live from columbia, south carolina. again, a big day for the republican primary. cnn special coverage from washington, now begins. we're counting down to two crucial contests in two states. >> both the democrats and the republicans have a lot on the line. >> announcer: it's a whole new climate in the presidential campaign with the first contests in the south and the west, the candidates are turning up the heat. >> it's not enough just to be against thing. >> they're throwing everything at me, except the kitchen sink. >> ted cruz, i think he's an unstable person. >> you noticed how rattled donald gets? boy, he really -- he lost. >> he is a liar. >> announcer: right now, in the democratic race, it's nevada's choice. hillary clinton, planning to look like a front-runner again,

after her crushing loss to bernie sanders in new hampshire. it's the first battleground where minority voters could decide the winner. will they rally behind clinton and her her rebound? >> it's not whether you get knocked down that matters. it's whether you get back up! >> announcer: or will nevada feel the burn? >> a funny thing happened. the people became involved in the campaign. >> announcer: later tonight in the republican race -- it's south carolina's choice. donald trump resurgent after his landslide victory in new hampshire. >> all of these characters are going to give it up and we will make america great again. >> announcer: ted cruz hoping to thump trump as the race moves into the bible belt. >> if conservatives stand together, we will win the republican nomination. >> announcer: marco rubio, john kasich and jeb bush, all battling to be the mainstream alternative in a diverse state known for its military might,

and political brawls. >> donald trump. he has no clue. >> jeb bush has no foreign policy experience, period. >> i don't take crap from anybody. >> now, it's time for voters to have their say. >> south carolina, it's getting to be crunch time. >> it's on to nevada and beyond! >> announcer: it's a wild ride and it's just getting started. >> if you don't have a seat belt, go get one. >> announcer: nevada are and south carolina are choosing. the political landscape is changing, and both party's races are wide open, right now. two states two crucial contests in the race for the white house. look at this. live pictures from nevada where long lines of democrats are filing in to caucus sites across

the state. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from the cnn election center. iowa and new hampshire, they did their job in narrowing the presidential race leaving only eight candidates. democrats and republicans left standing. now we're counting down to when the doors closed and the caucusing kicks in in nevada. three months ago it looks like hillary clinton would win easily in this state. now her campaign is lowering expectations here as bernie sanders may very well, potentially, be on the verge of what would be a big upset. on the republican side, six hopefuls anxiously watching turnout in south carolina now. we're keeping a very close eye on all precinctses there. it could be a momentous night for donald trump and the palmetto state. things have gotten nasty between trump and cruz. a win in the bible belt would echo across the south. marco rubio also could be on the

rise in south carolina, while jeb bush, his entire campaign, may be hanging in the balance tonight. right now, out west. our correspondent are over at the headquarters at the caucus sites across nevada. jeff zeleny with the bernie sanders campaign. jeff, is this campaign, the bernie sanders campaign, pretty confident right now? >> reporter: well, wolf, they're confident compared to what they were a month or so ago. get ready for a potential split decision tonight. here is why -- these quirky rules of the nevada caucuses allow for the popular vote winner to be different from the person who wins the most delegates here. the sanders campaign is confident that they can likely win the popular vote. this pavilion you see behind me is where he'll be later on. last night more than 6,000 people here. they believe that the popular vote is on their side, but the clinton campaign here, wolf, has been organizing for months and believe the delegate vote could be on their side. reminiscent of 2008 pap split decision here as well. a sign the sanders campaign

believes they can go the distance here. one top advisor to the sanders campaign told me just a few minutes ago, wolf, that regardless of the outcome here, we are going to take this fight until june 7th. june 7th, of course, is the end of the road. the end of all the democratic primaries with the california primary. the sanders campaign believes a strong showing here this afternoon and tonight can propel them all the way forward until the end of this nominating fight. >> stand by. an to brianna keilar as hillary clinton campaign headquarters in nevada now. what are they saying own herb there, brianna? >> reporter: hi there, wolf. clinton campaign folks are mentally preparing for what could be a very good story line for brernie sanders coming out f nevada. whether a win or just bernie sanders doing very well tying things up with hillary clinton. a far cry from a month or so when clinton backers is scoffing at the idea sanders could do well here.

