but the write-in votes are taken out, put in stacks on the table. moderators will count hand by hand to see how joe biden does. >> mikememoli, thank you so much. an interesting process. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. reach me on social media @jdbalart. watch clips from our show on youtube. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell is here now with more primary coverage. she will speak with governor chris sununu who has been campaigning today with nikki haley. right now on this special edition of "andrea mitchell reports," the new hampshire primary. donald trump saying he is poised to end the race for the republican nomination with another decisive victory in what could be a record setting night. >> every day the republican

party is becoming more and more unified. the numbers in my opinion will be higher than what you are even seeing. you are seeing very big numbers. but you gotta go and vote. >> nikki haley is making what could be her last stand, betting her hopes on crushing the numbers of undeclared voters and doing better than expected with republicans. >> you have to work it. you have to fight for it. you have to earn every single vote. they want to see work. >> our reporters are at the polls. steve kornacki is at the big board ready to break it all down. >> yes. independents make up a bigger share in new hampshire than anywhere else. she's got to get that number. 65%, 70%, something like this. among republicans, that number is too low. it's got to take up closer to 30 points. >> joining me on this election day, haley's top supporter, new hampshire's popular republican

governor, chris sununu, on her chances for an upset. he is not on today's ballot, but president biden's supporters are trying to run up the numbers on a symbolic write-in campaign, encountering an artificially robocall imitating the president's vote. our team is on the case. ♪♪ good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. it's election day in new hampshire. the polls are open for the state's traditional first in the nation primary. this year is different. all the action is on the republican side, with democrats not choosing delegates because they opted to let south carolina, with a more diverse voting electorate, go first. as is the tradition, it has been this way for 64 years, the first results are in from the tiny six-person hamlet of dixville

notch, which goes to the polls at midnight, casting all six votes for nikki haley. her campaign calling it a great start to the day. despite donald trump clearing the rest of the gop field after his iowa caucus landslide and haley still trailing him by double digits in new hampshire. undeclared voters are today's wild card. this is still anyone's race to win. >> i could envision a double digit trump win ends the primary. if nikki haley wins, then buckle up. it's going to be a good one. >> a final tracking poll shows mr. trump steadily increasing his lead to 22 points. if that proves accurate, the former president could become the party's presumptive nominee tonight, something that never happened this early in an election cycle when the candidate is not a sitting president. nikki haley is vowing to stay in the race through south carolina next month. although, right now, trump is

dominating the polling there as well. we start on the ground in new hampshire with nbc's vaughn hillyard and shaquille brewster and with us is ashley parker. vaughn, starting with you, donald trump could become the first republican to ever carry both iowa and new hampshire since both states became first in the nation. what are the voters saying there? >> reporter: right. this is a moment here where coming off of a nearly 30-point win in iowa, in new hampshire tonight could be a defining win for donald trump. frankly, for nikki haley, this is the best political prospects of any state that's out there. i want to let you listen to a few folks that we talked to. it is a steady stream of folks coming to take part in this primary. there's very little mail-in voting that takes place here. most were waiting to the last moment to cast their ballot. take a listen. >> trump. >> trump.

all the way, trump. >> reporter: are you considering nikki haley? >> never. >> we seen her a couple times. >> never. >> i want someone that's going to fight for our country. that's why i'm voting for trump. >> nikki. >> reporter: you too? >> yep. >> reporter: how did you make up your mind? >> we heard her speak. we had been following her for a while. she's the most positive person for the job. >> reporter: were you considering donald trump? >> not this time around. >> reporter: that couple said three weeks ago they went to see nikki haley and walked away compelled to vote for her on this tuesday. another gentleman i talked to, he walked in with his kid and he said that he didn't make up his mind until literally this morning weighing whether to go with nikki haley or donald trump. he said a big reason that he cast his vote for donald trump was because he thinks that he has a better chance against joe biden in november's general election. >> thank you, vaughn. shaq, you are in a polling

