here tomorrow in "the situation room." i'm wolf blitzer in washington. thanks very much for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. next, breaking news. new undercover photos of sean penn on his way to meet el chapo. what the actor is saying about that controversial meeting. and a woman strangled in her apartment in italy. is this a repeat of the amanda knocks saga? and smelling blood in the water. donald trump hammering ted cruz. could this put him over the top in iowa? let's go "outfront." ♪ good evening. "outfront" tonight, going for the kill. donald trump hammering ted cruz on his, quote, canada problem. cruz, of course, was born in canada and renounced his citizenship only in 2014.

>> ted cruz is a problem. he's got a problem. whether you like it or not, ted has to figure it out. >> trump's comments that you see there at a new hampshire rally today come as the new poll shows his lead growing in that state. 32% of likely gop primary voters support him in new hampshire, up from 26% in november. that's a huge surge. but it's what is happening in iowa that is driving trump's assault on cruz. a poll today there showing cruz and trump in a statistical dead heat. trump now at 31% to cruz's 29. will the issue pay off for donald trump? that's the crucial question tonight. sara murray is "outfront." does trump's campaign think these attacks on ted cruz actually working or not? >> it's clear the campaign knows that they have to go after cruz to widen their lead in iowa but it seems like they are almost throwing anything they can at cruz hoping that it will stick. one thing is clear, though, donald trump is not letting up anytime soon.

donald trump is not letting up on ted cruz's citizenship. >> ted cruz has a problem because the question is, is he a natural-born citizen? and the question was asked of him on "meet the press," asked to meet by chris wallace this weekend. i don't know. nobody knows. >> reporter: after months of playing nice -- >> ted cruz, senator cruz has been so nice to me, i can't hit him. i may have to if he starts getting like really close. i may have to. >> reporter: trump's truce is over. >> i'm a counterpuncher. >> reporter: and he's not waiting on cruz to fire first, trying to raise doubt as to whether the texas senator, a southern baptist, is a true evangelical. >> in all fairness, to the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of cuba. okay? just remember that. >> reporter: and today in new hampshire, trump is hoping his latest line of attack questioning whether cruz's canadian roots disqualify him for the presidency might widen

his lead. >> you can't have a nominee who is going to be subject to being thrown out as a nominee. you just can't do it. so you're going to make that decision, folks. i mean, it's one of those little decisions. i'm sure ted is thrilled that i'm helping him out, but i am. >> reporter: some voters aren't buying it. >> i think he's eligible. he would have checked that out and all cleared before he even ran. >> reporter: meanwhile, cruz has insisted the question is already settled. >> the substance of the issue is clear and straightforward. as a legal matter, the constitution and federal law are clear, that the child of the u.s. citizen, born abroad, is a natural-born citizen. >> reporter: and so far isn't taking the bait to go to battle against trump. >> i like donald trump. i respect donald trump. he's welcome to toss whatever attacks he wants. >> reporter: but trump keeps on hammering cruz anywhere he can. in the hawkeye state, it's his position on et that jhanol. >> my partner was opposed to the

ethanol industry because he's with the oil industry. you know, he's from texas. i guess it makes sense. but all of a sudden -- and he was getting clobbered and all of a sudden he said, oh, i'm for ethanol. you can't do that. >> reporter: erin, there's a reason that trump is lobbying out all of these attacks and that's because there's persuadable voters out there. the polls you mentioned earlier show us half the voters in iowa are still undecided and only about one in three voters in new hampshire are locked in on their choice. erin? >> sara, thanks very much. it's stunning. of course, in iowa, they can register to vote on caucus day. it's going to be down to the wire. "outfront" now, the national co-chair for ted cruz's presidential campaign, bob vander platte and jeffrey lord and david gergen. ted cruz has been brushing the citizenship issue off.