the clinton campaign confident they've had the organizational edge here, pulled out all the stops when it comes to surrogates, but with the iowa caucuses, not too far in the rearview mirror, they're worried the caucus format here in nevada favors sanders more than polls indicate and i should tell you, wolf, of all of the cafeterias and all the casinos in las vegas, hillary clinton and bernie sanders almost working into each other working the same one. arrival at the cafeteria was delayed because bernie sanders got there first to talk to employees. >> stand by as well, brianna. and now to reno, nevada. folks are lining up. we see them getting ready to go into the caucus site where you are. tell us what's happening. >> reporter: at this caucus site, the university of nevada-reno. there is a lot of energy, wolf, and i want you to take a look at the end of the line, which we can't even see right now. this is how many people have

lined up here an hour before all this opened, and it all just opened a few minutes ago. the people are already lining up out here. i'm going to have you actually walk with me, because this is the mid-range point. as you walk this way -- initial check-in is behind me over here. there's a line over there. but then after they check in they go all the way to the end of the line. and they're going to get a little exercise. as they stand in line -- and then -- we're going to try to avoid some of the local press, and walk in -- it's very crowded here, wolf. i hope you'll be patient as we try to enter here. and you can see that what we have here are a lot of people. i spoke to quite a number of people who are lined up here, and -- i have to say a lot of people are here caucusing early in line appear to be for bernie sanders. you can see we're in a classroom auditorium. over here all the way around the

room. where people are beginning to line up, and then -- walk down this way with me. this is -- where they're going to check in. so they check in over here. giving their names, double checking their registration, and then over here in this crowd over here, walk this way -- this is where they're going to start to caucus. so people are going to be -- begin to line up for the hillary camp, or the bernie camp, and you can see a lot of people here already. wolf? >> yng people there on that campus where that caucus site is. thanks very much. dana bash, our chief political correspondent is with me as well. that must be a beautiful sight for the bernie sanders campaign. they like a lot of young people showing up, if you believe what happened in iowa as well as in new hampshire. >> reporter: they do. this is going to be the real first test for bernie sanders to prove that he can do well with

the more broad democratic electorate beyond the largely right iowa and new hampshire democratic electorates and that is really, has been the key for hillary clinton, you know, wolf. she has been arguing that he's not electable because he can't appeal to those voters. if he can prove he can do well tonight with latinos, with the black votes. 15% of the african-american vote, that will change the narrative and dynamic for bernie sanders. won't necessarily mean he's going to get it in the bag but allow him to make quite a different argument. >> a big, big important moment right now, because as we've pointed out a few months ago, looked like hillary clinton would have nevada relatively easily? >> absolutely. we should point out, what makes today so exciting is that nevada is a complete mystery. we really don't know whether or not the polls we've seen are right or not. it is very, very difficult to poll in the caucuses in nevada, for lots of reasons, but you're right. what we had seen showed hillary clinton way ahead, and it

tightened dramatically the past few days. why we're just going to strap in and see how it goes, because we don't really have a sense, because it is so hard to poll there. >> so exciting right now. i'm sure everyone, in both of these campaigns very, very nervous. stand by. brernie sanders hopes his revolution will sweep the staff and hillary clinton staffers are keeping fingers crossed that a firewall doesn't collapse, so called. nevada voters are flooding in. which way will they break? we'll get to inside, get a temperature of what's going on, right after this. pet moments are beautiful, unless you have allergies.

