cnn will be broadcasting tomorrow night's presidential debate between bernie sanders and hillary clinton in wisconsin 9:00. that's it for us tonight. i'll see you back here on friday night. good evening. thanks for joining us. aftershocks from last night's crushing victories for bernie sanders and donald trump who just wrapped up a rally in the next big state for him to try and conquer, south carolina. two republicans gone today. another badly wounded. a long shot on the rise. sanders riding high. clinton regrouping. another high-stakes debate tomorrow. very high stakes week ahead for democrats in nevada and south carolina. donald trump is taking a victory lap. >> look at all these people standing. this place is unbelievable. the place is massive. look at all these people. i love you, too. look at this.

i love you. these people. my whole life i take money, right? i make money. we grab money. money, money. i love money. right? no, it's true. and we get greedy and more and more. and then all of a sudden it's like, i say, no, i don't want it. i want to do something else. i want to be greedy, but i want to be greedy for the united states. >> jim acosta is at the trump rally in south carolina. so just wrapping up. we heard a little bit of his speech and interaction with the crowd. overall, what was the tone after the big new hampshire win? >> it was jubilant. i'd say the tone was, you know, this was vintage donald trump. he knows how to take a victory lap.

as you just showed, he took a victory lap on the stage behind me as he was savoring this landslide win he got last night in the new hampshire primary. trump also tipped his hat to carly fiorina. chris christie dropped out of the race today. even though trump has been attacked by nearly all of his rivals today, he rarely talked about his opponents today. just a couple of lines on jeb bush. he spent time sounding like a general election candidate, really going after hillary clinton as somebody who can't beat bernie sanders. he had some choice words for the senator from vermont. here's what he had to say. >> she's got to get through this wacky socialist knew bernie. i listened -- no, no, last night, last night before i made my speech i said i don't want to make it while he's making it. i said let him go. he went on forever. he wants to give the country away.

>> just how confident is donald trump sounding tonight? he is saying if he's the republican nominee, he could go on and win states like michigan and new york. those are big democratic states in the presidential cycles. for a republican to do that, that would be a big feat. donald trump is feeling confident. >> he's been on the ground there before even when he got snowed out of new hampshire. >> that's right. and a lot of people were slamming donald trump saying, how can you be snowed out of new hampshire and spend time in south carolina just days before the new hampshire primary? i talked to the campaign manager for donald trump just before donald trump came out here. and they are planning to stick with this strategy of holding big rallies. tight venues up and down the campaign calendar. if they have to bounce out of the state that's in contention at the moment, they'll do that. he believes donald trump has a

major advantage right now over the other contenders in the field. when the other candidates were battling for iowa, battling for new hampshire, donald trump was traveling out of those states to set the table for what was coming down the calendar. lewandowski said they have volunteers and staff members in 20 states. he won't be solely in south carolina. he'll be in louisiana and florida the next two days. he was noting just a few minutes ooh super tuesday is less than three weeks away. and they feel uniquely positioned for that battle coming up. >> jim, thanks very much. here with john king at the magic wall. let's look at south carolina first for the republicans. >> is the terrain in south carolina as hospitable as it was for donald trump in new hampshire? we have no results yet here. let's go back to 2012 when newt gingrich won this state big. mitt romney on the coast. mitt romney in the middle, in the state capital. >> all gingrich. >> he ran it up.

a more traditional race in 2008, john mccain, your establishment candidate winning a big swath of the state. mike huckabee the evangelical candidate winning a huge swath. fred thompson made the difference. so how does that translate this year? this is a heavyweight match. trump and cruz, no mistakes. you win south carolina you get the springboard into the south march 1st. the heavier the highlight, the more evangelicals. this should be cruz country. remember in iowa, donald trump has adapted in every state and built a new coalition. he did dig into the evangelical support and then won the republicans from mccain country. so donald trump has proven from state to state in new hampshire last night, he won some ron paul voters. he's proven he can adapt. you see this nasty battle between cruz and trump because they understand this state is their springboard into the south. >> what about for the establishment? >> this is fascinating.

