidate over the other. thank you for giving us that snapshot. the results will speak for themselves once we have them later tonight. appreciate it, dasha burns, vaughn hillyard, thank you. up next on "ana cabrera reports," president biden's ballot battle.

the political test he faces in new hampshire from a long shot challenger. >> i hope joe biden wins. >> my parents always said it is private. but i voted democrat. >> you voted democrat? >> i did. >> did you write in -- >> i had to do that, but i'm not telling you who. to do that, but telling you who. i know what it's like to perform through pain. if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible. talk to a doctor about nurtec odt. (vo) explore the world the viking way relief is possible. from the quiet comfort of elegant small ships

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portsmith, new hampshire. we're joined by the secretary of state with mike. also joining us is former democratic member of the house of representatives jim demmers. fill us in on what is happening there. >> reporter: i want to bring in the secretary of state dave scanlon. this is my second primary. every primary is unique. this one is particularly complicated. talk about what you're looking for today. >> this is the first time we had two individuals who served as president of the united states running for the nomination. on the democratic side, because of our disagreement with the democrat national committee calendar schedule, we have been maintaining our position as the first in the nation primary. president biden has chosen not to file. >> you predicted record turnout on the republican side, low

turnout on the democratic side. has anything changed to make you rethink those calculations? >> we had candidates on the republican side drop out of the race. that narrowed the field quite a bit. that will impact the turnout. i'm not sure how yet. i still expect a healthy turnout on the republican side, and on the democratic side, when you have an incumbent president that is running for re-election, the turnout is less than you would otherwise expect. >> there is some surprises in the few days before the primary. one of them we reported yesterday, this robocall impersonating the president saying not to turn out. will that change the vote? >> i don't think it will impact the vote in new hampshire. voters were pretty savvy. the artificial intelligence ability to create opportunities like that is of concern to secretaries of state across the country. and we have to find ways to

aggressively andeffectively combat that. >> reporter: what do you suspect will happen after the polls close and how quickly will we get the results? >> i think the results will come in relatively quickly. there are still over 100 towns in new hampshire that hand count their ballots. that's a simple sort and stack method by candidate. there will be no difference there. on the -- in the towns like portsmith, where they have machine count, the moderator has to go through all of the machine counted ballots, looking for write-in votes so that they can be sorted out and then hand counted. >> and this is one of the more democratic heavy wards in the state. 1800 registered democrats, 1100 of those undeclared voters. 500 republicans. if there is a strong write-in turnout for president biden, this is where we'll be looking tonight. >> mike memoli, thank you for that and bringing us that interview with the secretary of

state. appreciate your reporting. you have been involved in this write in campaign president biden. when democratic voters get their ballots, they won't see joe biden's name. without his name on the ballot, without any delegates up for grabs here, what would a win look like for president biden tonight? >> well, first, ana, i was surprised when mike said this is his fifth primary. my first one that i got involved with was 52 years ago. i've never missed one. this is the first time i worked on a write-in effort. but i think democratic voters here recognize that we're having our primary no matter what. and it is important to be united, to ensure that the campaign is in place for the november election. one of the things we have found is that voters all across new hampshire are extremely nervous about donald trump getting back into the white house, and it served as motivation for so many democrats to unite and get

involved in this write-in effort. >> so what do you expect then? do you expect joe biden to win big in the democratic primary? what would a win look like for him? >> i don't even know what a win would look like. we have never had a write-in effort in modern history here. but my feeling is a win is one more than anybody else. and regardless of what happens, we have laid the foundation for a really good campaign in november. if the polls are right, and this is going to be a tight race between joe biden and donald trump, new hampshire's four electoral votes could make the difference. so i really am proud of the effort that has come together here in new hampshire, people are turning out, they're going the extra mile to not only turn out at polling places, but to write in a name and we have never seen that. and i think we will reap benefits from that when the general election comes. >> jim, mike spoke about that fake robocall that made the

rounds there in new hampshire with the voice impersonating president biden telling people not to vote in the primary. have you heard anything from your fellow democratic voters about that? >> yeah, we actually did get phone calls from people who were receiving these robocalls. it is extremely disappointing. i think it is an indication of sort of the dirty tricks that lie ahead, but voters in new hampshire really are savvy and smart. i think they knew it was not real. they have seen the news accounts for the past two days that it was fake and i don't think it will deter democrats from coming out to write in joe biden. >> an important raising of awareness, though, with the new technologies that we have this election, it changes a lot. jim demmers, thank you for showing us that side of the primary race tonight, the democratic side and giving us your insights. appreciate it. >> great to be with you.

