[ cheers ] >> i feel great. >> look, it's not over yet. we have to too well he-- to do here. each of these elections makes a big difference. we intend to change the narrative tonight. >> everyone's got better exceptions when they start. a good candidate changes. . i think i've done that here. >> i see a great election day. many people who will turn out, they have express their opinion. be part of this process. >> the voter are turning out. our correspondents, brian todd at the polling center in hudson. joe johns watching the voting in manchester. and our manu raju keeping an eye on all the candidates. brian, where you are now, are we seeing a good turnout anecdotally? what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, a very good turnout. this is the precinct in hudson, outside the city. nashua. this is as thin a crowd as we've seen all day.

it has been packed since the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. with lines out the door. we saw a line of cars to get into the parking lot that stretched six blocks down the street. very excited shorts at the hudson precinct -- voters at the hudson precinct. they check in and tell them which affiliation they want to do and if they're undeclared, they tell them which way they want to vote that way. they say they're independent, undeclared. they ask which way they want to vote, they give them a pink ballot if they want to go republican. a blue ballot if they're a democratic voter. they go into the booths over there. we've timed it. it takes the average voter here roughly 35 seconds to move in and out. doesn't take long at all. a simple process. they come in, and there are two tabulation machines behind that gentleman there. they will put their votes into the tabulation machine, and those will be read out in a printout later on. my photojournalist and i will get out of the way of voters trying to check out here. jamie, let's move you slightly

to your left. he was -- here's what they do when they come out of the voting booth. if they want to reregister as an undeclared, they do it at the desk. decide which way to vote, tell them. go in and vote and reregister as an undeclared voter here. we are told that the undeclared independent voters far outnumber democrats and republicans here in new hampshire. so that is a critical segment of the vote. we're told that there have been hundreds of undeclareds coming in. i've witnessed several. most have gone the republican way. the ones i saw. we're told now that so far 3,200 people as of a little while ago, about an hour ago, 3,200 voters have been through here. a little over half were gop voters. so republicans edging out the democrats here. but again, the independent undeclared vote critical in new hampshire. it's been a dominant force in the hudson precinct, wolf. >> good point. a lot simpler than last week in the iowa caucuses.

you go in, vote, and leave. brian, thanks very much. turnout is expected to be a big factor in new hampshire. remember, we had record turnout in iowa a week ago on the republican side. and that helped senator ted cruz get his victory over donald trump and marco rubio. joe johns is joining us live in manchester right now. what kind of turnout is expected, and how is the weather holding up? >> reporter: well, the weather's held up very well. around 6:00 eastern time, frankly, they pulled the plug on the weather alert. and people have been streaming in here ever since. about 1,100 at mcdonough elementary school in manchester, which is where i am, that's a pretty good clip. since two hours and 15 minutes ago, just about 400 people through here, heavier than normal around the lunchtime hour as expected. the secretary of state in new hampshire has said he expects a record turnout. no indication as to whether that's going to happen.

and i can tell you from talking to some of the people who have been coming in voting, it's very difficult to keep track of which way they're going. we're not really trying to do that. this is the official sample ballot, if you will, for the republicans and the democrats. there are 30 republican names on the ballot, 28 democratic names on the ballot. and -- people can vote for just about any -- anybody they want to through the process that brian todd just described. one thing we're told that people cannot do, in fact, is write in the name of, say, a republican if they happen to be voting on the democratic ballot. what happens then, we're told, is jeb bush voted for by a democrat in a write-in situation would end up being nominated on the democratic side. so complicated process, very something. people very engaged here in new

