two critical contests for the republicans the south carolina primary. >> we better start using our heads or we're not going to have a country, folks the nevada caucuses. >> thank you very much what happens tonight likely to end the campaigns >> a lot of people are undecided this late the polls are closed.

>> at the end of the day i chose who i thought would be the best president the coverage starts right now. good evening and welcome to our special coverage. >> reporter: i'm in south carolina. the polls have just closed. can donald trump continue to divide political government and the odds-- gravity and the odds really interesting because as the counting begins right now, recent polling shows that donald trump is a very strong lead going into today. it will be interesting to see if those numbers hold up and this will be really a race for second place and second place has never been so critical. >> reporter: south carolina takes pride in the fact that it usually picks the republican winner, the nominee for president. they got off their hot streak

last time, but a lot of people look to this as more representative of the republican party nationwide as opposed to an iowa and newspaper hampshire. ted cruz won in iowa. donald trump's trumped out but not in the numbers they hoped. donald trump almost lapping the field in new hampshire. this is the match where a lot of people are trying to work out what is going on with this election. this election is making fools of us all. we're going to bring in somebody who is a veteran of sclooip politics-- south carolina politics. you run campaigns, you've had your fingers in these politics. donald trump is not the kind of conservative that you would think would appeal to south carolina voters. he has called president bush a liar, me got into a fight with the pope and spoken glowingly of

the health care. what in the heck is going on? >> it is ironic, isn't it. i think the answer is a vote for donald trump is not really about donald trump. i think that there is a deep well of people who are so angry at the status quo that the washington establishment seems to work for washington but it doesn't work for them. there's a lot of that vote on here. you find it on the back rows in the old towns where the plants are closed. i think you will see a lot of that vote come out for donald trump and it is a way to send a message to washington. they seem to be doing it tonight in record numbers you think the turn out this time from what you're understanding, the turn out is pretty strong >> a couple of things. 59,000 absentee ballots today. in the republican primary, that

is roughly how many votes were cast in both the democratic and republican primaries in 20088 and 12. we have seen areas that have doubled up their numbers by noon. so doubled their number by 3 o'clock. clearly we will see a record turn out. well over 700,000 people it has been a nasty campaign. you see a lot of the moderates going after each other, ted cruz, donald trump going after each other >> that's right what's at stake here? what is driving the tone of this campaign? >> i think what you said about the significance of south carolina is what drives the tune. this is an important state to win. so you have momentum going into the primaries where we vote about 10 states at a time. it is a broader campaign. you want to get that proceed fee from south carolina to go into there and campaigns are willing to take risks, live on the edge,

stay and do the things to stretch the truth. that's the history of what we've seen here snoochlt thank you very much for-- thank you very much for your insights. we do expect official results to start rolling in, in 20 minutes time thank you. we will be checking with all. our attention to the west of the never add acaucuses-- nevada caucuses. hillary clinton pulled a victory over bernie sanders. they're still tabulating the final numbers. with 82% now reporting, hillary clinton coming in at 52 to bernie sanders at 47. that is a five point spread. it is wider than some of the later polls we saw coming out of nevada. these are individual county delegates, not total votes cast. you can see they're widespread of around 500 or so. going live to al jazeera senior political correspondent michael

shaw, he is in l.a. a huge win for hillary clinton tonight one that she needed >> yeah. that's what makes it huge. i don't think you look at 5% when she was up here, 40% one time. you don't look at the numbers as being huge, but what is huge for her here is changing the narrative. she came in here after new hampshire, comes into a state that looks more like america, like the america that she was trying to address. bernie sanders had his work cut out for him in trying to attract immigrant voters, african-american voters. here 375% of the voting public lives in the area. up by 10 points. there is clearly a relaxed and relieved hillary clinton that greeted her supporters tonight. >> i am so, so thrilled and so grateful to all of my supporters

