is tomorrow from las vegas, "ac360" with anderson begins now. hey, good evening from las vegas, thank you for joining us. we are at the venetian hotel on the eve of the big debate. 13 candidates, including donald trump, rising challenger, ted cruz, and marco rubio, and ben carson and jeb bush who continues to struggling, now polling close to zero. he, rand paul, john kasich, chris christie, carly fiorina will have a chance tomorrow to gain ground. and whoever is in the spotlight remains not just on the major players but the one standout among them. new polls show him significantly expanding his national league while facing a strong challenge in iowa. what they do not show is any

resistance to voters to his plan from barring muslims in the u.s. lots to talk about. we have a lot to talk about with some of the greatest minds around, let's take a look at the numbers, how much of a lead does donald trump have nationwide? >> this is stunning when you look at the new numbers, remember, we pick nominees state by state, i'll give you the caveat, don't put a lot of stock in the national polls, but wow, he is at 41%, 27 points ahead of his next rival, ted cruz, then comes marco rubio and jeb bush to round out the top five. in october, trump was ahead, 28%, cruz has gone up a little bit. this was a huge jump. the first poll that shows him above 48%, we know he has benefitted from the focus on terrorism. republicans think they is strong

and decisive. this will come up for sure one thought was the more people thought they saw donald trump they would tire of him. jeb bush doesn't think he has what it takes to be president. but a higher percentage thinks he will has what it takes to be president. among republican voters many of them even ones who are not voting for trump are more open to supporting him if he is the nominee. >> there is new polling from iowa, too. >> that is what gets interesting, remember, trump is way ahead nationally. but iowa votes first in 48 days. and the new quinnipiac poll, a dead heat, this is the quinnipiac poll out there today. the very respected des moines register poll came out with cruz with a ten-point lead in iowa and again which votes first and can shake up everything. cruz at 31, trump at 21, then

c carson. you see the cruz momentum that will likely cause a problem. cruz at 24, trump at 24, this tends to be the largest pooiecef electorate that votes on caucus night. tea party voters, 45% of voters who describe themselves as tea party voters, they're for ted cruz, you add up the evangelicals you get a big slice of what will turn up on caucuses. 49% of trump supporters in iowa say cruz is their second choice, 35% say cruz is their second choice. cruz is strong with the key constituencies. he has room to grow, along with carson and others, you can be sure that trump likes winning. he thinks in iowa he could lose to ted cruz, mr. cruz will be a

target tomorrow in iowa. >> thank you very much, and we have jake tapper and cnn political reporter, and top adviser david axelrod, and cnn political commentator, amanda carpenter, former communications director for ted cruz. jake, i want to play for our viewers something that donald trump said. it is very interesting, all along these two have been very polite to each other, and supportive publicly. that has obviously started to change as the poll numbers changed in iowa. here is what trump said yesterday. >> i don't think he is qualified to be president. >> why not? >> because i don't think he has the right temperament. i don't think he has the right judgment. >> what is wrong with his temperament. >> when you see how he deals with the senate, like a maniac,

you never get things done that way. >> and then cruz responded with the song from flashdance, maniac. >> i don't see ted cruz going against donald trump, his strategy has been not to criticize any of his republican rivals and that has worked for him. to be frank, he is now in a great position. you don't want to overstate the importance of iowa, just because you win iowa doesn't mean you go on to win the nomination as presidents mike huckabee and presidents santorum will attest. one other thing to point out that is interesting for this race and interesting for tomorrow night, there has been this group thing when it comes to the republican establishment and the media, to be frank, that donald trump is just a phenomenon and it will go away. he will self-emulate and destroy himself. just leave him alone and he will

go away on his own. there is no evidence to support that. he has been in the lead and dominating. he now broke 40% in the monmouth university poll nationally. candidates will have to figure out way to go after him or he will be the nominee. >> but every pundit has been wrong from the beginning, nobody thought he would get in the race and show his financials. people thought he was a michelle bachmann, a herman cain. >> he is not fading and appears to be getting stronger and doesn't need these traditional forums or town hall structures that you would think he would need, he is doing sort of a television game. he does the big rally game and it seems to be paying off. somebody like jeb bush and chris christie doing it in a traditional way. those types of traditional rules