hampshire, and we await this evening when we expect the crush of voters to this location in manchester. wolf? >> all right. thank you. joe johns reporting. the candidates, they are making their final pushes on this very important day. not necessarily with big speeches, but with visits to polling places all across the state of new hampshire. manu raji joining us now. a lot of people guessing what's going to go on the democratic and republican side. we've seen the polls, what the polls show. the polls may or may not be accurate. >> reporter: that's right. the big question, wolf, about 30% of new hampshire voters, according to the same polls, are undecided. when i spent a lot of time at the republican events in, it voters are deciding who -- events in particular, voters are deciding who and debating whether or not to vote in the democratic primary versus republican primary. can go either way. one thing that it does seem is that donald trump is the clear favorite going into tonight. how much will he win by if he

does end up winning is going to be a big question. and another huge question going into tonight, who will become second, third, and fourth. that is really a muddle now. the polls are all over the map. and we know whoever gets in that second, third, and fourth place position, it's important for two reasons. one, the state awards delegates proportionally. and of course you need a certain number of delegates to get the republican nomination. the better you do, the more delegates you get. also, the narrative coming out of here. the better you do for those candidates who are second, third, or fourth, if they're in second place, they can make the case to the party that they are the unity candidate. the person who could go against donald trump and can win the republican nomination. that media narrative, the narrative they want to school donors and supporters is incredibly critical coming out of today. >> most of the polling stations in new hampshire, manu, close around 7:00 p.m. eastern. all are closed by 8:00 p.m. eastern. so people after they work, if they put in a full day's work, presumably they'll have plenty of opportunity to go and vote.

usually there's a big crush right around 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, assuming polls are still open between 7:00 and 8:00 where these people work. the numbers could explode around those hours. >> reporter: they really could. that's the question -- how much does the turnout affect things, and how much do some voter who say, you know, who are considering voting on one side say a democratic, independent voter decide to vote in the republican primarily. it couldly if the turnout is very large -- particularly if the turnout is very large. it's an open question, what can happen. i tell you, one of the big questions coming out of saturday's debate in particular is how will marco rubio do, according to the cnn/wmur poll that we put out yesterday, he was still in second place. but that did not test how voters -- it not fully test the full spectrum after the saturday debate that had been much talked about, about marco rubio's performance. but can he maintain that second-place position? that's another big thing we're going to have to look out for

tonight and the voter turnout you were mentioning that could change things. >> manu raju in manchester. thank you very much. after a strong third-place finish in iowa, senator marco rubio trying to keep up the momentum in new hampshire right now. just a while ago dana bash caught up with rubio in new hampshire. listen to this. >> reporter: how are you feeling? >> great. a lot of energy. a lot of people coming into the office to volunteer at the last second. we feel great. we're going to leave here with more delegates than we came in. we feel very positive about that. we're going to keep building. we look forward to south carolina. >> let's talk about this with senator james risch, republican from idaho, joining us from manchester, new hampshire. are you there, senator, to campaign for your friend, marco rubio, is that right? >> i am, and i have been for some time working the phones and those sort of things. obviously my message to everyone is is this is a man who you don't have to wait to be ready

on the first day. he's ready today. he sits next to me on foreign relations. one away on the intelligence committee. he and i over the years have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in meetings dealing with every problem, every idiosyncrasy, every challenge that we're getting from the significant countries on the planet. he has always impressed me as being such a quick study. he has a great analytical mind. he's ready to do this. >> what about the complaints about the debate the other night? are you over that? because he really got hurt, at least in the media. >> he did get hurt in the media. i know what the media told me. i thought i saw. but generally, what -- as you know, i've run 34 times. and campaign 101 is stay on message. and his message simply was as the people are criticizing him because they're comparing him to

barack obama as not having experience and, therefore, can't get the job done. he was explaining that barack obama has gotten the job done. not the way we wanted clearly, but he passed obamacare. he pass ed the stimulus pitch h passed the dodd-frank bill all in the first half of his first term. that was very significant. and it was certainly competence on his part. not where we wanted to go, but he did with much shorter time in the u.s. senate than what marco rubio had. >> he came in third in iowa. the expectation or hope at least on the rubio -- in the rubio campaign deflategawas that he w in second in new hampshire. will he come in second to donald trump? >> anybody who tells you they know what's going to happen here tonight probably is living in la-la land. this is very, very fluid here on the ground in new hampshire right now.