out there. some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other. this one is for you, americans are right to be angry. we're also hungry for real solutions. in the campaign, you've heard a lot about washington and wall street. we all want to get secret unaccountable money out of politics. that starting with appointing a new justice to the supreme court. [ applause ] >> who will protect the right of every citizen to vote, not every corporation to buy elections. [ applause ] interesting too that you see hillary clinton talking and striking some of the same tones that bernie sanders has been

striking throughout this campaign. bernie sanders for his part sent out an email saying it looks like hillary clinton won, but the delegate count is roughly the same. to that point he is not wrong. here is what isn't reflected in those numbers is the fact that she was able to stop the bleeding, change the narrative and move on to the super tuesday stakes, but he came out and spoke to his supporters and struck a tone as he has done on every step of this campaign. >> thank you. thank you. thank you nevada for the support that we have received today. five weeks ago we were 25 points behind in the polls. [ applause ] >> we have made some real progress, but what i think is happening is that as people hear

our message, and it's a tough message, because it speak to the truth of an american society today that a lot of people just don't want to address, and that is the fact that we have a corrupt campaign finance system which is undermining american democracy. [ applause ] >> we are going to create an economy that works for all of us and not just the top 1%. [ applause ] adam, iowa and new hampshire are two of the five widest states in the country and he did well in those states. he movts now to nevada nevada. it has more pronounced after african-american people. they go to the tuesday states.

he has to take lessons from this to figure out what went wrong to his outreach to the immigrants here, what went wrong on that issue of immigration, how to make that better between now and next saturday and then 1 march on the super tuesday states you can bet they will be crunching the numbers. we will get back to you later, but al jazeera correspondent former white house aid and also conserve political commentator and another. thanks for being with us. hillary clinton did win the nevada caucuses in 2008. she had an organized ground game there. i wonder if that put her over the top. what are you seeing from the exit polling coming out of this? >> one thing that was clear was this was a very aggressive fight

on her part and just remember that this was a wild card going into this race today because it was so tight. one of the things that helped you besides picking up on what michael shaw was saying about the minorities in nevada, also one thing that democrats was watching today was how she was going to do with women. she had a white margin in terms of women who were at the caucuses today in stark contrast to what we saw in new hampshire >> that's right. that was significant for her as well. the economy was the number one issue in nevada today. it has the second highest fore closure rate in the u.s. it was so hard hit in the financial crisis, the unemployment rate is higher than the national average. you saw her addressing those themes when she came out to speak tonight. again, picking up on some of the same themes that bernie sanders has been talking about, but she

had talked about tonight's student death reaching-- debt reaching out to younger voters, or younger people going to the caucuses today were clearly supporting bernie sanders and that was one group she needed to address what is the road to victory look like for bernie sanders at this point? you've got super tuesday just ten days away, and when you look at the polling in many of these states, he is polling behind and in some cases way behind? >> he has got a message resonating with a lot of voters, but in hay state like south carolina, unlike new hampshire, endorsements matter. hillary clinton got the endorsement of every political candidate in new hampshire, and it didn't help her, the converse is true in south carolina. she has got the support of most of the major democrats, especially african-americans in south carolina.

it is huge. so she goes in with a real head of steam, with really legs in south carolina. it's going to be hard for bernie sanders especially in a week's time to undercut that. i don't know how lacking money and organization you're going to a state with a south carolina with a week and turn that around and undercut the strengths she has among african-american voters secretary clinton was certainly on the trail there in the last couple of weeks. she is talking a lot about president clinton. she is tying herself to many of his policies, apparently when you look at some of the exit polling data that we've seen, folks that like the direction of the country, they like obama's po policies, they want to see people continue that. those people are going for hillary clinton. do you think this is a strategy for her to move into other states, especially some of the mid-western super tuesday states? >> it can work for her in the spring. the question for her really is