he tweeted "trump, trump the shark" and then took it a bit more seriously. does he need to do a better job of responding to this question? >> i don't think he has to at all. i think it is a settled issue, as ted cruz has said, it's a settled issue. everybody here in iowa knows that ted cruz is eligible to be president of the united states. i think what it is -- and i respect donald trump a lot -- but donald trump sees ted cruz with a lead here in iowa growing momentum in iowa, uniting around him in iowa and he knows if he loses iowa, that puts a puncture in his balloon that he's going to win wherever he goes. so i think ted cruz is a real threat but ted cruz is going to stay on message and that's what is going to unite iowans around his campaign. >> jeff, is it a settled issue? >> i don't think it's a settled issue in this sense. legally -- and i'm not a lawyer. i've heard a lot of people say it's a settled issue. the problem here is that there is a perception certainly among, you know, democrats that would take advantage of this that it's

not a settled issue. we already have one democratic congressman promising that he would file what he called a beautiful lawsuit, quote/unquote if ted cruz is nominated. i think he would lose the lawsuit. >> interesting. >> the point is, he would do it and therefore detract. >> there is one prominent scholar who is not dismissing this issue, david, today. that's lawrence tribe. >> absolutely. i thought this was a red herring to begin with. he didn't have to apply for citizenship, he was born as a citizen and that's what the mean of that natural-born citizenship would mean to most people. but larry tribe is a very respected constitutional scholar, been at harvard a long time, argued in front of the supreme court on many, many occasions and he's come out and said, no, it's murky. if you go back to the original understanding of the framers and the -- at the beginning of the republican assembly in the 1790s, they thought to be

president you had to be born on american soil. that's what tribe said. if you're an originalist on the court, the kind that cruz respects, people who did go back to the original interpretation -- >> interesting. >> -- you know, tribe said, look, i believe the court ought to see this in modern day terms and the original shouldn't secede here but these are cruz's friends. >> john mccain, that was a base, american soil. this would be a different situation. let me just play more about what donald trump is saying about this issue. >> you can't have a person running for office even though ted is credit goes out and says i'm an american citizen. the point is, you are not. here's the problem. it's called uncertainty. it's called -- you just don't know. so ted has to solve this problem. he's got a big problem. he can't have a nominee who is going to be subject to being thrown out as a nominee. he's going to be sued by the democrats. >> what about that issue, right?

you heard jeffrey lord talking about a beautiful lawsuit. you heard david talking about one of the most prominent and respected constitutional experts in the country saying it is murky. >> but you also heard jeffrey and david also say that ted cruz is eligible to be president. ted cruz is eligible to be president. the only reason this issue is coming up is because we're in a campaign season and donald trump sees his lead shrinking. every serious thinker and conservative, anybody who is supporting us in iowa, this is not a concern. they are concerned about the issues that are faced in this country and that's why we are rallying around ted cruz. >> erin, one of the problems that ted cruz has with this is the clock is running. iowa is just around the bend and the problem is ted cruz wants to

deliver and i think that is very frustrating because this eats up time. >> with all due respects with bob, if you look at the polls themselves they suggest that ted cruz looked like he was pulling away. >> the headline was, ted cruz has iowa lined up. forget about it, donald trump. >> and now the latest polls have it neck-and-neck. one poll had trump ahead today. if you look at that, it looks like the birther issue has take answer toll on ted cruz, that the momentum he had has stopped. i think he needs to respond to it. i would start by finding a couple of constitutional lawyers like larry tribe to say, this is settled. this is crazy. >> isn't it, bob, going to become on some level, this will have to somehow go through the

courts? he'll get constitutional experts, people like lawrence tribe saying, no, there could be a question. if there is a gray area at all, no matter how slim it is, we're talking about the president of the united states. it's going to go through the court courts. isn't it? >> first of all, i've traveled these past six days and the audiences are not bringing this up as an issue. it's uniting people around his campaign. the reason they are bringing it up is to get him on message. he's not getting on message. he's a happy warrior and i think he's going to do well on february 1. >> well, thank you all very much. it's going to be a very interesting one to watch with these developments. "outfront" next, hillary clinton, is she about to lose to bernie sanders? plus, how risky was sean penn's meeting with el chapo. and new video of the raid. a young woman found