kasich said today i'm not going to win south carolina. he's trying to get people who care about balanced budget who may be more passionate conservatives and get to the midwest. but the grudge match could be settled right here. they'd like to win and come in strong second if they don't win. rubio and bush understand probably only one of them survives, south carolina. they'll be fighting just as they did in new hampshire and iowa. they'll be fighting for the same turf with donald trump. trump proved in iowa he can compete on these grounds. as this one plays out, cruz and trump will go at each other. bush and rubio will go at each other. it will be interesting if it spills over. but the florida grudge match will be settled in here. >> jeb bush will be campaign with his brother, the former president george w. bush. what about on the democratic side. >> in 2000, mccain won new hampshire and came into south carolina with a lot of momentum and george w. bush won the nomination. the republicans now go to south carolina.

the democrats go next to nevada and they wait for south carolina. in this state, hillary clinton wants to do what she did in 2008. number one, continue to dominate the white vote against then senator obama, clinton dominated a majority of the white vote. these are liberals going to caucus. bernie sanders has a chance. don't think just because hillary clinton has been here before bernie sanders doesn't have a chance. the question is can bernie sanders start to make inroads with traditional african-american traditional democratic constituents. 15% of the vote or more will be african-american. senator obama carried it eight years ago. 15% or more will be latino. secretary clinton, then senator clinton carried it by a big margin. this is bernie sanders first big test. can he make inroads with democratic constituencies and it's a caucus, so if liberals turn out, don't rule out a sanders surprise in nevada. >> john, fascinating stuff. a quick reminder of where things stand.

look at the republicans who are still in the running including former virginia governor jim gilmore, chris christie and carly fiorina are out. both suspended their campaigns today. at a point after which it gets more and more expensive to keep going. some campaigns run cheaper than others. donald trump spent about $34 campaign dollars for every vote he got. ted cruz spent less in ham hal. at the top of the scale, jeb bush shelled out more than $900 per ballot. gloria borger, nia mallika henderson, kevin madden, former republican congressman mike rodgers, also chairman of the house intelligence committee and cnn political commentator, donna brazile. you are all rested from last night? donald trump not only heading into south carolina with a huge win but the establishment candidates at this point are doing his work for him.

>> they have to still attack each other and off a couple of them before they get to donald trump. and this is what has republican donors so worried because they thought that after last night they were just going to be able to figure out who was going to be in that lane and support him and start writing their checks and that would be -- and they don't know now. so, you know, you have to see rubio has to win somewhere. and he hasn't. cruz has won one. trump has won one. and then now, we're looking at south carolina. and somebody -- if somebody else wins that, then it's still -- >> the people who start this spin, they need to get out of washington more. last week it was rubio is going to be the guy. then the debate and he collapsed. the establishment thought this is where we start the three-way race between cruz, trump and rubio. then rubio had the debate he'd like to forget.

and there's another one saturday night which could be life or death for rubio. donald trump got what he wants. high can win again with somewhere in the 30s. this is a great line from a republican. i can't use his name but he said this today. how is this going to sort itself out? he said to hell if i know n then, if you watch a high-speed five-car collision as it happens, it's hard to know who walks away injury free and who dies and who gets sent to the hospital. >> if you talk about it last night, you could have a situation where it's trump and cruz and trump becomes the establishment candidate because of so many establishments disliking cruz. >> that's right. he's on the air down there. just at that event. seems like a lot of people were there. you can see from the people who were there, they were wearing nra caps. these look like working class folks. some had on collared shirts and probably khakis and penny loafers. he's able to get a broad swath

of republicans, at least that was the case in new hampshire. he's trying to do that in south carolina. already going after cruz in that very hard-hitting ad. thinking he can peel off a little bit of everything. evangelicals off of ted cruz and establishment folks. seems like such a force. they haven't been able to deal with. >> it is fascinating how quickly things can crumble for these candidates. marco rubio coming out of iowa had so much momentum. huge rallies. 700, 800 people the first morning in new hampshire. one bad debate performance -- >> it's a volatile environment as we've seen in a long time. what's driving a lot of these other candidates to stay in the race like jeb bush, like john kasich is that even after a moment like that where you can see somebody fall, just as quickly you can rise. so what jeb bush is looking to do is go down in success is deny marco rubio yet another win and continue to position himself as somebody who, because he has the

resources and better organization across all these multiple states you'll be competing in, that's his chance to -- two weeks ago we were saying jeb bush is out. now he looks like the presumptive establishment pick. >> do you -- it could be do or die for bush or rubio in south carolina, out of south carolina. >> i think they get one more round of it mainly because of the money they've been able to put together. so they can still spin this coming out of south carolina. i think you'll see what we're going to see for the first time is donald trump running something that looks like a real campaign. he's going occupy tv, attacking his opponent. he's spent some money on organization that he hadn't really done, not even in new hampshire. he hasn't really spent money on organization. you can see in the last few weeks he's spent money organizing people to get them to the polls. that has the semblance of a real campaign. rubio has to stand up and say i am not too young to be