will it work for her for 2016 because tying herself too much to president obama is not going to be a good thing in a tight race. if she ends up running against a marco rubio or kasich, it will be cut in the fall. she has this balance of saying i am part of president obama's administration, i want to continue the good work he has done, particularly to get that afire wall night and strong against bernie sanders with african americans, but if she does it too much, these disparities will come back to bite her when a good moderate candidate goes up against her in the campaign. she could try and tie herself to obama's record, but if bernie sanders is looking at that record, he should be able to go after the three strikes and you're out policy, some of the issues that were going on in urban america under president incline to tonne where a lot of

votes sent many african americans to jail which destroyed many families. that is something that bernie sanders if he wants to win, he should be looking at using if he is trying to make a statement, he will back away from that type of rhetoric a good point, though, what is good for the primary is not always good for the general election. we're going to have more analysis coming up, but first let's head back out to south carolina. mike is standing there with more for us. any numbers coming in just yet some snichlt not quite yet. this state has-- >> not quite yet. this has large state, supposed to be good for ted cruz. coming in second new hampshire not enough known for conservatives in that state. south carolina, the first primary in the south this was

supposed to be ted cruz country. it stale may be, but yet donald trump has been leading consistently in the polls coming - leading up to this day. our own randal pinkston is here. i want to bring him in. he has been doing some reporting on the evangelical vote. have they been going to ted cruz or is donald trump somehow appealing to them as well? >> one republican told me that for donald trump is beyond conservative voters. even conservatives who don't think that maybe donald trump is the christian that he claims to be are sort of ignoring that. they're going to donald trump's strong positions, out spoken positions on so many issues, building a wall, making sure that no muslims come into the country. these are the kinds of issue that seems to be grabbing support among conservatives here over and above a religion.

trump at 35.7%, ted cruz over 21%, rubio 17 and bush 17. so they're tied for third place. of course. we will see some there is a victory that is predicted religion and politics are like grits and eggs. they go together here. this rally for ted cruz was led by aposs tore, a minister who supports of texas senator. he is coordinating a statewide effort by evangelical christian

pastors are endorsing ted cruz? >> yes the key to victory for any candidate is to get the support of those evangelicals >> just because we have strong christian values and take that to everyone around us south carolina is 5th on the list of religious state. iowa was 21 and new hampshire was 49th. that's why every republican candidate from the front runners to the one in the bottom of the polls emphasize their christian beliefs >> my parents were killed by a drunk driver but my parents were not killed in vein. i discovered the lord through

that. >> we're going to protect christianity and i can say that. we're going to protect it. >> we are saying an assault on christian values do you believe in separation of church and state? >> i do not. i believe it's a myth this man whose parents were born in cuba believe in biblical principles should guide decisions >> god says righteousnous leads the nation, which is so important to the christian south carolina republicans now must decide who to believe and who is most likely to win in novembe november. >> adam, we do have some numbers here that have just come in. trump, this is 1% of the reporting, obviously very early at this point. donald trump 36 points, 6%, substantial lead over the second

place at this point and that is ted cruz. donald trump now - updating ted cruz at 34%, ted cruz - sorry, rubio now at 22% in second place. ted cruz is at 17% at this point. jeb bush 12%. this is so crucial for jeb bush that he at least finish in third place. the others in the field, ben carson, john kasich up the rear, 7.7. ben carson is at 4.8%. a lot has been made about the so-called hunger games aspect of the south carolina race because one of these so-called establishment candidates is not going to be able to continue. the conventional wisdom has been wrong in the past, but given all the realities of modern campaigning particularly with regard to money, that some of these candidates are not going to last.

lisa stark is at the ted cruz campaign and lisa you've been talking about the nature of the south carolina voting. you've been doing reporting over the last two days. it's a state where ignore anything will go. ted cruz has been accused of doctoring pictures, of marco rubio shaking hands with p.m. be that as it may. it has been a nasty back and forth, but sad to say it's somewhat typical of politics here in south carolina. >> absolutely. you know, this has been a war of words this week between donald trump particularly, marco rubio, also ted cruz, they've had a lot of name calling, as you say some of them accused of under handed and dirty politics and that is how it goes into can south carolina. >> people will be forgiven this election season for thinking at