location where the 2016 vote closely mirrored statewide results. nikki haley says she can beat joe biden. is that resonating? >> reporter: to some extent. as vaughn mentioned, something that damages that is that among republicans, even those that are backing nikki haley, there's not much doubt that donald trump would be able to beat joe biden. one thing that has been a boost for nikki haley is what you saw overnight out of dixville. one voter said she struggld to decide. she said seeing nikki haley sweep that, that impacted her and helped her make her final decision. listen to what some other voters told me. >> i don't think mr. trump is perfect, but i think he is more

able to influence people. >> anything but trump. >> reporter: that was your priority? >> that's my biggest priority. >> reporter: you supported nikki haley because of donald trump? >> yeah. i have no problem with ladies running things. i have one here. >> joe biden. >> reporter: why joe biden? >> because honestly, i think he is doing a better job than people give him credit for. he has got a lot done on infrastructure. i believe climate change is real. he has done something on it, which almost nobody else has. >> reporter: of course, you mentioned the big question is, what do the undeclared voters do? do they even come out? i spoke to one voter who said that he was deciding which party to participate in this morning. ended up voting in the democratic primary based on what he saw out of the stock market yesterday. he said, otherwise, he would have gone out and voted for nikki haley. >> shaq, those voters are

interesting. remind me of my folks up there in new hampshire all those years. >> reporter: good people. >> ashley, what would you consider a win for nikki haley? could she pull off the win of the century? would that be a win, single digits? ashley, do you have -- are you muted? vaughn, let me ask you and try to fix ashley. i want to bring her in. vaughn, what would you consider a win for nikki haley? what does she have to accomplish? >> reporter: i wish i knew what ashley parker thought. because ashley got a good barometer on this. this is -- i was here in 2016. i know you and i were both covering that gop primary when it was donald trump up against the likes of john kasich.

the conversation at that time covering the primary was, what if it was one on one, donald trump against somebody else? donald trump got 35% of the vote in that 2016 gop primary. and yet, that's what we have this time around. we have a one on one race. frankly, all of the potential anti-trump support from republicans as well as independent voters, they are -- have one option. that option is nikki haley. it's hard to walk away today thinking that anything but an actual win of actually beating donald trump in new hampshire could be justified as a win. it's very difficult for her to go and make the case looking at the republican electorate around the rest of the country in other states ahead that somehow she has better prospects elsewhere than here in new hampshire. >> ashley, let me ask you, what's a win for nikki haley? is getting into double digits

good enough? could we be wrapping this up and have a presumptive nominee by the end of the night? >> reporter: it depends on who you ask that question to. if you ask nikki haley's campaign, who put out a memo this morning, their argument is that this is a long race, that they are heading next to south carolina, and then that super tuesday they argue is fairly favorable terrain for her. 11 of the 16 states who go to the polls then have open or semi-open primaries. their spin is, don't count her out. a little on the ground reality is that as this heads to her home state, that's not actually the favorable terrain that many people might expect. there's a very good chance that donald trump could win in south carolina. a clear win for nikki haley is an actual win. right? to become the president, to

become the nominee, you have to get first in some states. in talking to donors and voters, they would be excited tonight if she can even keep it close, if she can get second in close single digits. the further behind the former president she gets, the hard ter -- harder to spin it into a win. >> ashley, shaq, vaughn, at the scene on election day in new hampshire. steve kornacki joins me from the big board in 60 seconds to break it all down as nikki haley hopes for an upset over donald trump in new hampshire. republican voters from both camps weigh in. >> why donald trump? >> why not? many reasons. he has been there. he has done it before. he knows the people. he knows what to do. >> had you considered voting for anybody else? >> no. >> i won't vote for trump.