president. and i'm going to prove it in south carolina. bush has to take rubio down. that's his campaign mark. kasich is probably playing the long-term ball for later. you'll see that happen in south carolina. everybody is playing for a different game. obviously you'd like to win. but i don't think a lot of these candidates are playing to win. they are playing to position themselves for what happens in march. >> cruz knows mistakes. he's trying to peel trump's skin off. the action figure doll and all. cruz understands mistakes and needs that momentum. cruz blinked. he had a chance to confront trump. and he blinked and backed away. he gets that chance again saturday night understanding how important -- >> cruz has been working a long time in south carolina. he's been -- >> donna, on the democratic side -- >> i just -- >> we would love to -- >> thank you. i want to congratulate donald trump and bernie sanders because, of course, they won big last night. and we should congratulate them.

but ted cruz has really been running a very traditional grassroots campaign. he has people on -- he had people on the ground prior to the iowa caucuses, and they know what they are doing. i want to give ted cruz a slight advantage because he's on the ground and we all know in the last closing days of any campaign you can make up 5% or 6%. >> he's very talented. >> and well resourced. >> and funded. >> millions of dollars in the bank. >> on the democratic side, i woke up to a lot of turbulence this morning. i've been in church all day praying. but bernie sanders has real momentum. i believe they raised $5 million, $6 million on the internet overnight. they have organizers on all of the key super tuesday states. they've been on the ground for more than 40 days in south carolina. and this is a caution to all of my friends in the clinton campaign. they are going to compete for the black vote. everybody need to get over it. they will compete for the latino

vote, and i believe that he will come away with substantial delegates in both states based on the fact he's going to compete and run very hard. >> we're going to talk more about the democrats when we continue. there's a lot more to talk about over the next two live hours of the program including john kasich. talking to jamie gangel and his warning to anyone who thinks waging a positive campaign somehow makes him a pushover. >> well, i'm not going to sit there and be a marshmallow or some kind of a pin cushion, people just pound me. where i come from, the blue collar town that i come from, if you came in and beat our football team we just broke all the windows on our bus. ll kinds. and the best place to find the job that's right for you ♪ is on the world's number-one job site. indeed. how the world works. i missed a payment. aw, shoot. shoot! this is bad. no! we're good!

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john kasich arrived today in south carolina like a candidate on the rise. money which was drying up began pouring in. pundits began reassessing. cameras which had been scarce at times began pointing his way. he's promising to be as sunny on the campaign trail as the spotlight he finds himself in. in this interview with jamie gangel, that promise is not unconditional. watch. >> you said fasten your seat belt, and you have exceeded expectations. but now the pressure is on. >> i don't have any more -- >> come pop you're in south carolina now. >> look, pressure is a mom that's got three kids and a husband walked out the door. pressure is not, you know, what's i'm doing. you know, as long as i do what i think i need to do, whatever the outcome is, i'll be fine with. people were on our bus and

interviewing me and looking at us for months and they like to come on the bus, it's like zen. why is everybody so calm? so, look, life is short. how do i seem now? i'm calm and happy and grounded. and centered. see, the thing is when the big lights come on -- >> you keep using that word, centered. why? >> you don't want to lose yourself in this. it's probably fool's gold. all of a sudden you go from, you know, you are the governor of ohio, and that's a big deal. then you have 50 cameras on you. and you can -- you just can't be star struck with that because it's fleeting. >> jeb bush went on the air this morning and said john kasich has nothing in south carolina. they are saying you have no money, no ground game. can you compete here? >> well, yeah, we're going to compete here. we don't expect to win here. but on the other hand, if you look at the person that says

that, they spent like well over $100 million and got like nothing. you know, so i'm not worried about what the other folks say. and this is not -- this is not the end of it for us in south carolina. we'll be moving through south carolina to other places. >> so you don't expect to win here? >> oh, no, no. >> some of these other states, the attack ads are already on the air. are you going to hit back? >> well, i'm not going to sit there and be a marshmallow or some kind of a pin cushion people just pound me. where i come from, the blue collar town i come from, if you came in and beat our football team, we just broke all the windows on your bus. that's just a joke, by the way. i'm not going to just sit there and let somebody pound on me. the money is coming. everybody wants to sit at the table. not everybody but my early reports are people who sat around and said i like kasich. he's smart, experienced.