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which is a statistical tie. in new hampshire, leading clinton by four percentage points. brianna keilar is live with bernie sanders in pleasantton, iowa, tonight. >> reporter: hillary clinton dancing on "ellen" seemingly without a care in the world. bernie sanders is gaining on her in iowa. >> clearly, they began this race feeling that the victory was virtually inevitable. i don't think they believe that today. all right? >> reporter: a new nbc wall street journal poll puts bernie sanders within striking distance just three points shy of hillary clinton in iowa, within the margin of error. and you feel that is within a real three points, that you're that close? >> yeah, doi. >> reporter: clinton is hoping to persuade democratic voters even as fox news national poll shows her trailing, donald trump, ted cruz and marco rubio in hypothetical matchups.

>> think hard about the people who are presenting themselves to yo you. their experience, their qualifications. and particularly, their electability. >> they are pointing to polls in iowa and new hampshire. both battleground states in the general election that show him outperformi outperforming rival against trump and cruz. >> face-to-face with donald trump and the other candidates, we are doing better than hillary clinton does. in terms of electability, democrats may want to look at bernie sanders as candidate. >> reporter: he's been vulnerable in the final weeks before the contest. clinton is hitting sanders record, including a 2005 record that gave gun store owners immunity if guns they sold were used in a crime. >> i think that the excuses and efforts by senator sanders to

avoid responsibility for this vote, which the nra hailed as the most important in 20 years, points up a clear difference. >> reporter: facing pressure, sanders has since signaled he's open to changes his position. >> i've cast 10,000 votes in my life and it's a complicated vote. yes, their only response to that, i'm certainly willing to reconsider it. >> reporter: erin, i asked bernie sanders if he thought president obama has put his finger on the scale for this issue for hillary clinton. he dismissed that, clearly not wanting for there to be any daylight between him and the president. he thinks it's just an issue that the president really cares about. he did, though, question hillary clinton's authenticity on the gun issue, reminding people that back in 2008 she ran to the right of then senator obama on the issue of guns and even revived the that he had for hillary clinton, annie oakley back during that brutal primary

in 2008. the gloves are off. "outfront" next, david, let me start with you. let's start with the poll. you've got a statistical tie in new hampshire and iowa. >> right. >> let's be honest. hillary clinton doesn't like that. that's not what she wanted to be looking at. she's probably not anything close to what she expected. if she loses both of those, the first two states, is she damaged goods? >> let's talk about expectations. nobody ever said anything other than this could be a very competitive primary, right? so in iowa, she had -- secretary clinton had a somewhat bigger lead that is now tightening but in new hampshire it's the opposite. he's got a home state advantage and that's not tightening for secretary clinton. so, look, she's not going to lose both of these primaries. we're confident and i'll tell you why. >> you're confident she's going to win them both? >> yes. and i'll tell you why.

because this is a more liberal electorate, particularly in iowa, and on the issues. she's where the democratic primary voter is. she's the one that they are going to trust. on civil rights, on things like criminal justice reform. on the banks, which senator sanders rightly so has made a big issue, she's got a tougher, better plan that goes after the big banks and the shadow banks. so, look, it's a new year and people are really concentrating now and what they are going to see is hillary cares more about these issues, she can get the job done in a way that i don't think senator sanders can. >> alex, take a look at hillary clinton today. >> you go like this. and then -- >> i like that. >> that's it. sign something like that. >> i don't know if she

purposefully wore exactly the same clothes as ellen but, you know, look, she's taking heat for this online. you say the candidate who is the most fun usually wins. that's your saying alex. she looks like she's having fun there. she doesn't mind if she looks a bit silly. does this mean she's headed for the race? >> she's looser, more accessible and trying. it's still a challenge for her. peter hart calls it the glass kurt continue, an emotional barrier that separates hillary clinton from people. i think unless we find out that hillary clinton is a natural canadian-born citizen like ted cruz, she could lose iowa and new hampshire and still become the democratic nominee. this is a process that moves south and west after that. it's going to be much tougher for sanders and, you know, she's going to get stronger as she gets closer to real voting because eight years ago, when she ran, the democratic party decided to correctly injustice of race and that was more