are just not paying off. i think we'll have to see what happens tomorrow. can somebody lay a glove on him, and if it matters are we sort of post-debate when it comes to especially donald trump? >> for a number of the candidates, the debates have made a difference, and carly fiorina, taking a jump in the polls. >> he has not done very well in the post-debate polling and has generally done something after the debate to try to kick his numbers up because he has not been a great debate performer. but one point i want to make for the establishment, every time trump gets attacked he becomes stronger with the ant anti-establishment core of the party. >> andy, this does not surprise you, i see you have a big smile on your face, like i knew it.

i have been saying it from the beginning. do the iowa numbers worry you? you look at ted cruz, a lot can change. does that concern you at all? >> the only register poll we don't take seriously. their number s have been out of whack for a while. when he is attacked, he thrives and gets stronger for it. jeb bush is at 3%, three months ago it was donald trump versus carly fiorina, she was the talk of the hour now at negative digit digits. a month ago, it was ben carson, i think trump will regret going after ted cruz, we'll see it tomorrow in las vegas. >> and the attack was so benign. questioning donald trump's judgment is the least negatively you can say about donald trump. i think ted cruz has cracked the

code, his strategy in not going after donald trump, donald trump has attacked ted cruz on subsidies, no, not playing nice among the republican strategy. that is having negative effects already today in seeing rush limbaugh and mark levin, two huge talk radio titans going after donald trump saying stop attacking ted cruz from the right. this is not how we play in the gop party. i think a lot of people will question what donald trump really stands for and if he is a conservative at all. >> and what do you make about keeping donald trump in a bear hug close. but he has always believed that if trump fades he will benefit from that. and the fact that carson supporters say they will support cruz as their first choice if not carson -- >> carson's decline has all

redounded to ted cruz' benefit. he has been brilliant strategically. he will do okay in new hampshire and then potentially to win the south carolina primary, go on first for the southern primaries. the irony is the republican establishment that hates ted cruz may be stuck with him as their best alternative against donald trump. >> andy, what do you think happens if donald trump doesn't win iowa? and as jake pointed out. santorum won iowa, it doesn't necessarily -- in fact it probably doesn't tell who is going to win the nomination. but does something change if donald trump has on the scoreboard a loss, and then going to new hampshire? do we know how he will respond to that? if you look at the numbers in new hampshire, trump is way ahead. look in iowa it will probably be a closer contest, if he can stay in the top two there he will win new hampshire.

march 1st where it is all going to be decided. >> i will say having experienced the iowa caucuses, close up and personal, the iowa poll that had ted cruz ten points ahead has actually been historically the most accurate poll. i think cruz really has something going there with the social conservatives who dominate that primary. he has been working relentlessly, when carson fell, he grew. >> let me talk about the polls in iowa, why they were so different. for instance, why cnn's poll had trump so far ahead. some pollsters are looking at who trump is bringing into the process who have not necessarily voted. you don't just go in there and click it you have to go and spend some time and make an argument in a gym somewhere. some pollsters are saying we believe people well turn out. that is why trump is hiring some of those in the polls. the des moines register looks at previous engagement and behavior

by voters. and that is why one reason, it probably shows cruz higher. i know that the trump campaign likes to take whacks at the media as do all the republican candidates, for that matter. but the des moines register poll is a very respected poll. we should also point out we are still seven weeks away from the iowa caucus. and just because ted cruz is winning now doesn't mean he will be. rick santorum didn't start to come alive until about three weeks before the caucus last time. >> we have to take a quick break. we'll talk about which candidates do better handling isis and other security issues bound to come up the other night. and coming up, could authorities have stopped one of the attackers? and just by going to social media, and why it went unread when it counted. we'll be right back.