he'd be a great president. but he's at 1% in the polls. so what am i going to do? now all of a sudden, they are like, how do i get a seat at the table? i think all these things will come over time. or they won't. i mean, either they will or they won't. >> when did john kasich get this zen? >> i've had it for a long time. >> you didn't always show it. >> back when you covered me in congress, you don't know how hard it is to be a congressman and have an impact. i was constantly fighting the establishment. you can't just walk around. now i'm an executive, running for president. now when i say things, i can get people to do things. back then i had to take a battering ram to knock down the walls of the city. >> reality check. donald trump came in -- >> really strong. >> number one, more than double your numbers. he has not hit you very hard.

but in the past you've called him a bully. you've said there's no -- >> i don't think i call him any names. >> you call him a bully. >> if i did that, i don't tomorrow because i try to -- i always try to stay on the issues. and what upset me about him in the beginning is trying to pick 11 1/2 million and shipping them across to mexico and dividing people. i don't like that. but he's calmed down actually. he's settled down. it's a long road. the thing -- >> but you think you can compete against him? >> over time, i sure do. what do you think i'd be doing down here. i would go home if i don't think i can compete. of course i can compete. in this 24/7 news cycle, the narrative changes like the flip. one minute you're dead. next minute you're alive. next minute you're dead. next minute you're alive. i am going to continue to enjoy

this road i'm on. how do you like that? whether you guys like it or not, i'm going to try to enjoy it. >> talk to me about having fun. you really did seem relaxed. i saw you playing basketball, preparing for a debate. i saw you have a snowball fight. that was a long snowball fight. that was not just -- >> i had to take care of some business there. >> i've also seen you bust some moves. in michigan -- >> i busted some moves, yeah. >> in michigan -- >> shut up and dance with me. i don't know if you've heard that song. >>. >> it is my daughter's favorite song and you know all the words. >> i don't know all the words but i like the music. the other one we're really enjoying is harrison's "here comes the sun." we love that song. and we kid each other and joke and we're always, you know, why did the skeleton not go to the party? because he had no body to go with. you can't be in this group and

have a thin skin because we come after you and we all get our turn in being in the pot. >> jamie gangel joins us. zen and politics don't often mix. >> especially in a presidential campaign. but john kasich, for now, is embracing zen. you saw the snowball fight. you hear him. you saw him -- how many presidential candidates are busting moves to "shut up and dance with me"? that's said, john kasich was raised in pittsburgh. and he wears the name scrappy as a badge of honor. so he says he is not hitting back now. he says if they come after him, he won't be a marshmallow. i would say this. we talk all the time about chris christie going full new jersey. john kasich is from the state next door from pittsburgh. he knows how to handle himself,

too. so let's wait and see what hatch happens. bernie sanders is trailing way behind hillary clinton when it comes to support among african-american voters. how is he trying to change that. and george w. bush on the campaign trail with his brother jeb. will the former president help or hurt jeb's cause? but if we want to keep the soda pop flowing we need fresh ideas! >>got it. we slow, we die. >>what about cashing out? no! i'm trying to build something here. >>how about using fedex ground for shipping? >>i don't need some kid telling me how to run a business! i've been doing this for 4 long months. >>fedex ground can help us save money and deliver fast to our customers. not bad, kid. you remind me of a younger me. >>aiden! the dog is eating your retainer again. let's take a short 5-minute recess. fedex ground is faster to more locations than ups ground.

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e one challenge bernie sanders will face going to south carolina as we talked about is connecting with african-american voters. in 2008, african-americans made up 55% of the democratic presidential primary electorate in south carolina. a poll from late january showed sanders with just 17% support among african-american voters in that state compared to clinton's 74%. in new york today, sanders met with al sharpton at the famous silvia's restaurant in harlem. joe johns joins me with more about that meeting. how did it go? >> bernie sanders also, by the way, did a recorded appearance on the late show with stephen colbert tonight and appeared on "the view."