times it seems like a bit of a sur can you say-- circus. i can't imagine why anyone would think that. [ laughter ] the time for frivolity and games is over. we need a leader who is prepared to be commander in chief. [ applause ] >> now, that was ted cruz, obviously, at one of his campaign events this week. he has been trying to appeal to the military here. ted cruz this week unveiled a proposal for defense spending that would call for a big increase in military spending both for personnel and for equipment. he is really reaching out to the community of veterans here. as i said, it has been a nasty campaign. we saw it even before it came to

south carolina, but the candidates really ratcheted up the volume here and i believe we will show you how bald it got. -- bad it got. south carolina is known for its charm, hospitality and a gentle style. when it comes to politics, manners often don't matter >> it is ironic. we're the bless your part people, polite, smile, with politics we come at your back and open you up sometimes. >> this has at times been brutal. one candidate referred to it as a demolition derby >> you are probably are the biggest liar probably worse than jeb bush. >> you lie about marriage and all sorts of things >> this is nuts it's not just what you hear in public that characterises politics in the state. it is the dirty tricks, inewe enend

enendos-- innuendos, whis terror campaigns. it stems from the importance of this first in the south primary. >> when the stakes are high, that's when campaigns take risks, live on the edge, do things they shouldn't do. that's when the third party groups decide it is time to pull the trigger on some of this pretty unfortunate stuff >> marco rubio says he has been the victim of underhanded attacks, including a fate photo on a ted cruz campaign website. it shows marco rubio shaking hands with obama >> the disturbing pattern, every day they're making things up. they made up a picture. >> there is a new deleted facebook post saying this man was retracting the endorsement of marco rubio and going to donald trump. not true >> don't mislead fake facebook postings and ad that can't withstand fcc scrutiny and then photocopy shopping pictures.

you're better than that. >> both marco rubio and ted cruz have accused each other of using push polls, phone calls that appear to be from policy sisters but are-- polsterrs trying to mislead. >> they are having false attacks with no basis whatsoever. i will note the one person we know has done a push-pull is marco rubio. >> a fake telephone poll was used against john mccain in 20000 implying he had fathered a black child out of wedlock. they have an adopted daughter from bangladesh. in 2008 a candidate was the victim of a bogus christmas carped mailing suggested the morman candidate. >> it is a blood sport.

>> we turn to an expert to talk about the political playground. she was too polite to discuss the candidates themselves, but she did have some advice on proper manners. >> it's really not about attacking other people. it's about stating your views, stating your differences in a respectful positive way. >> for voters too how to watch the ps and qs when discussing the candidates. >> i think you need to be very careful about what you say and just find a positive, even - you can always something positive. i like your shoes. you can always find something positive to say. >> remember what your mum used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. i want to mention one thing. ted cruz actually left the state today and he actually went to attend the funeral of supreme court justice scalia.

we believe that he may not be here in person tonight. he may have headed to nevada where the republicans have their caucus on tuesday. >> my mother and lots of others would say do unto others what you would want them to do to you. isn't it something of a contradiction that something going for the evangelical votes, get into the mud, spitting match back and forth. it is par for the course here in south carolina. i guess whatever works, gets your voters to the polls, that is acceptable if you're going to win it has been a pretty dirty race. as lisa alluded to, the importance of this race, the presidential race, could have on the supreme court, it could be quite enormous. the country today said goodbye to supreme court justice scalia.

we will have more coverage in a moment, but first john terrett reports on that. >> reporter: the casket went to the national shrine high on a hill over looking washington dc. this is the biggest catholic church in the country. its dome rivals that of the u.s. capital. alongside his family wife maureen, nine children and 36 grandchildren were there. his colleagues at the supreme court, former vice president and even though this is a primary day in south carolina, ted cruz who left the campaign trail to pay his last respects. this was a high church funeral,