and they're doing all this polling. when you've got as much as 40% to 50% of the people undecided, i -- polls just aren't going to tell you much. they really aren't. >> so you're not making any predictions right now. how is his mood? i assume you've seen him the past 24, 48 hours. >> he's in a good mood. he's always been. one of the things about marco that has always impressed me is he's -- his mood is very even. he is not a moody person. he is a guy who is generally up, he's positive. he -- and that's how he views the campaign. that's how he views america's future is very positive. and that's always -- that's always impressed me about him. we republicans, we do gloom and doom pretty well. he's got a whole different view of what he can accomplish, what we as americans can accomplish if we have the right leadership.

and we have somebody that knows what they're doing. particularly, like say having watched him the last decade work with issues that affect the international stage, he feels good about what he can do for america. that's why he's so positive. >> he's lucky to have you as a supporter, senator risch. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. thank you, wolf. up next, what is holliday doing today to get -- hillary clinton doing today to get the last-minute voters to support her? we're going live to manchester. plus, the republican candidates with governor on their resume are working up to the last minute for a strong finish tonight. who will gain momentum in south carolina? ♪ we stop arthritis pain, so you don't have to stop.

because you believe in go. onward. today's the day. carpe diem. tylenol® 8hr arthritis pain has two layers of pain relief. the first is fast. the second lasts all day. we give you your day back. what you do with it is up to you. tylenol®.

perfect driving record. >>perfect. no tickets. no accidents... >>that is until one of you clips a food truck, ruining your perfect record. >>yup... now, you would think your insurance company would cut you some slack, right? >>no. your insurance rates go through the roof. your perfect record doesn't get you anything. >>anything. perfect! for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. and if you do have an accident, our claim centers are available to assist you 24/7.

for a free quote, call liberty mutual at switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509 call today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. in the past, new hampshire has been a friend to both democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton and her husband, the former

president of the united states, bill clinton. but this primary could be different. right now, hillary clinton is trailing her opponent in almost all of the polls. that opponent being bernie sanders. in an effort to close the gap, the former secretary of state made appearances at four polling stations, shaking hands and taking that voters. our senior political correspondent brianna keilar has more. what are the expectations for bernie sanders and hillary clinton tonight? >> reporter: wolf, if you talk to people in the sanders camp and the clinton camp, they're all expecting that bernie sanders is going to pull out a win. you look at the polls and see why. our latest poll has him up almost 30 points over hillary clinton. so the question really, i think, for clinton is can she narrow that gap at all. a side from the outcome tonight which would be a huge upset if hillary clinton were to win, there's also this issue about what kind of democratic voters are going for bernie sanders versus hillary clinton. in iowa, we saw young people

going for bernie sanders that included young women. and we started to see this split, this generational divide between younger democratic or democratic-leaning women and older democratic or democratic-leaning women. this has erupted very much here between iowa and new hampshire, especially with comments over the weekend from gloria steinem and madeleine albright really questioning in a way that a lot of young women found to be insulting why they would go for bernie sanders over hillary clinton. i tell you, walking around here in new hampshire, this is what you hear a lot of young women talking about. so it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the primaries today. >> yeah, bernie sanders really did well with not just younger women, a lot of younger people in the iowa caucuses. you know, he did amazingly well, especially for a 74-year-old. until recently, largely unknown politician. he's been doing amazing in iowa and in new hampshire. the argument is he's from neighboring vermont.