today. this pivot is a challenge for both of these candidates because of demographics. african-american voters there with big influence. bernie sanders was looking for validators. he didn't just fly down to south carolina after his big win. he went to harlem to meet with reverend al sharpton. and sharpton wasn't exactly issuing any endorsements at this point. he's waiting to meet with hillary clinton. talking to someone today familiar with sharpton's thinking, he's apparently got some concerns about both candidates. >> hillary clinton obviously dominates in polls when it comes to african-american voters going to south carolina. what reservations are some of the voters in the polls showing about sanders? >> you've heard them before. they really continue to be these questions about what sanders can actually do. the things he's talked about on the campaign trail. my understanding is you have concerns out there in the community that while it all

sounds good, there's skepticism about whether or not sanders can actually deliver, and there are misgivings about hillary clinton, even though she polls very well with minorities to be honest of one of the questions is more about what bill clinton did when he was president than anything hillary clinton is promising. so the wounds haven't healed over the rhetoric from that divisive battle in 2008. bill clinton seen as going a little too far at times to put it mildly. also a signing of the welfare reform bill while president as well as the crime bill that led to higher rates of incarceration. bill clinton said he has regrets about that but the source says whether the question is whether the african-american community is going to say oops. we understand that you are sorry for all that and move on. all of this comes at a time when the democratic candidates are getting ready for the big debate in milwaukee tomorrow night.

hillary clinton looking to get more momentum and bernie sanders essentially just trying to expand on his gains in new hampshire. >> joe, thanks. the meeting between sharpton and sanders was initiated by ben jealous who is a sanders supporter. ben joins me now. also want to bring back gloria borger, john king and nia mallika henderson. ben, african-american supporters of hillary clinton are hitting senator sanders record. akeem jeffreys said that sanders has been missing in action on issues of importance to the african-american community and he's a new arrival to the dance at the twilight of his career. you are a supporter of his. how do you respond? >> i think it's really shocking in some ways. here's a man who in 19 -- early 1960s, a young man, went to jail fighting to desegregate housing in chicago.

one of the most violent places as far as resisting the desegregation of housing. very few white men did. my dad, a -- my white father was one of those few white men who went to jail for that. in 1988, he supports the jesse jackson campaign. one of the few leaders in vermont to endorse jesse jackson. and today he has the -- he's the only presidential candidate with racial justice platform. then when you look throughout his career, this is a guy who has talked courageously about the need for racial justice consistently and doesn't have a painful contradictions we see with clinton. >> there's an article in "the nation" very critical of secretary clinton and her husband, the former president, of what they have actually done for african-americans. sort of a rethink on that. i'm wondering, i mean, your support of sanders, when you

look, do you see things that hillary clinton has done that have been good for the african-american community? what went into your decision to support sanders? >> look, absolutely. she's done some very courageous things. the problem is it flips back and forth. so you start with the same chronology, she starts off with barry goldwater. fine. that was about her parents. you move on. and then she's a lawyer for the black panther party. then teams up with children's defense fund. all of a sudden pushing the super predator theory. a theory that said a child as early as age 6 months could be a sociopath beyond redemption and was never used to explain the actions of the white young men who shot up columbine but always used against urban black men caught up in drug wars and street crime and used that to push for mass incarceration. a lot of people in the '90s had bad judgment.

in 2008, seven democrats on stage, six of them say, of course, if we get rid of the crack powder disparity, we'll make it retroactive so all those mothers who are in prison. you saw tons of women rolled up in that. hillary clinton is the only one who said no. no, we won't do it retroactively just like this year. after six democratic governors helped abolish the death penalty, she is the only one who supports the death penalty. and that's on these racial justice issues, criminal justice is so central. and it's deeply interesting. >> ben, i want to bring in john and nia and gloria who have some questions. >> ben, one of the big issues coming up is the crime bill. clinton signing it. it was a bill that joe biden sponsored and that as you said hillary clinton kind of stumped for. but bernie sanders also voted for that bill as well. so i wonder how you square that contradiction?

criticizing hillary clinton for something that bernie sanders did as well. >> again, as i said, you can almost sort of set aside the '90s. everybody lost their mind. i was an activist out there campaigning against it. i questioned president clinton about it one on one and got a chance to meet with him when i was a student. a lot of members on that vote. the issue was 2008 and 2016. we can absolutely not criticize clinton for bills her husband pushed but we can say, how was it that you were the chair of the children's defense fund board and that you started to push the super predator theory? how is it that you were the only democrat on stage who would not give retroactive relief to all of those women who got prosecuted for crimes of using drugs and taken away from their children. why won't you let them go back to their kids, too. >> ben, we have to leave it there.

ben jealous. everyone else, stay with us. we'll be on tomorrow night followed immediately by the democratic debate in milwaukee. we'll be simulcasting it with pbs. join us at 8:00 and stick around for the debate and analysis after the debate as well. hillary clinton, bernie sanders, one victory apiece and many more battles ahead. gets under way at 9:00 eastern and we're on at 8:00. just ahead, jeb bush getting reinforcements on the campaign trail. george w. bush ramping up his role in a state he first won in 2004.