important than correct an injustice of gender and decided to nominate the potential first american black president and woman. they sent hillary and the rest of the women to the back of the bus to wait. i don't know that the democratic party is going to send them to the back of the bus again. >> so if you both can agree on her being the nominee, which maybe, david, you didn't expect alex to give you. but the polls do not know that she will then win the white house. only against ted cruz would she win in a match-up now. >> who's the one candidate who can stop them? hillary clinton, tested and tough to stop them, stand with her. >> the problem is, the polls don't show that she can stop them. a fox poll last month, clinton was beating trump by 11 percentage points. 11. that same poll was done again this month and he's not beating

her by three percentage points. that's a stunning turnaround. >> you go back to this time in the 2012 race and you had ron paul in the statistical dead heat with barack obama. so we are 300 days out at least. when people focus in a head-to-head matchup when it really counts, she's clearly the strongest nominee that the democrats can put up. take the national security issue. she's got a very tough plan on destroying isis. tougher than this administration's. and people know she's tough as nails. she's going to be formidable in that general election. >> of course, they will bring up benghazi. >> sure. >> so, alex, what do you think about that poll, that, again, it's an apples to apples poll. she's now three points behind donald trump. >> i think electability is a challenge for hillary clinton. she's a candidate with a very

strong base in a general election but a low ceiling. she's very polarizing. and that's a danger for her. the one way she could lose the nomination is to stay behind in general election polls and the democratic party decides, you know, hey, if we're going to lose with hillary clinton, we might as well be the democratic party we want to be. hillary clinton is the candidate but she's the candidate of someone else's campaign. the message in the democratic party right now, what they really believe is the campaign of bernie sanders. it's a campaign of elizabeth warren. it is the populist campaign. hillary is trying to -- has embraced that. but she is only going to be the nominee if the democratic party thinks she can carry him across the goal line. >> thank you both very much. tomorrow night "outfront," an interview with hillary clinton. you will not want to miss that. tomorrow night "outfront," will you see her. "outfront" next, new surveillance photos of sean penn on his way to meet el chapo.

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breaking news tonight, evidence mexican authorities knew about sean penn's secret meeting with el chapo. intelligence officials releasing these undercover images. they appear to show sean penn and a mexican tv star making way to the mexican jungle. officials want to question penn about this trip. penn says he has, quote, nothing to hide about his interview. martin savidge is "outfront." >> reporter: a ferocious gun battle, troops from mexico's navy raid the world's most wanted man where he is holed up. the troops throw gun ger

grenades are launched and five guards are killed. he and another escapee steal a car and take off underground. a short time later, el chapo is arrested. one of the world's richest man led away in an undershirt covered with sewer. ironically, mexico's attorney general says this interview for "rolling stone" magazine was central to el chapo's capture stemming from a stated desire to talk to actors about making a movie of his life. actor sean penn working with kate del castillo met with the drug kingpin last october at the heavily guarded mexican compound high in the mountains. now in what is the first ever interview, el chapo speaks openly about working in the marijuana fields. >> translator: where i grew up, there's no other way and there still isn't. i work to survive. >> reporter: amazingly, the man who is estimated supplies half of all illegal drugs entering

the u.s. tells penn that he himself hasn't taken drugs in 20 years and insists he's not a violent man. >> translator: all i do is defend myself. nothing more. i do not start looking for trouble. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: but this meeting was largely the work of del castillo, famous in her home country for a tv role as a drug lordess. in 2012, she tweeted, "today i believe more in el chapo guzman than in the governments that hide the truth from me." that caught el chapo's attention. he contacted her and eventually penn got on board. they both traveled to mexico to meet el chapo and the last leg of their trip was spent in an armed convoy of suvs. their driver was el chapo's son. when the soldiers recognized the