up next on "ana cabrera reports," from a granite state showdown to a palmetto state final stand. why south carolina, haley's home state, could be even tougher for her. voters are already making predictions about what happens next. >> i see trump winning south carolina and afternikki loses her home state, she's going to drop out. , she's going to drop out when you add a new footlong sidekick. like the ultimate bmt with the new footlong pretzel. nothing like a sidekick that steps up in crunch time. [laughing] not cool man. every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. jorge has always put the ones he loves first. but when it comes to caring for his teeth he's let own maintenance take a back seat. well maybe it's time to shift gears on that. because aspen dental has the latest technology and equipment. with a staff that goes out of their way to provide exceptional care. plus free exams and x-rays for new patients without insurance and 20% off treatment plans.

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so today's race in new

hampshire is the first one-on-one matchup between nikki haley and donald trump but even if haley has a strong showing there in new hampshire the gop primary contest only gets more complicated. we're a month out now from the next contest, south carolina. and while that is haley's home state, looks like an uphill battle there too. with more conservative voters, fewer independents and the state's political leaders lined up for trump. back with us, bob desmikle and susan depercio. susan, how muchch a test could south carolina be for nikki haley? >> it could be very significant. it could be make or break. what kind of message from south carolina. if she's getting significant funding it will be from the anti-trump side. she has to make this competition between her and trump. as i said earlier in the hour, being not trump is not enough. she's going to have to go after

him directly and strongly. and that's where money can show up. does the network stay with us? more of what i'm looking at is some of the chris christie backers and super pac donors, will they put big money behind her? maybe, only if she can convince them she's going to go after trump so far. >> if haley doesn't win tonight or at least have a very strong showing, a very close second, do you think she'll drop out from south carolina? >> again, there's a whole month in between. i just have to imagine losing in her home state would be a huge blow to her reputation? >> well, that month makes all the difference in the world. if it were a weak leader, perhaps not. a month is a long time to convince voters and donors that you're still in this. it's a long time to watch donald trump gain momentum. there are south carolina

republican leaders in new hampshire now, you know, campaigning for donald trump trying to end it here for nikki haley. so that month is going to seem like an eternity in that campaign, because if the money doesn't come in, if the message isn't compelling enough to say you got to keep voting for me, because if the numbers don't end up the way she needs them to be in new hampshire, i just can't see her going there. the senator from that state has already endorsed donald trump is tim scott. you have members of congress already endorsing donald trump. and when i talked earlier about individuals being able to change the narrative of campaigns does the republican party nationally or even in south carolina have a jim clyburn, somebody to reset the race. >> there will be one primary caucus in between, nevada. >> it's that a totally different ballpark. >> that's a totally different ballpark.

there's a primary and caucus, the caucus comes second and that's where the delegates are, only donald trump running in that caucuskki haley is in the primary. and win it because you get to say i won. >> really, that's -- she gets the primary -- >> she can actually go out there and claim a victory and work it into he is messaging into her home state. again, we know what it means but the public generally doesn't. if you say you won the nevada primary, people are going to be like, great. so, it is an opportunity to create a little bit of a springboard, like basil said, it's a long time between now and south carolina. >> susan makes a great point. remember, at the end of the day, this is a delegate race. and the question is, are you really convincing voters to send delegates to convention to support you? and the reality is, there's going to become a point in time,

very soon, actually, in march, where this mathematically becomes impossible for her. >> i want to get sound from young voters, clearly, we have one on the gop side which nikki haley has made a big deal about. some voters were asked why we haven't had a woman president. >> they're kind of looked at a different way. men have been dom naturing politics so long. the standards that women have are not.ones we hold men to. >> to be blunt, sexism is rampant. people like hillary clinton and nikki haley have shown they're strong. >> i don't think america is against having a female president. i think we're ready, i think we've been ready. i just think we need to find the right woman to win that election. >> susan, your thoughts on that? >> it's interesting, because as basil said in the last segment about having values and

basically holding the republican party together, it's the issue of strength. i actually don't think it's actually shared values. i think it's showing that they want someone strong. and unfortunately, in the republican party, women aren't viewed as strong. let's just remember, there are more registered women voters who actually vote. so they should be out there demanding it by their vote. >> i still have my tear-stained jacket from election night in 2016. so i long believe that a woman should lead this country and strongly supported hillary clinton when she ran. you know, we'll see, we'll see when the time comes. >> thank you so much, basil and susan. that's going to do it for this hour. thank you for joining, i'm ana cabrera reporting from. special coverage with jose diaz-balart, he's go to take over the next hour. good morning, it's