hymns sung. participating in the mass father paul scalia, the justice's son. >> and since he hoped and believed in you, grant that he may be led to our true homeland. >> reporter: there were readings from his friends, including leo leonard. >> they shall judge nations and rule over people's and the lord shall be their king forever >> reporter: fellow supreme court associate justice clarns thomas >> the love of god has poured out into our hearts through the holy spirit that has been given to us >> reporter: for paul scalia must have been an emotional moment >> what a great privilege and consolation that we were able to

bring our father through the holy doors. >> reporter: but there was humour too >> he found himself in my confessional line. [ laughter ] >> he quickly departed it. as he put it later, like heck if i'm confessing to you. the feeling was mutual. so the mourners said goodbye in a ceremony worthy of someone who was much more than a super court justice, a father, a grandfather and a friends a true champion of the conservative cause. stay with us here on our special coverage of america votes 2016. we will continue in a moment, heading back to south carolina, that's where marco rubio is hoping for a second place win. we will see if that happens.

what if there's a poor showing for jeb bush, who was once viewed as a shoe-in for the white house. white house.

welcome back to al jazeera america's coverage of america votes 2016.

we have breaking news right now. the associative press is projecting that donald trump is the winner of the south carolina republican party. they're still tabulating the votes right now, but when you saw these early returns he has trumped the competition, really outgoing everyone by at least 10 points or more. when you see her ted cruz and marco rubio coming around 22 to 20%. jeb bush doing better than some people expected with 11%, but we're talking about a small sampling of the numbers that have come in. when you look at the run away train that trump is on right now, 32% already in the early returns. donald trump is the winner of the republican primary there in south carolina. let's go back to senior white house correspondent. he is in colombia right now. this is really not a supplies when you saw the polling there, when you saw the excitement surrounding donald trump at these rallies. we knew this was going it be a

race for second place. already the numbers indicate that could be extremely close. >> in a sense it's not a supplies given the polls that you talked about, but in another sense this is going to be a shock to the system for the so-called and much maligneked establishment. it's time for the panic button for them. donald trump is not who they want to see carry the fall. they think they could loss the senate and wiped out in the presidential campaign. donald trump removing any doubt about the strength of his candidacy or having come in second place in iowa, wiping away the field in new hampshire, the thought was that this was sort of the rubber match where we would find out once and for all whether these donald trump supporters who after all can't necessarily be pigeon holded in many of the democratic places that we see.

whether it be veterans, moderate social or economic conservative voters, he has been winning across the spectrum. it really is remarkable. who would have thought this would happen. he may be - i think you will call him unstoppable now, heading into the nevada caucuses next week for the republicans and then super tuesday with all of those southern states, south-east conference primary, donald trump winning here in the south-east conference state. where right across from the street of the university, a proud member of scc. what is the reaction there, was it expected? i can already hear the cheers. >> yes. indeed, they've been cheering all night because they have been smelling victory even before the first projection. as you point out, donald trump leading at about 32, well ahead of the second place so far ted cruz and marco rubio coming in

third at 20.9. this is not only about who wins, but who will not be going on from south carolina. that could be a drop-out time for jeb bush or john kasich or even ben carson. here is the other thing. the few candidates there are, l is the possibility that donald trump will begin doing less well in the next primaries. we will see how that works out, but right now this crowd very excited. donald trump showing once again that it doesn't really matter what he says about anything, even the pope, he still manages to hang on to his core supporters. >> he is imper vishgs ous. -- impervious. now we're going to see this

culling process that is the republican field. people will be watching these numbers closely. combining marco rubio's vote with jeb bush's vote with john kasich vote, john kasich pretty much throwing the towel in, in south carolina. he is not even in the state tonight. ben carson's vote. consolidating these numbers, who is going to emerge. marco rubio, of course, of these, who is going to emerge to take this banner after the field gets down to consolidate the so-called establishment vote, the main street business vote, the jcs vote, and carry this banner against the ted cruzs and, in particular, the donald trumps of this world. a lot of people are going to be looking at jeb bush tonight and an amazing situation with jeb bush, had so much historical strength in this state. his father was here, his mother was here, he is the governor of the major state.