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welcome back to cnn's coverage of the nevada democratic caucuses and the south carolina republican primary. i want to go right to neff fef right now to cnn reporter jason carroll, who is at a high school in las vegas, clark county. there is a lot of energy. jason, what are they chanting

behind you? >> reporter: a lot of energy. depends upon what side you're on. over here, a huge line of folks waiting to get inside this caucus site here. you have some chanting for sanders. the other side saying, are we ready for madam president? obviously chanting for hillary clinton. this is one of 250 caucus sites across the state. if you can look near this line you see this is a very diverse group. it reflects this county, jake. 30% here identify as latino. about 11% identify as african-american. in many ways this county represents much of what both candidates are trying to do, in terms of trying to woo communities of color. you know, i was talking to some of these folks here in line. both, many of them who you can hear are very, very vocal. a latino woman feels hillary clinton did a better job as reaching out to the latino community. i spoke to a 26-year-old african-american woman who says it was really sanders who

aligned himself up with a local hip-hop artist, went out into the community. both agree on one thing. in las vegas, okay to use this term. both sides relying on a little bit of "lady luck" to get them through. both sides agree the polls are extremely tight. it's going to be neck and neck out here. >> jason carroll. look on the right side of your screen, former secretary of state hillary clinton through the crowd there, campaigning at a caucus site at green valley high school. trying to get out all of the support she can on this critical, critical contest. let's talk to our panel right now. michael smerconish, let me talk to you. a month ago hillary clinton's campaign manager was talking about how she was up 25 points in the polls. she was going to win nevada. now the polls are neck and neck. everything is really riding on this here. >> funny you say that. i was sitting here for iowa and new hampshire and the attitude among clinton supporters this,

too, shall pass, because these states are not reflective of the nation. when we move on, get to nevada things will change. yet we're not sure that things have changed. passion is the one word i think of going into a caucus, because, you know, it's a saturday. right? jake, this asks a lot of folks to come out and give of their time. you're not just mailing in a ballot. you've got to invest skin in the game. my hunch is that's to bernie sanders advantage, because he wins the passion vote. >> and malika henderson, talking why the clinton campaign is bullish, a sizable african-american population and nevada, a sizable african-american and latino population, it's that those voters, according to polls, rallied behind her. this campaign season. >> right, and they are passionate. jason carroll talked about lady luck. particularly older latinos and older african-american women, they talk about hillary clinton with a great deal of passion. they use phrases like, you know, it's time for a woman in the

white house. she's certainly relying on that coalition of folks. something like 40% of voters in nevada will be non-whites. so she's going to look to hopefully do well. if she is to do well she has to do well with that group and interesting to see how she does with white voters. last go-round she did better with white voters in 2008. john edwards did better with white voters. bernie sanders is this time, almost the clinton of this race doing better with white voters in the way she did in 2008. >> everything seems to be flipped. david axelrod you were with clinton back then. >> i was. >> and also as mentioned in the previous segment, nevada is a state, as jeff zeleny pointed out, you can win the popular vote and lose in delegates, that was to senator obama's advantage in 2008. >> saved the day for him. at the last minute, the delegate count saved the day for him. >> but you won more delegates and hillary clinton wants to do

that exactly. interesting here. they're now conceding they may lose the popular vote they won eight years ago, but they picked up a few things eight years ago and they've worked the northern part of the state in a way they hadn't eight years ago and they're hoping to walk away with the delegates. all very interesting. >> and hillary clinton also has to do very well in clark county, the biggest, moft populous county where las vegas is. >> it's a test of the democratic coalition what it looks like. you know? it's more urban. it's more non-white, and i think the test is here is for bernie sanders, really, to see whether he can attract more of that coalition than hillary clinton. and, you know, this has always been the question about his campaign. the staying power. nevada caucuses, the passion you talked about, michael. also this question of diversity and whether he can attract a more diverse electorate to his campaign remains unknown. >> a big test for the sanders' campaign, no doubt. new snapshots of turnout in nevada as voters are gathering

for the democratic caucuses you see on the right of your screen, could be decisive in who wins, loses or whether it turns out to be a draw. stay right here on cnn. another high-stakes contest is about to begin. could be a nail-biter, and we will bring you there, live.