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tomorrow night's debate here at the venetian will focus on what the republicans will say on the top issue, national security. candidates will attempt to showcase the matters they believe are important. and today, they gave a progress report on the fight against isis. president obama is taking quite a bit of heat for how he is waging, yet sounded optimistic today. >> last month in november we dropped more bombs on isol than this campaign started. we're taking out isol leaders and candidates one by one. we removed one of their top leaders as well the second in command. hussein, a top recruiter,

mohammed amwazi, and the senior extortionist, and al tunisi. the point is they cannot hide and our message to them is you are next. >> and amanda carpenter joining us, and cnn political commentator kevin madden. in terms of national security, in terms of terrorism, all of these candidates on the stage will be trying to show how tough they are, what they would do different than what president obama is doing. >> yeah, and i think one thing that president obama has been criticized for is that his national security and foreign policies have been rather amorphis. we don't seem to have a very clear-cut strategy, either dealing with our allies, building up our allies or taking

the fight to the enemy. and what you have seen is the candidates who have done well has been when they're bold and offered clarity to the american public. among the candidates there will be this race to offer the most clear, robust policy that offers a clear contrast with president obama as possible. >> i want to put the latest national cnn poll, a couple of weeks ago when you asked republicans who they think best equipped to be the commander-in-chief, donald trump far ahead. the fact he doesn't have experience in washington it doesn't matter in terms of national security issues. if there were any issue you would think voters might hold that against him for -- >> he has no experience, no resume on this, what he does have is sort of the most extreme ideas on this and we've already seen republicans come out and condemn him, particularly for his ban on muslims, at least the

temporary ban. but when you talk to trump voters they say they like what they hear. and even if he was elected president and was not able to enact some of these, at least he is raising issues. if he can't make it a ten at least he will make it a seven, or six or five. that is part of what is going on, i think. >> in terms of tough talk, arguably he talks the toughest. >> the more controversial and muscular he seems, i listened to kevin. but the difficulty is when you get down to the nitty gritty of what the strategies are they really are not that much different than what the president is doing now because there are not any huge alternatives to what he is doing right now. so the substitute for that is to sound tough even if your policy is not that different than his policy. >> i disagree with that completely. president obama, we're 18 months into a bombing campaign that has

accomplished little to nothing. if we want to destroy them we get rid of the oil. donald trump knows how to do that. the problem is, president obama won't let them do that. he tells isis to go away before we blow up the tankers, why aren't we asking questions like in downtown raqqah, why are there still large buildings operating that we know isis is here. the problem is obama is afraid of killing a couple of civilians here or there, and we'll pay the price for it. >> we're not here to debate. >> we are here to debate. >> no, we're not, isis controls about a quarter less territory than they did a year ago. the whole -- every nation that is involved in this can see that we're constricting them. killing their leaders. one of the reasons they're lashing out internationally is because of the pressure placed on them. it's not easy, it's not quick. you can't just go in and mow

them down because there is nothing to take its place. and you would have complete anarchy there -- i understand the muscular -- >> that is how you win wars. >> that is how -- >> it is how you win wars. >> the american public is not happy. >> that is how -- what wars has donald trump won? the war for the taj mahal? >> no, he is a great man who built a great multi-billion dollar company. >> that is not a war. >> winning a war is a goal. we will destroy isis. >> i will take your guarantee in-- >> ted cruz was on tape in front of some fundraisers saying essentially who do you want to have your finger on the button? do you think he will go that far publicly? >> i'm not sure, i think ted cruz will be ready to lay out his vision. he is good on national security

because he reacts to the daily issues. we have had a president that as kevin raised, is not able to speak frankly and quickly and address the problems. donald trump, whether he is right or wrong on the proposals to solve the problems he talks about them. so he gets some credit for them. on the debate stage i'm looking forward to an intense national security debate between ted cruz and marco rubio, particularly on the shootings in california. that is a debate the republican party needs to have. marco rubio would love to paint ted cruz as the new rand paul. it's very interesting to have them on that stage, the reaction that the republican party has to these issues. i'm not sure where donald trump has a place on that stage. >> kevin, where do you stand on what andy said? clearly, a lot of popularity to donald trump is this muscularity. >> he does have very muscular