he has all the traditional advantages, but they are going out the window. >> the cheers just went up on another network that showed donald trump is the projected winner of the republican primary here in south carolina. the past few days the governor here made an interesting call supporting marco rubio, but at this point marco rubio may be doing well to hang on to third or second place. so far ted cruz in the lead for the second place finish and donald trump way up front of all of his competitors in the south carolina presidential primary. donald trump will now see how he can do with the next major group of votes coming up on super tuesday. obviously, religious conservatives part of the success that he has had here, but it really goes beyond that for donald trump. he has some religious

conservatives, as you pointed out, and people who are angry about the way america is going, angry about obama and obamacare, angry about same-sex marriage rulings. they're unhappy about foreign policy issues. donald trump has addressed all of those and, obviously, at this point no-one knows what he will do if he is elected, but at this point voters are casting their lot with donald trump. >> thank you. at a trump headquarters here in south carolina and adam may i want to toss it back to you and the panel. donald trump redefining the rules in the game. i think randal brings up an interesting and important point. there is a lot of resentment in the electorate. i think you're seeing a backlash against some of the rapid social changes. donald trump is giving voice to that regardless of sweet reason goes out the wind who it comes

to political campaign. never been more true than this campaign season as i heard from a lot of supporters at a donald trump rally the other day, it comes always down to the economy. that's what the folks are speaking about there. we will come back to more coverage in just a moment. stay with us here on al jazeera.

>> at 9:30 - "america tonight" - top investigative reporting, uncovering new perspectives. >> everything that's happening here is illegal. >> then at 10:00 - it's "reports from around the world". >> let's take a closer look. >> antonio mora gives you a global view.

>> this is a human rights crisis. >> and at 11:00 - "news wrap-up". clear... concise... complete. >> coming up tonight, we'll have the latest... >> does the government give you refugee status? >> they've marched to the border. >> thousands have taken to the streets here in protest. >> this is where gangs bury their members. >> they're tracking climate change. >> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look.

welcome back to america votes 2016. i'm adam may. donald trump the winner in south carolina. just one% reporting. it's a run away at 34%. the real battle is for second place right now. marco rubio, obviously, climbing there the last couple of weeks in that race. he is currently tied are ted cruz. we will see these numbers shift a lot as they continue to count this, but really donald trump is the winner there in south carolina. i want to bring in our panel here. we have a lot to discuss on this. we have a correspondent and adviser and a conservative political commentator. i want to start by tapping into who are these donald trump

supporters. why are they supporting him? i was down at a rally and spoke to a bumping of supporters. i want to play-- bunch of supporters. i will play some of that now. >> i think he is the voice of american people. me is not politically correct and he says what is on his mind and what is in the hearts of the american people >> donald trump is going to be a good - he is a great deal maker. he can make some deals with him >> he can stand for himself. nobody is backing him, so he can just say whatever the truth actually is let's start with you, they like his candour, that he says what's on his mind, right. what else do they like about donald trump? how do you explain the run away donald trump right now? >> they like to be entertained and not really looking at the issues. the bottom line is that this is the-- hold on a second.

you're saying that, but a lot of people would find that insulting. you're saying they're not paying attention to the issues. is that what you really think some >> i don't care. if this is the most religious states in the u.s. and these folks are supposed to be taking their christian vaulz to the ballot box and voted for a guy who says he never felt the need to ask god forgiveness when the whole premise of christianity is to get forgivens, this is the fifth most religious state, it is obvious the evangelical vote is a myth, at least in south carolina in 2016. if you're a republican counting on that vote to push back on trump hoping that they will do in south carolina or elsewhere like they did in iowa, guess again. it's not going to happen. to me people are saying that they are one thing. they're more inclined to vote