drug dealers, they backed off and waved them on through. now, mexican officials say the conversation with penn provided one of the leads to locate him. still, penn and "rolling stone" have been heavily criticized by presidential candidate rubio saying the two never should have even met. >> i find it grotesque. >> reporter: in the past, penn has met with other not tore yor figures at odds with the u.s. like raul castro. el chapo's desire to see his life story on the big screen may well have been his undoing. erin, you may remember the last time i was reporting to you from mexico, it was in those northwest mountains and now it turns out we were very close to the area where sean penn

conducted that interview. whether it was that interview that actually led to the arrest, whether it was or was not, hard to say. the truth is, it's really el chapo that led to his own arrest. it was his ego and, on top of that, you must give credit to the mexican authorities and the way they conducted that raid last friday. erin? >> martin, thank you very. . martin, outside the prison where el chapo is tonight. the same prison from which he escaped months ago. "outfront" now, senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and former assistant director with u.s. marshals, art roderick. sean penn says he has nothing to hide but could he face trouble for doing an interview like this and not telling authorities? >> i don't think so. sean penn is completely in the clear and i think the journalism scolds are just jealous. he got a huge scoop. and part of journalism is to interview bad people. our colleague peter bergen

interviewed osama bin laden. i would have interviewed him if i had a chance and certainly wouldn't have written the article the way sean penn did. that's just the detail. the fact is, he got this interview and good for him. >> art, you've tracked down a lot of criminals in your career. what do you think about what jeffrey is saying? >> in the end he's probably not in trouble. but first, sean penn is not really a journalist. he's an actor, number one. number two, el chapo is a specially designated national and there are a lot of restrictions in dealing with that. that's kind of a terrorism label that's been put on this individual and you're not supposed to provide support or any type of help to these individuals. now, i think the department of justice is looking at it from that perspective but i think probably in the long run, having this meeting between el chapo and sean penn is what led to his

arrest because, as you recall, we had that october sighting. >> that's right. >> and by the way, that's crazy and reckless on sean penn's part because these cartels, they kill journalists all the time. and, you know, if he is in fact responsible in part for this arrest, co-be he could be at gr risk from the cartels and that's his problem, no, sir the government's. he took a risk and i don't criticize him for it. >> you're nodding your head, you think sean penn's life could be at risk, retribution? >> if you look at the timeline, sighting in october, interview occurring around that same time frame. then you have the arrest occurring and two days later the article comes out in "rolling stone." i mean, it doesn't take much to make a connection there. >> right. >> and is he possibly in trouble? he could very well be from the

cartel side. >> so art, let me show this video again. this is a video of the actual raid. you hear the shots, the mexican marines, they are throwing grenades. they are firing dozens of rounds. five people are killed in the video, as we watch it here. what does this say to you about the warning that they had, the time that they had to prepare and because also then you see him -- he goes down into the sewer and you see him come out of the sewer covered in sewage. he also escaped even then. >> i looked at this video at length and there's a couple of interesting things here. number one, that two story home had about 20 different rooms that had to be cleared and obviously there were some bad guys in there shooting back. you see immediately a mexican marine goes down with a bullet wound and then they begin clearing the house. obviously there's a lot of gunfire and smoke. this is a very well-trained unit, you could tell. they didn't move too far ahead of the others so they knew anybody in front of them was a

bad guy. and you could see the bodies that were actually dispatched by the mexican marines. now, i think this unit that was fighting the marines was there to allow el chapo to escape out the back. that's usually the method that he uses. >> which he did, of course, down through the sewer and then they eventually caught him. what do you think happens to him next? the same prison that he was easily able to get guards to work with him to get out of and now he's there. and he's there basically indefinitely. and unless he's sent to the united states. >> well, and if the process works as it's supposed to work, he will be sent to the united states because he's under indictment in chicago. you know, the mexican criminal justice system is basically a disaster. he could escape again but if it works properly, he will be extradited in a few months. >> if he escapes again, that will be the story of all

stories. thanks to both of you. "outfront" next, an american woman found dead in her apartment in italy. who killed her? a bizarre story, next. and john kasich's campaign surging in ohio. the governor is my guest "outfront" in a couple of minutes. we'll be right back. when a moment turns romantic why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away