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and you? rubbery buttons. enter the x1 voice remote. now when someone says... show me funny movies. watch discovery. record this. voila. remotes, come out from the cushions, you are back. the x1 voice remote is here. after placing fourth in new hampshire, jeb bush hit the trail in south carolina since he beat expectations. the granite state, he's counting it as a win. his mother barbara bush helped him campaign in new hampshire. now another family member is lending a hand. here's tom foreman. >> this is president george w. bush. we live in troubled times with a military deployed around the world. we need a strong leader. >> reporter: no prizes for guessing who that is.

they hope upcoming appearances by his brother will rally folks. >> he's been incredibly supportive of me. i love him dearly. >> reporter: certainly the former president has long liked the idea of another bush white house. >> run, jeb. i think it would be a great president. >> reporter: long ago jeb was often seen as the son most wrapped up in politics, most likely to make a hard run for the white house. but his brother got there first and ever since, jeb bush has struggled to stand out. in the family portrait that already includes two chief executives. >> my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences. >> reporter: on the dicey question of whether it was a good idea to invade iraq, the younger bush only grudgingly admitted he would have not have made the same decision as his brother, knowing what we know now but explicitly separates himself from his fellow candidates on this point.

>> i am the only republican that was in office when he was in office, as president, that never disagreed with him. i'm not going to now. >> reporter: the former first lady came to help him campaign. >> because she loves me. i'm her favorite son, temporarily. >> reporter: but praise for george w. is never far behind. >> my brother has given me really good advice and most of it is to stick with it be patient. >> reporter: now on the campaign trail, the former president is soon expected to be close at hand. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> back with the panel now. let's turn to our reporters and analysts. john, do you think -- i guess the calculus is this helps him on the campaign trail, otherwise he wouldn't be there. >> if they didn't think he couldn't help and wouldn't be there. just like bill clinton for hillary clinton. after starting the campaign saying, i'm my own man. he needs him. there's a risk in this.

no question george w. bush is still popular with a lot of conservatives. notice question he saved his campaign in 2000 after getting thumped by new hampshire going down to south carolina in 2000 when he could still sell compassionate conservatism. the question is what is the bush brand? george w. bush is a good cam . a campaigner. like bill clinton, doesn't tell some voters that are looking for something new that this guy -- there's a brand that looked back on yesterday? that's a risk. clearly they needed to take it. >> george w. bush has a 77% approval rating in the republican party. i don't know what's it is in south carolina. i was looking for that but don't see it yet. we'll probably get a poll out on that tomorrow. but it is the dynamic of politics that people don't love this year. and hillary clinton has suffered from that to a degree.

and jeb has suffered from it, which is why his campaign bumper sticker is jeb! but not bush. suddenly his brother is down there. south carolina may be okay. not so much in a lot of other parts of the country. >> and part of it is the bush brand related to foreign policy and a strong military. that's something jeb bush is going to push down there. he's been running ads touting that he could be a commander in chief. and he's going to also try to attack john kasich over this as well for trying to cut the military brass and things like that. that's what they are trying to do. remind them of a strong leader. >> let's turn to our republican commentators. does it help him? >> the big risk there is at a time where you are seeing folks reject the idea of dynasties and legacies, that this is a reminder of that. what the bush campaign is making a calculation you can't run from your blood lines.