almost this is like a home state for him. hillary clinton is very well known there, as well. >> reporter: that's right. there's no doubt that his being from vermont plays into how he is doing here in the polls. and you can't really separate that variable from really just how well he is doing regardless of whether or not he comes from next door. but this is a state, wolf, exactly right. this has been very important to hillary clinton, and this is probably part of the reason why looking at this sort of lopsided race here, that it stings so much for hillary clinton and for the clinton campaign. she pulled out a key win here in 2008. also back in 1992, her husband came here -- came in second place here in new hampshire, labeling himself the comeback kid. it really helped turn around his presidential campaign, as he was mired in controversy. so this is a place that's very near and dear to their heart. and so at this point to be feeling a little unwelcome compared to bernie sanders, you know, that's something that

stings. >> brianna keilar, thank you very much, reporting from new hampshire. ahead, what are hillary clinton's expectations for tonight's results? we'll ask her campaign's press secretary standing by live. that and more coming up. we needed 30 new hires for our call center. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. (announcer) need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 100 of the web's leading job boards

with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. (announcer) over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. and now you can use ziprecruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5

big day, new hampshire. take a look. these are live pictures coming in from the red arrow diner in manchester. we're told some of the presidential candidates may be

showing up including ted cruz. that's what they do. they go around to polling places, diners, other locations, trying to get the vote out as much as they possibly can. democratic presidential candidates and republican presidential candidates, a lot of media in those diners, as well. the food looks yummy. a lot of undecided voters in new hampshire by all accounts. as we saw in iowa last week, a handful of voters could make the difference between coming in first place or second place. when democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton was asked what she would tell people who are still trying to make up their minds, she said this -- >> i know that there are still so many people who are barrage ed -- [ inaudible ] we're going to make real progress. >> brian fallon is press secretary for the hillary clinton campaign. he's joining us live from

manchester. brian, thank you very much for joining us. so what are your expectations for tonight? >> we know we have an uphill climb today in new hampshire. we've spent the last week here campaigning wall to wall. we've had some high-energy events the last few days. she's really been taking tooninto things in a retail-style. she's been going door to door with an institution here in manchester. over the weekend, yesterday, she was in one of the local restaurants for breakfast with president clinton. and this morning as you showed, she's been visiting the polling sites including ward 10 in manchester. she's meeting voters, and we're doing everything we can to mobilize her supporters in these final hours. there's no question that the favorite today is senator sanders. >> what did she mean when she said yesterday she was going to be taking stock of her campaign after new hampshire? what did she mean boy that?

>> as important as the first four early states are, keep in mind that they represent just 4% of the overall delegates at stake in the nominating contest. this will be in the final analysis a quest to reach that magic number for delegates to clinch the nomination. and so naturally, you know, as we go through february and look ahead to the march states that will be voting, you have big clumps. states will be voting on super tuesday. another round in mid moench -- mid-march. by the end of march, some 60% of delegates will be awarded. some of the states, the make-up of the states is quite different from what we're seeing in these first two states, iowa and new hampshire. you'll see much more diverse electorates in terms of the democratic universe in those march states. naturally we'll be staffing up in those states. and yeah, i think you'll hear secretary clinton talk about the issues that are of salience to the voters in those states.

it's a natural opportunity to look at our strategy as we move into the march states which is an important part of this calend calendar. >> a huge potential wild card as you know, the former new york city mayor, michael bloomberg, publicly said yesterday he's seriously considering running for president as a third-party independent candidate. earlier, donald trump said he would be welcome to do so. what's the reaction been from the hillary clinton campaign? >> well, we haven't had too much of a reaction to that. you know, we'll let the mayor go through his own deliberation on that. and for our part, we're focused on our own campaign. you know, when the rumors were first floated, the way that i had interpreted the reports was that he was really looking at a potential entrance into the contest if, for instance, the republicans nominated someone like donald trump. and on our side, if the democrats chose to nominate bernie sanders. we're obviously hoping to prevent him from having to make that decision based on winning