>> why? >> why is that? every time he opens his mouth, that's enough said. 're ready for anything. marriage. kids. college. kids moving back in after college. (applause) finally, we can eat. ♪ you know you make me wanna... ♪ and then we looked around and said, "wait a minute, this isn't even our stroller!" (laughter) you live with your parents, but you own a house in the metaverse? mm-hmm. cool! i don't get it. here's to getting financially ready for anything. and here's to being single and ready to mingle. who's ready to cha-cha? ( ♪♪ )

you are look being at a live picture from portsmith, new hampshire, which leans more democratic than other parts of the state. nikki haley is hanging her hopes for an upset victory in new hampshire on the state's undeclared voters to help her close the gap to single digits or beat former president trump. to do that, she will have to win a higher percentage of republican votes, something that's not showing up in the tracking polls. joining me now at the big board is steve kornacki. it's a long night ahead. the latest polls shows trump leading by 22 points. is the independent electorate in new hampshire big enough to help haley pull off a surprise victory? how much more support does she need from republican voters who don't seem to be flocking to her at all? >> it's a two-pronged problem

for nikki haley, based on the polling. this is the overall final tracking poll coming into today. you can slice this two ways. first of all, there's the independent vote that haley appears to be leading. it's a question how much it is. the average in the tracking poll has been haley by 12 among independents. not enough. even if intere independents mak% of the electorates, 12 points is not going to get it done when you are getting blown out by anyone around this kind of margin among republicans. the all-time record for performance with independents in a republican primary, john mccain in 2000. he won over george w. bush by 42 points. i think realistically, if you are nikki haley, and you are talking about giving trump a run

and maybe winning this in a giant upset tonight, you gotta find a way to hit that mccain number or right around that mccain number. not 12, not 22, not 32, 42. something like that could put her in the game. that would be in and of itself a surprise. then the second issue again is this republican vote here. when mccain won in 2000, beat george w. bush, it wasn't just that he ran up massive numbers with interests. it's that he kept it close, battled bush to a tie among republicans. didn't look like this among republicans. it seems the more and more haley sends signals or signals get sent about haley that she's pursuing the interest vote, it seems to hurt her with republicans. that's what we have been noticing here. odds are overwhelming, she's losing the republican vote tonight. she just can't get blown out by this kind of a spread. realistically, the basement floor for her with republicans, 30%. she probably needs at least 30%

among republicans. the polls have put her in the low 20s to the mid 20s with republicans. she would have to boost that to 30. that's with a giant -- what would be record setting potentially margin among interests. those two things put together and you would have a real kind of 50/50 fight in the state. without both of those things, it's a question of how much she loses by. >> steve kornacki, thanks for setting it up. up next on "andrea mitchell reports," i will be joined by former governor john kasich who had his own big new hampshire moment eight years ago. >> i would prefer to tell people what my vision is and what wasn't to do than talking about something else or running somebody else down. i find people like that. they would rather hear positive than negative, i think. am i right? but with prilosec otc just one pill a day

blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ( ♪♪ ) constant contact's advanced automation lets you send the right message at the right time, every time. ( ♪♪ ) constant contact. helping the small stand tall.

- i got the cabin for three days. it's gonna be sweet! constant contact. what? i'm 12 hours short. - have a fun weekend. - ♪ unnecessary action hero! unnecessary. ♪ - was that necessary? - no. neither is a blown weekend. with paycom, employees do their own payroll so you can fix problems before they become problems. - hmm! get paycom and make the unnecessary, unnecessary. - see you down the line. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein,

complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. 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.