for the loudest voice and this will back fire on the republican party because of instead of getting leadership they will get volume and loudness. that won't turn america around in 2016. it is extremely disappointing is he right on this? >> it will be interesting to see what happens. clearly it looks like donald trump has a leg up in terms of winning the republican nomination. this is a big for him in south carolina. clearly if he does - the point is well taken. if he does well here, on super tuesday he sll to well there. ted cruz is supposed to have a fire wall in the southern state, a lot of money spent, but tonight he is struggling to come in second and may even lose that second spot to marco rubio. this is a big win for donald trump. religion doesn't play a big role. people are saying they're more

worried about terror, immigration and economy than religion is it that people like the entertainment? >> what they are expressing is anger. what mike was talking about and ran darks l and also not just anger at the federal government, but betrayal by the republican party with some of the things express expressed in these exit polls. one of the things that came out, the abc exit polls are showing that three quarters of the state's primary voters support temporarily banning muslims coming into the u.s. that is very telling. another question that was asked is which candidate do they trust to handle nominations on the supreme court and that came down too trump, cruz and marco rubio. while we're talking about religion, i think it is an anger that people are tapping into.

you heard from some of the people you spoke to as well, and speaking of religion, most of these voters are saying that nearly half made up their minds in this last week. think about what happened in this past week leading up to this primary today. the debate last saturday night, one of the things that happened was the spat with the pope. you can correct me if i'm wrong, but-- we have donald trump now beginning to speak. no. that is not him. we are still waiting for him to speak. mike, what do you think of this whole fact that relative inl i don't know may not-- religion may not be playing a role there? >> chalk up another conventional wisdom that has gone right out the window. i have bruce haynes back with me

here. he know all things in this state. let's talk about the trump voters. the approach of donald trump used to be called demagogury. they didn't usually come this far. what is his appeal? >> i think this is a group of people feeling threatened by the rapid pace of change with the economic globalisism. there is a lot of changes happening in the workforce. these people don't see how they fit in. they feel the country is getting away. donald trump is saying he will stop that. >> there say satisfaction between the parties >> yes with the leadership of both parties being expressed. donald trump and bernie sanders both running as functional independence in the two major primaries around both running extraordinarily well. >> there is a commonality there.

what about jeb bush, is the writing on the wall? >> it is difficult to understand. there's so many built-in advantages for jeb bush in south carolina. this is a state that has saved two bushes in their primary campaigns after they suffered devastating losses in new hampshire. it looks like this might put bush to pedestrian in the other direction >> his father and mother were here, he had the endorsement, it just sort of blows your mind when you look at what's happening here. with donald trump, you make an interesting point. this was supposed to be ted cruz's fire wall. is it turning out that way for him? what are you seeing behind the numbers for cruz? ted cruz's strategy is around getting evangelicals to vote for him. 74% of the vote was annie van gel kal vote. he is polling in the low 20s,

even with marco rubio, if he can't hold that vote here, we can't expect him to follow it through on center tuesday. donald trump is like a big brick on his head. if he can't get it off, he will go the way of jeb bush. >> finally, i want to ask you about the republican leadership, not here in south carolina, but is it time to hit the panic button now that donald trump is just a steam roler, he is unstoppable >> republican leadership is at a crossroads. they're either going to have to rally around april candidate. marco rubio sending a signal that he may be that candidate, or they're going to have to decide are they going to make friends with donald trump. >> i will bring in robert rays who is with the marco rubio campaign. a lot at stake here. i went to an event of his yesterday trying to hit that middle ground above it all. trying to be above it all,

giving largely aspirational speech to a high school yesterday. you've been out talking about another vital one here, something that has 8 military bases a. what is the mood at marco rubio headquarters there and what have you found in your reporting over the last couple of days? >> the mood here is nervous, clearly. this is a neck and neck race now between marco rubio and ted cruz for the second position. the poll position has gone to donald trump. this crowd of a few hundred people here at marco rubio headquarters are excited and they're watching these numbers very closely. as you said, marco rubio trying to take the high road in some of his stump speeches this week. same thing today. let's listen to what he had to say about what he will do when he is president. >> if you elect me president i

will never pitch you against each other in order to win an election. you elect me president, i will lookout the for the best of all americans, including the people that don't vote for me, including the people that say nasty things about me on social media. i'm going to cut their taxes too. >> guys, you know, the governor of south carolina is in the house right now. a huge endorsement for marco rubio just this week. i think that has given him a real boost with some of the voters here. voters here.