the nomination ourselves on the democratic side. >> what i've heard from some people close to the former new york city mayor is, yes, he is certainly very seriously going to cancer rconsider run auto -- to consider running, but he's disenchanted by hillary clinton, what he would regard lack of performance so far, the success of bernie sanders, he's been upset by that, and that's intriguing to him. he also doesn't like the position she took opposing charter schools. he's very passionate about the benefits of charter schools, as you know. what's your reaction to that? >> again, i'll let the mayor make his own decision and if through his own process to get to that decision. for our part, we have the makings, we think, of a winning coalition, not just to clinch the nomination on the democratic side but also to win a general election. i think that voters that tune into this race the next several months of the nominating schedule will come to realize that hillary clinton is the one candidate in this race on either

side that can protect the gains we've made under president obama, prevent the republicans from trying to repeal the affordable care act, dodd-frank financial reform, turn back his executive actions on immigration. she's the one who can hold the line on those important milestones we've achieved under president obama and also take them further. just to take an example on the issue of immigration. she's said she wants to go further to protect more of those parents of dreamers, for instance, from deportation. and on issues of gun violence, she has a track record and is committed to the cause of try to enact common sense gun reforms that the republicans have blocked president obama from seeing through. i think those are some of the issues we'll be talking about as we look ahead into the march states where the electorates like i said are a little bit more diverse than the iowa and new hampshire electorates. and these are issues that will be top of mind, and they're issues that hillary clinton has a strong record on. >> and on the issue of guns and immigration, she and michael bloomberg, their positions are very, very similar, indeed.

i guess the point is some of bloomberg's friends were saying they're worried she might be vulnerable to a republican in a general election. that's why he's seriously thinking about it. going make up his mind presumably the first week in march. we'll see what he decides. thank you very much for joining us. >> we'll be ready for those republicans. they've been coming at her and haven't gotten her to back down yesterday, wolf. it's not going to happen. >> brian fallon, press secretary for hillary clinton's campaign. >> thanks. coming up, assessing the terror. the u.s. intelligence community calling the threat the greatest the u.s. has ever seen and expects a possible isis attack this year. we'll have more on this latest assessment and it's very dire, coming up next.

want to survive a crazy busy day? sfx: cell phone chimes start with a positive attitude... and positively radiant skin. aveeno® positively radiant moisturizer... with active naturals® soy. aveeno® naturally beautiful results®. i accept i do a shorter i set these days.22. i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. but i won't play anything less than my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'm going for it. eliquis. eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus it had significantly less major bleeding than warfarin... eliquis had both... that's what i wanted to hear. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily...

...and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i accept i don't play ...quite like i used to. but i'm still bringing my best. and going for eliquis. reduced risk of stroke plus less major bleeding. ask your doctor... ...if switching... ...to eliquis is right for you.

you premium like clockwork. month after month. year after year. then one night, you hydroplane into a ditch. yeah... surprise... your insurance company tells you to pay up again. why pay for insurance if you have to pay even more for using it? if you have liberty mutual deductible fund™, you could pay no deductible at all. sign up to immediately lower your deductible by $100. and keep lowering it $100 annually, until it's gone.

then continue to earn that $100 every year. there's no limit to how much you can earn and this savings applies to every vehicle on your policy. call to learn more. switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

we're following breaking news. a very, very sobering assessment from the head of the u.s. intelligence community in the united states who says isis will almost certainly attempt direct attacks on the u.s. homeland and in europe sometime this year. here's more of the warning from james clapper, the director of national intelligence. >> violent extremist groups, members and safe havens than at any time in history. the rate of foreign fighters traveling to the conflict zones in syria and iraq in the past few years is without precedent. at least 38,200 foreign fighters including at least 6,900 from western countries have traveled to syria from at least 120 countries since the beginning of the conflict in 2012. >> i'd like to bring in our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto, here with me. this was a very, very sober,