live pictures right now from new hampshire, one of seven cities have correctly picked the winner of the statewide republican primary since 1952. that's according to the secretary of state's officers c donald trump's nomination -- domination of the republican party, unless nikki haley can score a new hampshire surprise. joining us now, former

republican governor and 2016 presidential candidate john kasich and former chief of staff to mike pence, mark short. governor, you came in second in new hampshire behind donald trump in 2016. how strong a grasp does trump have on the republican primary? >> i think inside the party, it's his party right now. he is a phenomenon in the republican party. the good news as far as i'm concerned is once he is off the scene. i don't think anybody can duplicate what he does. the way in which he talks, things he says, you would think it would take any normal politician down. he seems to survive it. i don't think it's transferable. we are living through the age right now of trump in the republican party. then the question is, what does the party look like post trump? i think that's what is important for nikki haley. if she doesn't do hot or gets close tonight, what is her vision for what the party ought

to be? which gives people a reason to vote for her and not just vote against trump. >> mark short, does she -- if she doesn't do well, does they have to get out before south carolina? you had to make those decisions with mike pence. it was heartbreaking, i'm sure, for him to do so poorly in the run-up to iowa that he had to get out of the state that could have been best for him. is trump such a phenomenon that should she save herself for a future race? >> i don't think i want to advise her. the thing that's most shocking is the fact how little has changed. where trump started in the race, he has only solidified support with each indictment or each court case that comes against him. one of the things that's different is we never had a former president run again in over 100 years. when he ran in 2016, he did

promise conservatives, i will meet you where you are with the courts, or i will meet you with taxes, i will meet you where you are with the issue of life. today, there's none of that. the president just is fighting a grievance battle. all the issues that were once conservative platforms are anathema. he condemns candidates who want to take on entitlement spending. he criticized his supreme court picks. what is most different is on the issues there aren't any donald trump is putting forward what he would do for voters. it's just a grievance battle. i want redemption. help fight my battle. >> it doesn't seem to matter, john kasich. what is it about republican voters that are more favorable toward trump with each indictment? there was one voter who talked about the 38,000 dow and taking

in that reality. which biden doesn't seem to be able to communicate to most people. >> you know, andrea, i think it's -- i think mark hit on it. it's a grievance campaign. there have been many people who have been attracted to that. he is strong. you know, he is strong and, therefore, he will help fix all these things i'm upset about. i didn't get a fair shake on things. it's called negative populism. there's such a thing called positive populism, where you look at somebody and said, you have a problem, let's fix it. what he does, he blames it on somebody else. unfortunately, that authoritarian approach has captured people inside the republican party. you can also see there are a significant number of republicans, just reading something a few minutes ago that says, no matter what, there are a group of republicans who will never vote for donald trump in a general election. he is capturing the grievance,

the complaint. over time, i don't think it lasts. >> mark short, nikki haley has just tiptoed up to the edge. she hasn't gone after him. in the last 48 hours, talking about mental capacity. saying things like, chaos follows him rather than that he cause the chaos. why is she so passive? >> i think a lot of media want more of that confrontation. chris christie certainly took that approach and he eventually had to get out. i'm not so sure that her taking that approach would have made much difference. i think the reality is the electorate is locked in of wanting another rematch of the 2020 battle. i mean the primary voters. i don't think the general public is excited about that. i think that's where the primary voters are. i'm not sure it would have made a difference. >> john kasich, was it a mistake to skip the debate?

>> yeah. for sure. >> the one station that dominates new hampshire politics. >> no, no. when you have an opportunity to get out there and you are trailing, you have to do it. i don't understand her thinking on that. she should have done it. it would have given her more attention, more of an up side. i don't know what their thinking was. she's behind. when you are behind, you gotta move the ball down the field. i think she missed an opportunity to do it. the other thing we have to keep an eye on, has she had a compelling enough narrative to get the kind of wave that you saw john mccain have back in the days when he was running? i think she's not had that compelling narrative. at the same time, those democrats and intere independen she's more conservative than they thought she was. let's wait and see.