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welcome back. getting in line, still getting it line to go to the nevada democratic presidential caucuses right now. a fierce battle between bernie sanders and hillary clinton under way. going to caesars palace in las vegas. tom foreman is there at one of the caucus sites. i take it, tom, a nice crowd is gathering? tom foreman. it's wolf. can you hear me? >> reporter: this is labor

central. one of a half dozen sites that were set up for people to caucus who work out here on the strip. lots and lots of people and very much it's drawn a big crowd. 150, obviously have already passed that number, and it just keeps getting bigger here. on top of which, because this is so important to hillary clinton, president bill clinton came by to get buzz going among all of these folks. doesn't seem it was much-needed because they are very energized here and a high presence for hillary clinton right now. see how it plays on going further on. important, the culinary movement here one of the big ones did not endorse a candidate here. one of. reasons the clinton people clearly feel they need to bolster this crowd and get people onboard. look at the crowd here. the other thing to bear in mind, nevada is one of the youngest states in the nation by population. you won't necessarily see it in all of the workers who are here right now, but many of the people who are here are younger, and those are people that bernie sanders is counting on to come

through not only at this caucus site but the other five along the way. >> tom foreman is over at caesar's palace. one of the democratic presidential caucus sites in las vegas. i want to walk over to john king at the magic wall. john, we'll spend a lot of time looking at nevada, looking at various precincts as numbers come in. people are gathering for the caucuses and good to look at the history as we look forward. >> first, look where tom foreman is. important to remember, more than seven in ten nevadans live in clark county. the largest county of the state before the bulk of the people live. the dark blue is senator clinton at the time. lighter blue is then senator obama pup see as you talked earlier, jake talked to the panel about delegates. obama up here actually came out of the state in the end with a couple more delegates even though hillary clinton won lie six points in the vote. moat votes are down here, where as tom said, the culinary union did not endorse. setting up a scramble for the

labor vote. very important. 15% latino. 15% african-american. look for the latino number to go up this time. major population centers, most votes out of clark county. move out to the western part of the state, where reno is, 15%, 16% of the state population. watching it play out today, wom wolf, it's worth remembering this used to be a swing state. the last two times president obama won big. democrats count on this because of the latino vote and the diverse population. look at the state. democrats win here and here. republicans win the rest. that's john mccain. fast-forward to mitt romney. same in both states. as we watched the democratic primary process play out today, it's worth remembering nevada used to be a huge battleground come november. the question after two or three cycles is it locked in as a blue state? >> always intriguing, nevada, caucuses take place late morning, early afternoon, their time on a saturday, presumably when people can show up. >> why see the caucus sites

inside some o the casinos. take time to come by their caucus. >> and jake back to you. >> 100,000 participated eight years ago. talk with the pundits. paul begala. what are you looking for in terms of supporting hillary clinton and work on one of the pro-hillary super pacs. what are you looking for in terms of turnout? where do you want turnout to be high to portend a clinton win? >> not so much where but who? people of color. bernie strong with young people. kind of been their two bases. each will try to turn them out. the thing i noticed looking at nevada, fourth highest unemployment rate in america. >> hmm. >> and in the last month, a 30% increase in home foreclosures. second largest percentage of home for closures in the whole country. people are economically pressed, angry and hurting. i have to say, even though i'm

for hillary, bernie speaks to that powerfully. not that he wants economic problems. the fact in the last 30 to 60 days economic problems in nevada, that probably helps bernie. >> and another clinton supporter, basically what paul is suggesting the economic hardship started by, and a lot of people blame on, companies blik goldman sachs might actually give bernie sanders a boost. do you see it as a potential trouble spot for clinton? >> definitely an issue. bernie sanders tapped to the vein of economic unrest. i'm looking for today in 2008 we saw about 120,000 people participate in the process. if it creeps above 70,000, closer to 100,000, the better off for bernie sanders. we're also going to see that the number of african-americans that participate in the process, it won't reach 15% like in 2008 because barack obama was running there. decrease slightly. i want to see how hillary clinton does with this firewall, with voters of color. and we'll see. the coolest part about the whole process, van and i talked about