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an american believed murdered in italy. ashley olson was found dead saturday by her boyfriend in florence. police say he has an alibi but investigators are refusing to rule him out as a suspect. there's concern that she could have had a stalker. who could have killed the american artist? jean casarez is "outfront." >> reporter: italian police are treating the death of american artist ashley olson as a homicide. the 35-year-old was last seen with friends at a nightclub on thursday night. but her computer was active until noon on friday. >> her body was found after her boyfriend who with whom she had an argument alerted police she hadn't answered her phone. he and the landlord went into the house with a key and found

her body there. >> reporter: her body was unclothed with bruises and scratches around her neck. her death has drawn comparison to the high-profile murder death involving amanda knocx. she was cleared of the 2007 death of her roommate, a british natural. knox's lawyers accuse the italian police for framing her. she was fully exonerated last year. now the two cases have a common link. >> the police investigator who announced case closed in the meredith kercher case is the same lead inspector for the police in this florence case. >> i'd like to see a thorough and careful investigation this time. amanda knox was a tragic destruction of a young,

american's life by shoddy police work and i hope they get it right. >> florence moved from florida three years ago to be near her father working as an artist in italy. she frequently posted photos on instagram. she wrote, "i have a stalker, stalker alert, creeper in the back." a close friend says ashley was a free spirit. >> she was just very adventurous, she loved italy. i never met anyone quite like ashley. she had her special spark. and anyone that met her, loved her. >> it's a tragic story, jean. and it's now being compared to the very high-profile case of amanda knox who, of course, was convicted, served a lot of time in jail and then eventually was acquitted. >> the lead investigator is the

very same lead investigator as was in amanda knox. how ironic is that, right? you have the victim being american. obviously miss knox was the alleged perp rate f alleged perpetrator in all of this but it was the evidence collected. will they care enough so justice is achieved with an american victim? everyone is hoping so. >> they don't know anything about the stalker at this point, this other person out there? >> no. no. but it's something they found on her social media and so they are looking into that. >> jean casarez, thank you very much. we'll keep following that story. "outfront" next, after months of registering in the low-single digits, john kasich is tied second in new hampshire. and jeanne moos remembering david bowie. ♪ ♪ ground control to we can help guide your retirement savings.

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breaking news, we now know the seven republican presidential candidates on the main stage for this thursday night's debate, donald trump, ted cruz, marco rubio, jeb bush bush, ben carson, chris christie and john kasich will be on that stage. rand paul and carly fiorina did

not caqualify. plus, trump still on top there. a new battle shaping up for second place. john kasich is now tied with senator cruz. all right. "outfront" tonight, governor kasich. governor, thank you for taking the time to be with me. obviously two pieces of good news for you tonight. >> erin, before we go -- >> yes. >> i woke up this morning and i saw that we had lost david bowie and, you know, he was only 69 years old but you played a little music coming out, the major tom to control, spider from mars. i tell you something, he was really a heck of a performer. he was very, very versatile and could you imagine the people that are going to show up to honor him? and it will start, of course, with mick jaggar and all of the people that will be there. but he was a great performer and musician and i still love his music.

>> you know what, i'm glad you took the chance to say it. it's important. i know people really are mourning him around the world tonight. we have a little bit of a memorial coming up for him in a couple of moments. but the other thing that just happened that i mentioned here, the polls, you're on that main debate stage. you're tied in second place in new hampshire. obviously that's still a distant second to donald trump. i mean, do you see a clear path to victory for you to the nomination? >> yeah. i think, erin, if i come out of new hampshire as a big big stor nominee and an excellent chance to be president. the reason is is that what's interesting is that people never thought i would get in the race, never thought i would raise the money or be on the debate stage. we have a combination in new hampshire of good television put up by my campaign and a ground game and if we can come out of that, it will be good because all of a sudden, i'll have name i.d. and raise the money and