>> can you talk to us about the national defense that rub ishg o was talking about? >> marco rubio for president >> for g.o.p. presidential candidates being on the ground, talking veterans, listening to the issues is one of the most important tactics in their hunt for delegates u if you're a veteran or you have a family member that is serving now or in the past, can you raise your hand so we can thank you some in that's unbelievable. >> here in south carolina there are eight military bases across the state and of the nearly five million residents here, over 400,000 of them are military veterans. >> the fraud at the veterans administration is beyond belief. we're going to straighten it out, but we will make the veterans happy like they should be. >> from donald trump to ted

cruz, the millitary and veteran affairs has been at the top of their list of talking points >> we have seen moralee in the military plummet. we have seen a commander in chief that does not stand with the service men and women that does not believe in their mission. >> lieutenant colonel is a veteran of afghanistan and is listening closely >> are they doing can you guys right? >> well, you know, i think they're all saying the right things, about you the proof is in the pudding. so we will see. i can't judge until they get into office >> our army is smaller than it has been since the second world war >> a packed town hall. marco rubio told the crowd he wanted an regan-style rebuild of national security and vowed to win the war on terror >> if we catch any terrorists alive, they won't have the right

to remain silent, and they're going to go to guantanamo. a tone repeated by front runners on the trail >> veterans die waiting for dock force on simple things. they wait in rooms for five days, four days, six days, waiting for a doctor and they die. >> in over haul to the scandal veteran affairs, an end to delays, every candidate on the trail with their own spin. >> there are good people at the va. we thank them and celebrate them, but if you're not going a good job at the va when i'm president, you will be fired >> i think that's a good idea. start from scratch and seep what the needs are. >> a key issue in the south carolina primary, one that-- south carolina, one that would be going all the way. >> that veteran that we spoke to in the story that you guys just

watched, guess what, he was undecided yesterday between marco rubio and ted cruz and isn't that indicative of what we're seeing tonight in the horse road accident race here. -- horse race here. >> you're right. in the latest polling we have 7% in now. donald trump is the winner so the associated press says. did you ever think you would hear yourself say that, but a real dog-fight with 7% reporting between ted cruz at 22% roughly, marco rubio roughly at 21%. a lot at stake here for second place. do you remember back in iowa when marco rubio came in third place he gave what bewildered a lot of people a victory speech, calling that a victory. do you expect that he could get away with that expectations game again tonight? what do you think we can expect from marco rubio when he appears before that crowd behind you? >> i think he will come out here

with his fists up blazing. this guy has been excited all week. he really has thought he had a fighting chance to be in close contention with donald trump and beat ted cruz. i know the crowd here is clearly going to energyise the situation. the governor is here. her endorsement was massive as far as getting faith into marco rubio here. he is playing more to the undecided group. as we talked to the veteran yesterday, he wasn't sure. he didn't want to take that chance on donald trump. so he was making that decision today. i think you will see marco rubio coming out hard here. >> thank you. adam, more shifts under the feet of the political structure and establishment tonight from south carolina yes. absolutely. thank you for that. let's hit the reset button here and bring you up-to-date on the very latest in the race.

dlt is the projected winner there in south carolina. marco rubio and ted cruz battling it out for second place. former florida jeb bush a doesn't fourth place which is big trouble for his campaign. we will look at the results from nevada today. we're waiting on the latest update on the numbers there. senator clinton is the you winner with bernie sanders coming in second place. the latest numbers here show a 5% point spread there. the numbers that you see on the bottom, they are the county delegates that will be finalising the absolute final totals there as they head into the convention. for analysis on that, let's head to our political correspondent. he is in l.a. for us tonight. so much to discuss with how this affects the democratic ticket here goi