there's a lot of great dislike for donald trump in this country. that's what's going to drive up the independents and democrats. >> john mccain had the straight talk express and was in the bus and talking to reporters 24/7 and to voters. none of the candidates have done that this year. that's the new hampshire way. >> you couldn't predict him. he was an -- i didn't beat trump but i beat everybody else. you have to capture people's imagination up there. we will see if the negative approach towards trump is enough to create that wave. people also want to know, what are you going to do? it's not just why you are against the other guy, but what are you going to do? >> you have that right. john kasich, mark short, always good to see you. thanks to both of you. what about biden? the president heading to virginia this afternoon to talk about reproductive rights, about the abortion issue, alongside

his vice president. the first time a joint rally -- the first time in this 2024 campaign. back in new hampshire, biden supporters are trying to juice up the turnout for his write-in candidacy. this is a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." you are watching msnbc. cept whel new footlong sidekick. like the philly with a new $2 footlong churro. sometimes the sidekick is the main event. you would say that. every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. when i first learned about my dupuytren's contracture, my physician referred me to a hand specialist. and i'm glad he did, because when i took the tabletop test, i couldn't lay my hand flat anymore. the first hand specialist i saw only offered surgery.

so, i went to a second hand specialist who also offered nonsurgical options - which felt more right for me. so, what i'd say to other people with dupuytren's contracture is this: don't wait —find a hand specialist trained in nonsurgical options, today. i found mine at findahandspecialist.com.

do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

live pictures right now from milford, new hampshire, a town

which reflected statewide results for donald trump in 2016. joe biden's name is not on the ballot today in new hampshire because of a dispute between the state and the democrats, because biden wanted south carolina to hold the nation's first primary. that violates new hampshire law that it has to come first. so biden supporters are waging a write-in campaign, even though no democratic delegates will be awarded here. as for the president, he along with the vice president, the first lady and second gentleman, they will be in northern virginia in the washington, d.c. suburbs headlining their first joint campaign rally of 2024. joining me now, mike memoli, who is in portsmith, new hampshire, and monica alba who is in virginia. mike, how are the write-in votes counted? is there a point to them? >> reporter: well, let's start with that question. i just heard from a dnc official

who said new hampshire does have ten delegates to the national convention. according to the dnc, none will be awarded based on what happens here today. we know that democrats are very concerned about whether president biden is still the strongest candidate to put forward today. today is the first test of that strength. you have the write-in effort doing their best to turn out the vote. the question is, how will they count the vote? this is portsmith, one of the more heavily democratic parts of the state. poll workers are expecting more manpower to help count the votes. i spoke with the secretary of state who talked about what this will look like. >> i think the results will come in relatively quickly. there's over 100 towns in new hampshire that hand count. that's a sort and stack method. there will be no difference there. in the towns like portsmith where they have machine count,

the moderator will go through all of the machine counted ballots, looking for write-in votes so they can be sorted out and then hand counted. >> reporter: for all those candidates whose name are on the ballot, the voting machines will give election officials quick and accurate count of what number of votes they got. as for all those write-ins, all of the election workers will stack and count them by hand. they will put them in stacks of 50 votes each. then officials will count and double count to make sure they get that accurate number. an interesting tea leaf, this is one of the most heavily democratic wards. there's a big block of undeclared voters. we spoke with one of the officials here who said overwhelmingly the number of undeclared voters are picking the republican ballot, even in portsmith. >> wow. the question is, which way are they going? monica, you are in virginia,

ahead of today's fund-raiser where the biden campaign is putting abortion rights front and center. >> reporter: exactly, andrea. this is part of a multi-day effort from the entirety of the biden re-election effort. you see it from the campaign side of things today. then, of course, we saw that from the white house as well in the last couple of days all around what would have been the 51st anniversary of roe v. wade. of course, that landmark ruling that was overturned. you will hear about that here today in northern virginia, because the president is going to put this into the terms of what former president trump has done on this issue of abortion. they are going to talk about how he often takes credit for the fall of roe because of the supreme court justices that he appointed during his time in office. i am told by campaign officials that really the issue of reproductive freedom is seen as the most salient, mobilizing and most important issue they believe for voters coming in