candid assessment of the threats. he says isis clearly is the most terror threat to the united states right now. >> he did not pull any punches here. james clapper, he's a direct guy. he's a straight talker, and he was blunt here with a sobering assessment. he says that isis is active in eight countries and counting. and that there are more terrorist safe havens in the world than ever before. so he's talking about the yemens of the world, libya, syria, which give groups, particularly isis, a place to operate. what's happening with isis is isis is attracting other existing groups. boko haram, for instance, in the middle of africa, they believe will pledge allegiance to isis soon. that expands their network and capability. he reiterated a warning that -- of course of interest to our viewers that isis intends to attack on u.s. soil in the year 2016. >> and he said something that will have significant political ramifications. he said isis is deliberately planting terrorists among refugees seeking to come to the

united states and to go to europe in order to plot terror attacks. >> he was speaking mostly about planting refugees and this enormous flow of refugees into europe. he made the point that they're very good at making safe passport so they could travel into countries ostensibly as someone who they are not. it is a risk that u.s. law enforcement is also aware of here. you have two very long and relatively porous borders in mexico and in canada. so it's something they're concerned about being replicated here as they're seeing in greater numbers in europe now. >> the director of the defense intelligence agency was also very sober, very candid, saying forget about the notion that mosul, the second largest city in iraq, is going to be liberated any time this year by the iraqi military or others. he was very blunt on that. >> no question. and keep in mind, people were talking about there in 2015. as early as last spring, you had iraqi leaders saying, well, this is an operation we'll attempt.

and leaders saying we're not ready. you got through 2015. now in 2016, there was hope, still hear it from iraqi forces. the feel is that iraqi forces aren't ready yet. keep in mind, u.s. forces are going to be present in that assault, as well, possibly close to the front lines. this is a recommendation you've heard from the joint chiefs, et cetera, forward deployed advisers risking not just for -- risky not just for iraqi forces but u.s. forces. >> and at one point two million people. that's been for a years and a hugely, hugely embarrassing thing to the iraqi government and their partners that isis still controls that city in iraq. >> no question, second largest city in iraq. and the operation there, we saw how difficult the operation was to retake ramadi. pretty large town. ain't city by mosul dimensions. imagine the same, an order of magnitude bigger. >> and the assessment is they still have a lot of money. this is the richest terror organization ever according to u.s. intelligence from the oil, from the gold, from the money they've stolen from banks. simply -- they have a lot of cash still at hand despite

setbacks recently. a sober assessment from the head of u.s. intelligence. jim sciutto, thank you very much. the political ramifications could be very significant in this campaign here in the united states. coming up, we'll get back to the battle for new hampshire. now underway. people are voting, the candidates have been on the campaign trail all morning. they're trying to get last-minute votes. after the break, we'll talk about what the jeb bush campaign is feeling as voters head to the polls. stay with us. actually be exactly what i am.

i got to hang a picture. it may not seem like much, but to that resident it was the best thing in the world. it's amazing to me because it takes me seconds. but yet, when i go into the apartment, i'm there for half an hour. it is not just hanging a picture, it is conversing, it is being a friend. there aren't old people there. there are actually young people with old clothing on.

a few hours away from the polls closing in new hampshire. live pictures from hudson, new hampshire. over there, people lining up to vote. the former florida governor, jeb bush, and governors john kasich and chris christie have been showcasing their work experience on the campaign trail. earlier today, jeb bush released a video on twitter highlighting some of his accomplishments as the florida governor. watch this.

>> i know how to do this because during the time that i was governor, we turned the systems upside down that weren't working. 1.3 million new jobs were created. we cut taxes every year. >> talk about that and more with our correspondent, athena jones. she's in new hampshire for us. how is the bush camp feeling today? this is really important how well he does. >> reporter: it certainly is, wolf. they say they feel good. governor bush was out stomping at a couple of precincts today. i think you saw video of him in bedford, new hampshire, earlier this morning. he said he's feeling good. that's exactly what he told me last night after his last pitch to new hampshire voters over in portsmouth. bush campaign officials say there were a bunch of people packing headquarters at 5:00 a.m. this morning, fueling up on dunkin donuts, ready to get the vote out. they say they have the biggest ground game of any other republican in this race. in this state, they've knocked on 100,000 doors.