it earlier. nobody truly knows what's going to happen today. the first process we've gone into and everybody is up in the air. pundits don't know, analysts, smart people on the right side don't know and even jake tapper doesn't know. >> i'm the first one not to know. but van jones, hillary clinton wins iowa. bernie sanders wins new hampshire. obviously the south carolina democratic primary is coming in a week. this could be a big thing in terms of momentum for either of the candidates? >> absolutely. from the hillary clinton point of view, basically a tie in iowa. listen, of course, a next door neighbor. new hampshire, 22-point lead. a very red state. if she doesn't do well, what's the excuse? what i want to hear. what can you say? a lot of people of color. i'm glad we talked about labor. sometimes talk so much about race we forget. in nevada, labor is a very, very big deal. if you talk to people there,

there's a split. the labor leadership really wants hillary clinton but the labor members many of them are swayed by bernie. in a caucus environment, it is very hard for a member to stand up and say, to my labor boss, hey, i don't care. i'm going to the other side of the room. how that plays out will are very interesting tonight. >> we actually call them leaders in our party. labor bosses. >> sort of a derogatory term, just to bring you up to speed on nomenclature here. >> plays out in both parties, the fact endorsements haven't meant all that much. hillary clinton has the endorsement i think of every single democratic nevada legislator except for one guy who is staying out of it, because marco rubio is his cousin. literally. and -- but do you think that they just don't have the same cachet they used to? >> they don't. i thought it was, you know, the culinary workers union deciding to stay neutral this year i thought was very interesting, and to van's point. labor is so important in nevada.

it's the 11th highest labor participation rate in the country. and both candidates have different strategies on that. van mentioned, hillary clinton, she's got 23 national union endorsements. does really well. finished up nine points in iowa caucuses among union households. bernie is saying, that makes her establishment. an interesting strategy and he's tried it with a number of different, you know, areas where she is beating him. i'm not sure that wins in nevada. but it's an interesting strategy that i'm sure he'll try to pl p replicate if it's tight around the country. >> fascinating. back after this quick break. stay with us. i think it landed last tuesday. one second it's there. then, woosh, it's gone. i swear i saw it swallow seven people. seven. i just wish one of those people could have been mrs. johnson.

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check out live pictures of caesar's palace.

a lot of hillary clinton supporters there at the democratic presidential caucuses at that casino hotel at las vegas. getting ready for caucuses right now. cnn's jason carroll is not that far away, rancho high school just off the strip in las vegas. lots of people where you are at the same time. what's it like? >> reporter: so many people here, wolf. look, you can see this line still going out to the sidewalk here behind me. turn around, we can show some of the folks here. some of of the people standing in line, worried, concerned they won't be able to get in and do what they need to do. caucus work 0ers say as long as you're in line by 12:00, noon, you will be able to go inside. all the folks you see here will be able to get inside. you can hear a lot of folks yelling out -- for the of an informal poll. who's here for clinton? yell out. sanders? yes. clinton? sanders? clinton?

sanders? hillary. hillary? you see a very converse crowd. reflects where we are here in clark county. 11% identify at african-american. both side agrees it will be very tight. what they're doing here is lining up, going to go inside, register. then the caucusing will begin. >> what you're saying, jason, 20 minutes to get inside and then the doors close? is that what happened? >> reporter: 20 minutes to get into line. that's why some people here are confused because they think if they're not inside the doors by 12:00 they won't be able to participate. not the case. as long as you're in line by 12:00 you will be allowed to participate. all you need to do, get in line. a very long line. as long as you're in line, you're all right. >> thanks very much, jason. we'll get back to you. dana, what? four years, or eight years ago about 117,000, 118,000 it democrats participated in these democratic caucuses. looks like a big turnout right

now. i wonder if that helps hillary clinton or bernie sanders? >> i think both camps. both camps believe the higher the turnout the better for bernie sanders. especially where jason just was in layis vegas, heart of clark county, population center for all of nevada. talking to people in nevada who said you really should look for the more rural areas, and if those numbers are higher than usual, then perhaps that will be better for hillary clinton, but one thing to keep in mind is that i was looking at statistics. nevada is the seventh oldest population of white americans. so what does that say? that says that those are the people who tend to go more towards hillary clinton, as we've been talking about for several weeks now. bernie sanders tends be to get the younger voters. so if the natural population of nevada comes out for hillary clinton, that's good for her. >> stand by, dana. i want to go to jeff zeleny, joining us right now as well.