november. of course, that's something that they are basing off of what they saw in midterms in 2022 and how abortion has done in terms of ballot measures and initiatives in the time since then. it's going to be clear here today also that this sort of sets the tone for the general election, which we know could really start in ernest later this week, depending on what happens tonight in new hampshire. of course, campaign officials are aware of that. they point to this internal data that they have that really shows a majority of voters don't necessarily believe donald trump is going to be the republican nominee. they know they have their work cut out for them in terms of making that a reality. tonight is a good example how they will do that with the issue of abortion, trying to put that front and center. they want that to be galvanizing to voters as they make up their minds in the next ten months or so. >> how are they pushing back or worried are they, the democrats, about the fake robocall of the

president, someone imitating the president's voice? it was artificially generated telling people not to vote, which is a warning sign about what could come in the election. >> reporter: that's exactly where the concern is among democrats. we also asked secretary scanlon about that. he doesn't think that that call will affect the vote here in new hampshire. he said not just him, other secretaries of state all over the country are going to be grappling with this question of what artificial intelligence might do. you know the biden campaign is worried about this. we have seen dean phillips, he is on the ballot here, they put out an ad with a manipulation of dean phillips' voice. this is uncharted territory. we have seen different times over the years of so-called election interference, whether on social media or other means. this is going to be a serious concern for the biden campaign as we head into, as monica

points out, perhaps the longest general election we have seen in this country. >> mike memoli, monica alba, thanks. decision 2024, kristin welker joins us with her thoughts on an exciting day for new hampshire and the country. what she's watching for today. she's just back from new hampshire. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

there's nothing better than a subway series footlong. except when you add on an all new footlong sidekick. we're talking a $2 footlong churro. $3 footlong pretzel and a five dollar footlong cookie. every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. order one with your favorite subway series sub today. ( ♪♪ ) we're still going for that nice catch. we're still going for that sweet shot.

and with higher stroke risk from afib not caused by a heart valve problem, we're going for a better treatment than warfarin. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk. and has less major bleeding. over 97% of eliquis patients did not experience a stroke. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. we're going for it. ask your doctor about eliquis. as new hampshire voters cast their ballots today, a live

picture. this town is where the 2016 primary result was a near match for the state final results overall. i'm joined by kristin welker just back from spending a lot of time in new hampshire herself. a great show on sunday as well. how important are those undeclared voters for nikki haley? even if she gets them, she has to pick up the republican voters. so she's got a double whammy. >> andrea, you are absolutely right. thank you for that, by the way. it all comes down to the undeclared independent voters for nikki haley. right now, she has a small lead when it comes to those voters. but it's not a big enough lead, andrea, if the polls are right to win the entire state. the question is turnout. what does they are ground game

look like? is she able to rally the undeclared voters to come out and vote for her? that remains to be seen. here is the other question i will be watching for. what happens to chris christie's voters? we think ron desantis' voters are going to go to donald trump. chris christie, of course, was courting more moderate, more independent voters. polls showed 60% were going to choose nikki haley. does she get that margin? can she bump that up a bit? you talked about the fact that i was on the ground in new hampshire. i was. i talked to a number of voters across the political spectrum. i can tell you, her supporters feel quite frustrated. the reason is because they worry she has waited too late to kick her campaign into high gear in new hampshire. they wanted to see an all-out sprint in the state in recent weeks. they wanted to hear rhetoric from her that directly took on former president trump. she has started to intensify her

attacks, her criticism of the former president. but is it too little too late? we will wait and see. it will all come down to the undeclared voters. if the polls are accurate, if they are to be believed, right now she's not getting the type of margins that she would need to pull off the comeback she's looking for. >> we have seen these comebacks before. bill clinton, even though he placed second, he spun it. john mccain, a big victory. hillary clinton coming back against obama. as you say, you haven't seen that passion out there with the crowd. was she too timid? i was talking earlier about the fact that she talks about chaos following donald trump. but she's just avoided going for the jugular, if you will. >> she's avoided going for the jugular. that's part of the frustration, i think, amongst her supporters. is she playing it safe because