rhetoric and exudes a strength, he is thorough on syria, and has no experience on these issues. i think that is where ted cruz and others like marco rubio have a great deal of experience, they may differ on some of the details but they can move in and offer not only the clarity that people want and the decisive on national security in a time of great anxiety, but they can also offer substance. they may have a certain advantage against donald trump during this debate. >> and maybe chris christie gets in there -- >> he will certainly try to jump in to. i think you will see a lot of establishment. >> he is back on the main stage, possibly the best all-around debater. he seems like he enjoys being on that stage and he sort of has to make a case that he belongs on that stage. also his momentum in new hampshire is real. >> to kevin's point about ted

cruz some type of oracle when it comes to national security, he was in the senate for a year and a half. donald trump has been doing business deals globally for decades. ted cruz. >> when it comes -- >> we know that ted cruz is more to the rand paul libertarian hippy side -- marco rubio is closer to trump. >> there will be differences on the issue of surveillance, but what you will have is a year of a trail of working on these issues than donald trump and his quote unquote deals. we'll take a short break, there is a lot more to talk about. including in a phrase, "the elephant in the room," which some are calling chaos in the republican party. we'll talk to director john spicer about that.

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♪ sleep train [train horn] ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ and welcome back, we are here in a windy and cold las vegas on the eve of the fifth republican presidential debate. the second one hosted by cnn roughly 24 hours, nine top candidates will face off with

frontrunner donald trump once again at center stage. as we have been reporting trump has hit a new high in the latest national polling 41%, who is also locked with ted cruz, where a new poll shows them in a tie. over the weekend, the polls show donald trump leading in the campaign. >> hey, there is only one way you get to the top and it's all through trump, let's face it. >> i think he is acting like donald trump. >> i can guarantee you donald trump is not going to be the nominee. >> marco rubio has a disaster on his finances. >> that is donald trump, he doesn't know what he is talking about. >> i have great doubts about donald trump's ability to be commander-in-chief. >> you put me on the air as much as donald trump is on the air and i would be leading. >> i think donald trump knows how to play the media like a master. >> trump is not going to be president. it's not going to happen. >> he will never get anything done and that is the problem with ted. >> you know how you make america

great again? tell donald trump to go to hell. >> part of the backdrop for tomorrow's debate is somewhat some are calling chaos within the republican party. joining me, john spicer, and cnn chief political analyst gloria borger, and host of cnn, smirconish. >> it is white iexciting. it is a snooze-fest on the other side, we are poised to head into 2016. this is the final debate of this year and i think 2016 will kick off with a bang. >> but is it good for the gop? there is a lot of attention being paid to the fighting

between your candidates. >> great, look at the number of people who are excited about the candidate and are saying i'm with this person and with this person and will tune in. i think this vision for america will turn out. i'm scared. i think that america's security is at stake and i think one of the republicans are the best choice. it's our party that the intensity is with, not theirs. they have made up their mind with hillary clinton because she is untrustworthy -- >> how long do you see this going, gloria -- >> behind closed doors, there are a lot of republicans who don't seem as excited as you are. and they're like we don't want to get to a brokered convention and have that potential problem. so aren't you nervous about that. >> no, no, the only way a contested convention occurs if the delegates don't elect somebody to give them the majority. if the voters get involved in this process, we have more

states involved than ever before. that gives more people to be involved in the process and gives the party more of the opportunity to grow. >> but my question is what about people collecting delegates along the way and it's all proporti proportional. >> if you read cnn -- >> i always read jeff -- >> he has a good job, but this story gets written every year, and every year in late march, early april we have a nominee. i'm fully confident we'll continue that pattern. >> if in 2013 you guys had the growth and opportunity project that was sort of the autopsy after 2012. the argument there was listen we have to reach out and broaden the scope of the party. in what ways is that idea showing up in the primary or not showing up? is it your sense that people have kind of tossed that to the side? >> not at all, when you look at 2014, the race -- when you look at the candidates, every candidate has to embrace the