people will be willing to help me and get to understand my record and experience of job creation, experience in national security. these are the things that will matter and look, i'm very hard to define as you know. it's hard to put a label on me because i've been a guy that is inclusive for everybody. >> so here is the thing, though, obviously, this gets to the heart of it national polls 2%. you're talking about the issues you face in terms of name recognition. donald trump is solidly in first place. 15 points ahead of his nearest competitor at 35%. at this point, governor, how do you see it falling apart for donald trump. >> well, erin, first of all, i'm not frustrated. i'm having the greatest time of my life and i feel really good about the fact we have momentum in new hampshire and i'll be the target of attacks. i have to see if the trump phenomenon is real.

i haven't taken it that seriously. >> how can you not take it all that seriously. he's been the front runner every single day for seven straight months. >> i understand. i understand. look, i think he's tapping into the fact that people think they are being ripped off. they think the rich, the powerful and special interest call the tune with me they never have. i thought the establishment even now in the establishment i'm making major changes. the reason, erin, i read an article of an iowa gathering to organize and they had 58 people. 5800 for a rally but only 58 people. let's see. i'm not a fortune teller. i'll do the best i can and a lot of people counted me out and i'm rising and we'll see if we can keep it going and i think people will want somebody that can bring about the change and has experience to unify republicans, democrats and solve problems. >> governor, before we go, donald trump brought up ted cruz' birthplace ass an issue.

one of the most prominent institutional scholars lawrence tribe said it could be. do you think ted cruz' citizenship could be a fair issue? >> i'm not interested in the citizenship issue. i wasn't interested when they said president obama didn't live in the u.s. or wasn't a citizen. there are too many important issues in the country of employment, inclusion and giving everybody a chance to rise and national security, protecting the homeland. i don't have time for whether ted cruz is an american or whatever. we have too many problems to be picking at that. that lowers the debate and lowers the discussion and i'm not for doing that. >> governor, i appreciate your taking the time tonight, obviously a big night with good news and see you tomorrow night at the debate. "outfront" next jeanne moos of the passing of the legend david bowie. we are.

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as presidential contender john kasich mentioned, the world woke up stunned to learn david bowie died at the age of 69. he said i don't know where i'm going from here but i promise, it won't be boring. more on the icon and the oddity. >> the illustrator that created

this calls it 29 career spanning faces of david bowie. his most recent face from his new song is haunting. ♪ look up here, i'm in heaven >> with bowie in a hospital bed, buttons on bandaged eyes. >> do you have a favorite song? >> "let's dance". >> "space odyssey" was the biggest hit. when a real astronaut sang it in space upon hearing of bowie's death, chris hadfield tweeted ashes to ashes, dust to star dust. >> it was like a slap in the face to wake up and realize he isn't no more.

♪ ♪ >> with bowie's approval the astronaut did change the lyrics to give the song a happier ending. >> the astronaut dies at the end, which of course, i didn't want to be singing that. >> the commander left out these words. >> people seem to connect with bowie's connection to space. the lyrics from the song ended up on tributes. ♪ ♪ even a vatican, as for bowie, he called the astronaut's rendition. >> the most poignant version of the song ever done. >> and in at least one cartoonest imagination, bowie is floating in his high heel platform shoes eternally in space.

jeanne moos, cnn tonight. tomorrow we'll be live from washington where president obama will deliver the final state of the union address. our coverage on cnn of that begins at 7:00 here on "out front." "ac 360" starts right now. good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight on the eve of president obama's final state of the union address, surprising new polling numbers in the race to succeed him not national polling, either, which starts getting useful later on. state polling in the first two states to vote iowa and new hampshire. as you'll see, they are showing tight races especially in iowa, iowa you'll remember is supposed to be ted cruz country and last week donald trump started implying the real cruz country is canada. it's become a daily part of the stump speech, nobody knows he keeps saying if senator cruz is eligible to be president. we'll explore the legal merits of that but first, chief national correspondent john king breaking it down by the numbers,