since you can't, why not take the best parts of it and try to reinforce it with seriousness and national security. so that's what they're going to try and do. they're going to try to re-emphasize that. >> i wonder if donald trump is going to try to attack george w. bush at this next debate because he's already attacked hum in the past. >> i think this was a good thing to do for this reason. george w. bush has an incredible connection with the united states military. i saw him in his last months in office go unannounced, not take the press, and go and sit in rooms with soldiers who have given a bunch to this country. they revere him. there's a joint defense base down there. the defense department only has 12 of them. one is in south carolina. 90,000-plus people who are -- would identify with him because of the way he treated the men and women who served in the military. there's a huge marine corps air station. i think it's the largest one in the country is in south

carolina. a navy depot there. lots of retired military. i think it was -- is this enough to stop and flip it around? i don't know. i think it's smart because he will connect with those -- >> and lindsey graham who endorsed jeb said to them, i won't do it unless you bring your brother. he is really important. >> we've got to take a quick break. more with our panel ahead. which way will south carolina go? it's up to the voters, some of whom haven't made up their minds. even if they are leaning toward one candidate or another. randi kaye sat down with a group of voters. can help me with frog protection? sure, we help with fraud protection. if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. you are saying "frog protection"? fraud. frog. fraud! i think we're on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection. get it at discover.com.

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digestive core.r so choose ultimate flora by renewlife. it has 30 billion probiotic cultures. feel lighter and more energized. ultimate flora. more power to your gut. with the new hampshire primary done and the clock ticking down to south carolina. time for that group of undecided voters to start thinking long and hard about who they'll choose. randi kaye watched the returns with some voters. rather with the south carolina primary vote just around the corner, these undecided voters know time is not on their side. >> are you feeling the pressure to decide? >> yes, i am. but i am leaning heavily toward hillary. >> between rubio and cruz. >> right now it's rubio, but i like kasich, too.

>> reporter: we invited these 65 undecided republican and democratic south carolina voters to watch the new hampshire primary results come in. some were inspired, like this woman who is now considering jeb bush. >> i think he's finally fighting back, and he's compassionate. i haven't seen any compassion out of any of the republican candidates at all. this republican voter is deciding between marco rubio and ted cruz. >> who do you think you line up the most with? >> i line up with politically trump the most but i can't vote for trump. >> reporter: this man likes trump's business background but isn't sold yet. >> what's holding you back? >> his attitude. he is a bully. he does say what he means. he rubs people the wrong way, and he needs to compromise. >> reporter: barbara johnson usually votes democratic, but not this year. she dislikes her options so much she's voting republican, if she can settle on a candidate.

>> when are you going to decide, barbara? >> i hope soon. >> reporter: you and the rest of this room. barbara likes rubio but is leaning more toward kasich. she's not the only one turning against rubio. >> who decided to vote against marco rubio after that debate? raise your hand. wow. a whole big group of you. nine. about nine of you. on the democratic side, this voter has taken bernie sanders off her list. but even so, she can't commit to hillary clinton. >> are you considering hillary clinton? >> yeah, i guess that's all we got, right, on the democratic side. >> reporter: what don't you like about hillary clinton? >> she just doesn't seem honest. she just seems like i can't trust her. she's so flip floppy. >> reporter: this law student is leaning sanders, even though he usually votes republican. >> my debt is kind of crazy. i feel something needs to be done about student loans because it's out of control. i'm going to be in debt forever.

>> reporter: with mart on o'malley out of the race this college student is now giving sanders a second look. she likes his stance on health care and education. >> i like his policies but i'm not sure they're practical and while i support them hypothetically, i'm not sure they'd be able to be enacted. >> reporter: not sure high can make it happen? >> exactly. >> did any of the undecided voters make up their minds? >> many of them. of our 65 undecided, 23 decided last night on a candidate. 10 went for bernie sanders. 5 for donald trump. and then since john kasich did so well in new hampshire, i asked did any of you decide on kasich. not a single person would commit to kasich. hillary clinton made some headway but there is still that issue of trust. one woman keeps hearing from hillary clinton a lot of obama's rhetoric.

his policies, his plans. she wants to hear something fresh and another woman shared her concern that hillary clinton won't be able to bring in the independents. she's not ready to commit. on the bright side, 23 people found their candidate last night. >> randi, thanks. coming up next hour, more on the republican campaign invasion that's on in south carolina. now fully under way. the candidates hoping to sway those undecided voters randi spoke with. and how the establishment is regrouping to fight donald trump and more.

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9:00 p.m. in washington. a whole new world on the campaign trail. next stop south carolina and nevada. hillary clinton is the favorite. now scrambling to regroup after new hampshire was lopsided. she even lost the women's vote. republicans are all chasing donald trump. all while two, dropped out. now a race like none we've ever seen before, frankly. it's about to get more interesting. let me start with jim acosta at the trump rally in pendleton, south carolina. jim? >> reporter: that's right. it is a figure of speech in politics. a candidate taking a victory lap on stage.