idea of going out and bringing in more voters. when you look at john kasich in ohio and chris christie in new jersey, greg abbott in texas, corey gardner, those people go out and embrace those places where they show you can be successful. every one of those candidates in their own way are talking about that type of growth in our party that needs to occur. but some of them have different tactics to occur. but everyone gets it. at the end of the day it is a math issue. we need more voters to come in and bring the party to win. >> do you worry about brand damage -- i worry about last week, 195 nations buying into doing something about climate change? frankly not a peep from republican leadership, six in ten think that is a fraud. you take a look at donald trump wanting to keep muslims out of

the country. half agree, but others don't. do all of these questions catch up with the gop come fall? into in >> i think there is an issue -- >> climate change not an issue? >> you just cited the polls that some don't agree -- >> republican voters. >> at the ends of the day when you look at our candidates we have won up and down the ballot and have 69% of the legislature, the second largest in the house of representatives. the majority in the senate, our party is doing very well with reaching out and winning alex n elections, so i appreciate the concern about the issues we're not fully embracing. but i think we're doing really well. when you look at brand damage you look at somebody like hillary clinton at the top of their ticket she is horrible for their ticket. she is not trustworthy. >> i would be more concerned as a democrat running as hillary clinton at the top of the ticket. >> the fact that a majority of

americans regard her as untrustworthy and dishonest you would think you would be cleaning her clock with all of your candidates. >> wait, we don't have a nominee. the polls you have on today and yesterday show we're win the margin error tight or beating her. i'll take that every day. we don't even have a nominee. they're walking around having a coronation for hillary clinton, she has 100% name id. >> wasn't part of the so-called autopsy that was done after 2012 talking about the need to reach out to immigrant communities and reach out to african-americans. is donald trump doing that? >> i'm not going to decide can candidates are doing that or not. you look at greg abbott in texas, corey gardner, and candidates who have embraced that have done better. i think each of our candidates once they secure the nominee and we continue to embrace the general election strategy we'll have an opportunity to speak to

a broader base. right now most of them are focused on trying to win the republican caucus-goers. >> and as a nominee, do you see donald trump being able to reach out to the people he has alienated? >> sure shs, i think all the candidates can do that. to do well you have to do well in new hampshire, iowa, nevada. that is how hillary clinton and bernie sanders has -- >> can i ask you about trump not running as an independent, you guys got to pledge from him. he says now let's see if they treat me nicely. do you think there is a chance? >> no. >> why? >> because he is a smart man. he understands that the only way we beat hillary clinton is the united republican party. every single one of these candidates understands that. so unless you want to be the

person that helped to elect hillary clinton you will run as a republican nominee. secondly, he keeps talking about fairness. the republican party, reince priebus has been committed to treating everybody with fairness. i think over and over again, mr. trump and dr. carson understand that that that is how we operate. >> how worried are you about the some kind of declining significance of the party. are you worried at all that in some ways you have constructed this calendar, and all this kind of stuff but it seems like it is not really going in your favor the way it is designed to do. >> it's never our favor -- i reject that out of hand. it was always about including more voters in this process and allowing more people to vote and have a say in who the nominee is. it should never, ever be about the rnc or anyone in washington deciding anything. it is always up to the people of america to decide who will be the nominee and the president and down about. so that was never the goal and it never should be.

because the last thing that we want is anybody in washington making some kind of back room deal about this. this should always be up to the people. >> shawn spicer, appreciate you being on. >> it is going to be phenomenal. >> no doubt about that. we have a lot more to talk about. coming up next, she posted her jihadist beliefs on line and still got in the united states. how the system failed when it failed to stop this woman. what makes thermacare different? two words: it heals. how? with heat. unlike creams and rubs that mask the pain, thermacare has patented heat cells that penetrate deep to increase circulation and accelerate healing. let's review: heat, plus relief, plus healing, equals thermacare. the proof that it heals is you. sup jj? working hard? here at the td ameritrade trader group, they work all the time.