bush has made more than 100 stops in the state. they're hoping that the last late deciders will break for them and that the people who already were bush supporters are going to get to the polls today. >> we thought that really -- saw bitter exchanges yesterday between jeb bush and donald trump. so how that playing out there just from the conversations you've had with republican voters in new hampshire? >> reporter: it's interesting because if you go to bush events, especially the last several days, we're seeing a lot more enthusiasm, energy, and a more confident governor bush. a lot of the voters at these events have been responding well when he brings up taking it to trump. when he touts the fact that in his view he's the only -- one of the republican candidates who's really tried to challenge trump, whether it's on imminent domain at the debate or even just on how he talks about people, how he talks about women and latinos and muslims, immigrants and the disabled in general. so he's been touting the fact that he's taking it to trump.

i've got to tell you, we talk to bush campaign officials. they are talking about two themes. one, they believe bush has the momentum coming out of the strong debate performance on saturday night. then on the other side, they're saying, look, there's been a lot of talk about the fact that tonight is going whittle the gop field. they're telling the argument that it's not going to win on the field. that the space between second, third, fourth, and fifth might actually end up being very tight. and that the same people who you're seeing compete in new hampshire are going to all move to south carolina. they're making two themes there, i'm sure they probably think that some of the donors, bush donors are listening to the argument and agree with this argument. that this race is not going to be quite as decisive as people may have thought heading in right after iowa. wolf? >> one of the rods is -- the advantages that bush has over kasich or christie, his campaign and the super pac that supports them, they have a lot more money, right? >> reporter: that's exactly one

of the arguments that they're making repeatedly to me. i've talked to several bush campaign officials who make the argument that when it comes to kasich or christie, even if they are able to finish ahead of bush, that doesn't necessarily help them in the next stop in south carolina. they are pointing repeatedly to their dwindling finances, and sure they could raise money off of a strong finish here, but they believe that bush is the best situated certainly among the governors to compete well and strongly in south carolina. so that's another issue being raised. interesting to see the arguments. on one side, bush has momentum. we're cautiously optimistic he'll finish strong. on the other side, just in case he doesn't, he's still going to be best positioned certainly when it comes to the governors moving to the next state. wolf? >> athena jones reporting. thank you. just ahead, the power of the independent voters in new hampshire. we'll take a closer look at the impact of the independent voter, what's at stake for the candidates, and our political panel.

.

all right, just moments ago, we heard ted cruz at a diner talking about donald trump. let's play the clip. >> what's your reaction to cruz -- donald trump said at his rally last night? >> listen, nothing donald says surprises anyone. he didn't like that he lost in iowa. and his response often is to simply yell and insult and engage in profanity. my approach is not to respond in kind. from the beginning of the campaign when he and others have chosen to insult, chosen to go to the gutter, chosen to go to the mud, i don't respond in

kind. issues. g to stay focused on the >> there's ted cruz. you heard what he said. let's bring in a democratic strategist, former gore campaign national spokesman, former senior adviser to hillary clinton's 2008 campaign. also joining us, the chief political correspondent for usa radio network. a trump supporter. and s.e. cupp, our cnn political commentator. let's get your reaction, scottie, to what we just heard, ted cruz talking about donald trump. >> your typical passive aggressive answer of i'm not going to really spend but i am going to respond. that's kind of how ted cruz has continued to dose entire campaign. when you actually listen to what he says, wolf, he digs right back at donald trump. at this point, the whole idea he's a sore loser for idea is not really the line i'd be playing considering new hampshire is just a few hours away from counting those votes and you don't want to make that victory lap any more loud than it might be if donald trump is