she wants to keep that possibility open that if it's not her she does have a shot potentially at 2028 and she does have a shot at coming back into the trump fold? for whatever the reason, her supporters don't think she's robust enough. the other factor we cannot ignore is the fact that republicans are closing ranks around donald trump. republicans in congress. even some members of congress who live in biden districts, as well as top names like south carolina senator tim scott. that was a huge blow to nikki haley. she appointed him in 2012. one source familiar with his decision tells me that that was in part the timing of it aimed at putting the final nail in the coffin of the haley campaign. can she pull off that comeback, prove everyone wrong? we will wait and see. if she can keep her loss, if she loses, to single digits, she will argue that's a strong

finish. the voters have the final say. we will wait and see what they say. >> then, if she doesn't pull it out here in new hampshire, just in the last minute, do you think she will go on as she said she would to south carolina, her home state? would they be then facing the humiliation of losing at home against a dominant donald trump? >> if she loses particularly by double digits, what the polls are suggesting, there's no doubt that she's going to have to take a hard look at her campaign. would she pull out before south carolina? that remains to be seen. she probably doesn't even know the answer to that. i anticipate what she will do is look at the full picture and make a final decision. getting defeated in her home state would be a huge embarrassment and could blunt any potential future political prospects she may have for higher office. that's part of the calculation as well. >> kristin welker, thank you. we will watch you tonight.

breaking news. the d.c. circuit court declined to rehear donald trump's appear of a gag order in his d.c. election interference case. no judge asked for a vote on trump's motion. it was automatically dismissed. the supreme court is the only remaining option if he still wants to challenge. haley's hopes. next on "andrea mitchell reports," the top nikki haley supporter, chris sununu, on his candidate's chances of pulling off an upset and walking away with new hampshire or even getting close. that's next. stay with us. >> look at what's happening in the election. >> will you marry me? >> are you going to vote

the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you?

no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network.

>> we're tired of losing. we're tired of losing. we lost in '18 and '20. we're going to get a big red wave in '22. hey, donald trump, where the eff is the red wave? give me a break! >> governor chris sununu joins me now from manchester. governor, you know, with all due respect, that's the way it's done. that's the kind of campaigning that the voters in new hampshire want to see. your candidate has been vaunted for being a little bit too, you know, too little too late, little too timid perhaps. >> really? you're going to criticize how nikki haley's gone about the campaign when she's knocked every single person who has

challenged her on that debate stage? she's the last one standing. no one in the media thought it was just going to be nikki haley versus donald trump six weeks ago and she knocked them all out. she's taken the exact right approach in this campaign. >> why didn't she do the debates? you know what the impact of that tv audience is? >> the debate? >> yeah. >> nikki -- andrea, nikki -- it was -- she said i will absolutely do the debate. it was donald trump who said no. she was very clear about that. you guys can't report she backed out of a debate. she said i will absolutely get on the stage right now with donald trump and he said no. >> but she could have debated ron desantis when he was still in the race. it would have given her a platform. >> ron desantis? the guy who got out of the race on the day of the debate or that was -- no. that guy is in single digits. his campaign was dead. everybody knew that. she debated him five times and he was driven out of the race. she said i will debate donald trump. he's the one that chickened out.

you got to report it the right way. >> does she have a path to the nomination if she doesn't win in new hampshire tonight or place a close second? >> of course. well, of course she's going to be second. i said a close secretary. >> no one ever said nikki haley has to win new hampshire. you are moving the goal post and saying this say must win state for nikki haley. i guess it is a must win state for donald trump, if he doesn't win, and nikki shocks him here, should he get out of the race? no, of course not. it is 48 other states to go. and to build on the momentum out of iowa, to get it down to two candidates which no one thought was possible, to have a strong second, taking all that momentum into her home state of south carolina, the election isn't next week, by the way, it is three or four weeks away, she has a ton of time to lay that ground game and talk about the success she's already brought to the constituents down there. that's an amazing opportunity for her. >> i love your passion, but it was you who said she was going