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well, investigators have been combing through phones and other electronics used by the terror couple in san bernardino mass killings.

"the new york times" reported over the weekend they found the female attacker openly posted on social media for support for violent jihad and her desire to get involved. still, she passed three background checks when she came to the united states, which raises some questions. we have our cnn national correspondent jim sciutto. how did she get through? how did she fall through the cracks? >> well, investigators have now discovered she posted under a pseudonym and also posted under the privacy settings so only a small group of people could see those postings. so the truth is even had the federal government been reviewing social media at the time that she played for her visa, which they were not, they likely would not have seen the postings. >> and has anything changed in the background checks since her visa was approved. are there anymore plans for changes? >> it has, the department of

homeland security introduced a pilot program to begin reviewing some social media of some applicants but it's not done with the scrutiny. partly it's a manpower problem. also there were continuing concerns about the privacy, et cetera, clearly the san bernardino shootings may change that calculus. and you even heard secretary of state john kerry say they would review how they are going to do this. >> what about the search for the lake, the day before the attack -- >> and we've seen the pictures of the divers combing through that lake. they spent three days searching through the lake. it was the cell phones found in the attacker's home that led to that lake, that they could track the cell phone movements. they saw they could visit there. but after the search they didn't find the crucial hard drive that was missing from their computer.

and they really do want to find that. >> and there is still a gap of several hours after the day of the attack, the initial attack, to where they ended up, right? >> right, also the scene of the attacks, some of the phones they tried to harvest digital information there, and they have not. clearly they destroyed the phones for a reason, so there is suspicion there is something that could be on there that would help the investigation. >> and just last week, we heard about an investigation of a guy who was trying to aid isis. do we know more about that explosi? >> we do, this year, there have been at least 50 people caught trying to aid isis. this time it was not some dumb kid, it is a maryland man not far from the capital here who took multiple payments from isis operatives overseas, nearly $9,000. the fbi investigating whether

those payments were going to be used to carry out an attack here. there is a possibility, or the possibility to get him to lead the u.s., the fight on the battlefield. also particularly, the idea of carrying out an attack here. also they saw he pledge e ed hi allegiance to isis. so investigators believe this was a serious recruit they caught linked to isis. >> all right, thank you, jim sciutto, a former senior official with the fbi and with the cia. also joining me former assistant director of the fbi. tom, did the u.s. drop the ball here, in your opinion? should this woman's social media post about jihad have been discovered by multiple background checks? >> anderson, the hard part of this is number one the sheer volume of it. last year the united states government issued 10 million visas, 40,000 were k-1 fiance

visas. now, i just went through the k-1 visa process two years ago, with currently my wife. it is a very diligent process with extensive checks and records on both the petitioner, being either the husband or wife-to-be. and the fiance themselves. it is very difficult. and you know, without checking social media, without asking somebody what their religious affiliation is, but the idea that somehow the u.s. government is going to check 10 million visas, and that is just the ones that were given, not all the applicants which is probably a greater number than 10 million. i don't see how it could be done even if you wanted to. then add on top of that she had a pseudonym and privacy settings on top of it which probably would require some type of a court order or subpoena to even get those type of records if you even had the manpower and the ability to do so. i just don't see how it could be done. >> phil, do you agree with that? fake names and privacy settings?

>> i think half of it is true. i agree with tom on the volume piece of this. you can't have ever human being look at every access, and figure out where they were two years ago. that said, i think there has to be a conversation with silicon valley that says, identity has changed. 15 years ago if the government wanted to determine if you were dirty, they would bounce you up against their own data bases. did your phone number ever call the number of a terrorism suspect, for example? right now, your identity has changed fundamentally. you're out on social media in ways that the government could access. the question is, will silicon valley, which is very concerned about partnering with the u.s. government, concerned for competitive reasons. they don't want the government taking data on their clients. but will they partner, for example, with instances such as