the winner. >> s.e., it's gotten bitter out there between several of these candidates. i guess in recent days the acrimony between cruz and trump has been restrained but i suspect leading up to south carolina, it's going to be more intense. what do you think? >> yeah, the stakes coming out of new hampshire are high for both of those candidates. cruz on the one hand needs to prove to voters that he's not just cruz country iowa, that he can play in other places. and trump needs to prove he can get a "w" on the board. that's his brand, his brand is winning. if he doesn't -- he didn't win in iowa. if he doesn't have a very strong win in new hampshire, not just eking out a victory, i think, you know, going into south carolina, where it's much more moderate territory for both democrats and republicans, trump's going to have a tough case to make that he's a national candidate so there's a lot on the line tonight for all of these candidates really. >> i want to get back, doug,

quickly, to the breaking news this hour. the top u.s. intelligence officials testifying up on capitol hill, saying it's likely there will be isis attempted terror attacks on the united states this year, and it's a certainty, they say, that isis is trying to plant terrorists among refugees coming to the united states or going to europe. that's going to have political ramifications in the race for the white house. what's your assessment? >> i agree, i think it will, and i think as far as people are looking for candidates with strong steady hand on national security, hillary clinton's head and shoulders above the rest. i think she knows the most about these issues. has had her -- been at the table, working on them and protecting the country as secretary of state. and i think it will definitely bring those foreign policy issues and national security issues to the forefront of a lot of voter's minds.

you've heard a lot of bluster on the other side but i don't think you've got anybody else with a serious sort of stud steady hand and experience in that area. >> s.e., you know donald trump and maybe some of the other republican candidates. they're going to jump all over this and say look, you just heard from james clapper, the director of national intelligence, say isis is putting terrorists among the refugees seeking asylum of refuge here in the united states, they're going to play that up. >> yes, two things, this is terrible news for bernie sanders who's already had a rough go of it on foreign policy. it's great news for hillary clinton, bad news for the country. yes, this sort of affirms the donald trump/ben carson anti-refugee talk that we'll heard over the past few months, and i think for a lot of voter, when trump says we're not going to let any refugees in, we're going to ban all muslims from coming in, while even though

those are terrible policy proposals and terrible ideas, i think a lot of voters are going to hear that and think, okay, finally someone's going to do something about this unstoppable wave of terrorism, where for the past, you know, seven, eight years, democrats have dropped the ball on this, didn't see it coming. >> as we know, hillary clinton won just by a tiny razor thin margin in the iowa democratic caucuses. all the polls show bernie sanders is way ahead in new hampshire right now. what happened to hillary clinton, why isn't she doing better, because the anticipation six months ago is she would cruise to this, especially in the face of an opposition force like bernie sanders? >> uh-huh, i don't know that folks who follow democrat politics closely would expect anybody to cruise. we've got a diverse party with lots of opinions and people are very adamant about making their opinions known, and particularly

in these early states, you don't earn people's votes easy. i certainly know those working with her haven't taken these early states for granted. the way the system's set up, it can go on for a while as you gather those delegates that you need. so i don't know about those -- i think the expectation's been overblown. she's a good candidate when she gets into a real fight like this for the hearts minds of the electorate and think you'll see her continue to improve and be a stronger and stronger candidate as it goes. >> very quickly, s.e., are you surprised how tough of a ride she's had so far? >> i think she's surprised and i think you're starting to see how angry she is that certain constituents, young people, women, for example, are not just falling lock step behind her and they're going to bernie sanders. she's taken to some pretty desperate tactics, calling him sexist and having bill clinton

do the same. i think she's surprised she's not doing any better than she is. >> that's it for me, thanks very much for watching. i'll be back in "the situation room," 5:00 p.m. eastern, for our special coverage of the new hampshire primary. hampshire primary. the news continues right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com all right, here we go, top of the hour. on this special first of the nation primary tuesday. i'm brooke baldwin live in new hampshire. primary day in america, first primary in the nation. voters are at the polls. they're deciding who will walk away with big prizes here. there are no more rallies, no more town halls. it is time for the shaking of hands, pouring of coffee or if you're john kasich, the dinner, topping someone's coffee off this morning. doing what elections are known