to win in new hampshire, not any of the rest of us. how will new hampshire's undeclared voter plays this time around? do you think they're going to come out in enough numbers and do you think she'll get more of the republicans than the tracking polls would indicate? >> yeah, so, look, find me a poll that has ever been right. i was told on the day i got elected governor i was going to lose by 11 points and we won big. the only poll that matters today. you want a high voter turnout and energy and there is. the voter turnout is very strong. there is -- with trump, he's become the establishment guy, a lot of apathy on that side. if you want change, something new, you're coming out today and that's what we saw. i feel very, very good going into tonight. >> you told kristen welker on "meet the press" that you would support donald trump if he's the nominee, that's your pledge. despite speaking out so strongly against him for, you know, a long time, even leading up to this campaign here in new hampshire. he's a four-time indicted former

president, who said he would -- that he would be a dictator, quote, except on day one, a dictator on day one and a strong man like the president of hungary, is that really a good alternative to run this country? >> no, that's why i'm fighting for nikki haley. you want to call it an election before the vote total is even in, in the first primary state. we're fighting so hard for nikki haley. she brings a new future. she has great conservative values, but still likable, has great connection with the spectrum of voters. we need to get the vote out. for all of you who may be watching in new hampshire, don't sit on the couch and wait to see if donald trump gets defeated. be part of it. don't complain if you're not participating in the democratic way. he gets beaten at the ballot box. don't wait for court cases, any of that. those are big hypotheticals. do it today. this happens because voters come

out, being engaged in the process and vote and everyone is galvanizing behind nikki haley. that has been our focus the whole time. >> still, i'm stuck on the whole question of why you would support him if he's the nominee of the party, given all the things you said about him. >> because the alternative is joe biden. and he's absolutely crushed low income and middle income families in this country. he's absolutely done nothing to secure the border. he's caused -- his regulatory regime with his cabinet secretaries is putting so much pressure on states, no one wants to invest anymore. come on. in a general election, there is always an alternative. and joe biden is a horrible alternative. kamala harris is a disastrous alternative. nobody wants to see that. so at the end of the day, this is about nikki haley, about nikki haley being the future. does anybody want trump and biden? no. nobody wants either of them. nikki haley is the best candidate to drive forward, galvanize the country together and put this nonsense behind us. >> okay. let me accept the proposition that she has got a possible run

coming out of new hampshire and in south carolina, she's got a month to do it. her home state. he right now is dominant. things can happen in politics so let's say something happens, with donald trump. the voters seeing some on the legal front or something else happens. and she is the last person standing and gets the nomination. would you consider being her running mate? >> look, i'm not look for anything like that. let's just say washington and me don't go so well together. i think all those bums should be fired, frankly. i'm not looking for anything like that. i believe in nikki, i believe in the conservative credentials, i'm big on the international stuff. i think the world is on fire. you need somebody who understands in great detail what is happening internationally and no one can match her on that kind of stuff. she's just a great person at the end of the day. she's someone you want to hang out with and just talk about whatever you can talk about with and that's her connection, that's why she's done so well on the campaign trail here. all the other candidates got knocked out. desantis, gone, vivek, gone,

chris christie, gone. they all spent time here and they're all gone because she's creating a connection with voters here that no one else could do. >> if she does surprise everyone and wins, and goes on to the nomination, you could hang out with her for four years if you ran with her and she won. just saying. >> i'll give her any advice she wants as president. >> no matter what you think of washington, washington likes you. thank you, andrea. good to see you. a quick programming note, new hampshire secretary of state david scanlan will join chris jansing live at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" on election day in new hampshire. remember, follow the show on social media at mitchell reports, rewatch the best parts of our show anytime on youtube, go to msnbc.com/andrea. "chris jansing reports" starts right now. goo