saudi arabia or syria, it has to be done, tom. >> tom, you were talking about the fiance visa and how strict it is. but isn't most -- aren't most of the objectives of that process to figure out whether the marriage itself is legitimate? that someone is not scamming the visa process to get a quick entry to the u.s.? is it really set up, the background checks, to look at you know, possible beliefs of theirs? possible you know, radical ideas they may have? >> it's not set up to look at radical ideas, you're right. part of it was started because of organized crime all over the world bringing people in to have arranged marriages, to have that situation or to have people where they could get in to have a baby in the united states which would be a citizen. that is true. but the k-1 process, the reason it's stricter than the other visas, it's considered more strict, it's the pathwa to

marriage, so it's more permanent. different than a work visa that is considered probably temporary. the person is probably going to go back to the country that they came from. but in the k-1 process with the marriage at the end of that visa issuance, it's a pathway towards citizenship for people to get that visa so it is a much stricter process. >> you know, phil, right now, donald trump has talked about not letting muslims into the country, a temporary pause until the u.s. figures out what the situation is here at home. even in the visa process is there any way to even actually tell if somebody is a muslim? >> you know, i don't think you can. for example, let me give you a couple of ideas. talk to the ambassadors from the u.k., france and germany. ask them a simple question, will you require your citizens to put their religious preference in a passport? i guarantee you the answer will

be no. when a citizen gets to dulles airport or international, are you comfortable with requiring one of your citizens to declare their religion when they enter the country? i understand this is a political debate, practically, you're not going to stamp somebody's religion on a passport, and we wouldn't do it either. >> appreciate you being here, tom fuentes, as well. and his wife, heidi, taking a leave to convince voters her husband is sweeter than he may appear to some who don't like him. more on her ahead. whei just put in the namey, of my parents and my grandparents. and as soon as i did that, literally it was like you're getting 7, 9, 10, 15 leaves that are just popping up all over the place. yeah, it was amazing. just with a little bit of information, you can take leaps and bounds. it's an awesome experience.

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so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. try super poligrip free. well, the fifth republican presidential debate now less than 24 hours away here in las vegas. the frontrunner, of course, donald trump leading by a big margin in the new national poll. while senator ted cruz is set to make substantial gains in iowa. polls show that vote rs favor cruz more than trump, in other words, they find him more likeable in iowa. for that he may owe a big debt to see wife, heidi, who is putting long hours on the campaign trail, trying to soften her husband's image.

tom foreman reports. >> reporter: alongside ted cruz' rising polls, a rising star, his wife, heidi, pushing the numbers towards him. >> i don't want to be the candidate, you are electing ted cruz, not ted and heidi. >> reporter: born in california, heidi studied at claremont college. a stint on wall street was followed by harvard business school. then, she met the future senator from texas. >> somehow, in the first two weeks, ted and i got assigned to almost eve work on almost every project together. >> every time her husband's record has been challenged she defended it. >> he told them he would work with every breath in his body to defund obamacare, and that is

what he did. >> ted understands the constitutional liberties. >> while they may consider ted cruz almost robotic. >> green eggs and ham, i do not like them, sam, i am. i do not like green eggs and ham. >> fans say it is heidi who humanizes him. >> ted is absolutely the coolest person in our family, he is funny, lighthearted. he is the first one to say let's go out on a date. >> by all accounts she works very long hours, talking endlessly about the family's religious faith, their home life and most of all him. >> and i want americans to know what the qualities were that made me fall in love with him. and the first is, he is principal. this is a man who know s what h believes. >> and through it all she makes it clear what she believes, that

her husband, ted cruz, although he is not dominating the polls is still very much in this race. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> there is a lot more ahead from las vegas, including new polling on how republican voters rank the candidates on international security issues. national security, as we mentioned of course, the focus of tomorrow's debate which comes in the wake of the attacks in san bernardino and paris. would do the voters think will keep them safest? the answer is ahead. (phone ringing) you can't deal with something by ignoring .t but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard and pay into it,

so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates! answer the call already.