you're over there at bernie sanders headquarters. what are you hearing over there? >> reporter: right, wolf. one of the most interesting things happening over the last couple weeks or so, really, since iowa. the clinton campaign has been aggressively working behind the scenes for one purpose today, to get paid time off for casino workers to be able to actually participate today. they were successful in at least six caucuses up and down that las vegas strip. they were unsuccessful in other places. if you're a casino worker who works at a venetian or palazza, no time out. at the wynn or oncencore, to ti off. some people are not able to participate today because they are working this shift, but the clinton campaign worked hard behind the scenes with casino owners to try and get paid time off so these caucus workers could actually -- so the hotel

workers, excuse me, could actually go caucus today. so the number of people who turn out today will be key based on that. this is all because of eight years ago the union, that represents all the hotel workers, endorsed barack obama. they declined to endorse this time, we've talked about. they wanted to go worker by worker to get them out to the polls today. the caucus today, and that is what's happening right now, wolf. >> to caucus, it's a lot different, jeff, than it is to just go vote, put in a ballot or whatever. you have to invest significant time and late morning, saturday morning, early afternoon, to actually show up and participate. >> reporter: sure. you do. that's why we're seeing people sign up in line, but some people are working here during this time. they're given two hours' paid time off to go actually participate in the caucuses here. so if you happen to work in a couple casinos you can do that. other casinos you cannot do that today, wolf. >> stand by, dana, where the population is. seven out of ten people in the state of nevada are there in

clark county where las vegas is. a huge representation. >> and what jeff just described is perfect example of how intricate and complicated the caucus organizing process is in general, but especially in a place like nevada that the campaigns are actually going to casino owners saying, please, give your workers timeoff. fascinating and shows how every single vote and every single pocket of clark county in particular where las vegas is matters. >> certainly does. everyone, stand by. we're standing by for the start of the nevada democratic caucuses. you see long lines at various caucus sites. back over to see those long lines and see what happens once they all go inside. a razor close finish in iowa, viewers remember, hillary clinton and bernie sanders. what's going it happen right now in nevada? we'll be able to share some of our entrance poll results. that's coming up. ♪ alright, what do you think boys? we could do tacos.

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welcome back to cnn's live coverage of the nevada democratic caucuses. you're looking at live pictures right now from a caucus site in nevada. i believe that is in las vegas. let's go to boris -- there's another one. let's go to boris sanchez. he is at knutson middle school in east las vegas. apparently the lines are quite long. boris, tell us about what you're seeing and who people seem to be supporting. >> reporter: hey, jake. i had a little trouble hearing you at the end there but can tell you what i've seen so far. huge crowds have showed up here. this is the registration area right behind these doors. folks walk in there, get registered. how long the line goes. all the way to the end of the street over here. we've talked to quite a few people. first-time caucusgoers.

>> first time. yes. let's go bernie! >> reporter: and talked to a first-time caucus goer, a hillary supporter. the crowd is evenly split, eastern nevada, very diverse. a big spanish pog lation and big african-american population, and hillary is working to stop the sanders surge. we talked to mow and more people in line, a lot of showing up for bernie sanders. who are you voting for? >> bernie. >> reporter: a lot of caucusgoers leaning towards bernie. if bernie can hold tight and dig into her lead he can still wind up with as many delegates and she does. a tight race. we'll see what happens once we get inside. >> boris sanchez. thanks so much. and in terms of expectations, gloria, it's surprising that this is going to be as tight as it seems to be.

>> down to the wire. >> the clinton people just last month were saying she was up 25 points in nevada. >> down to the wire. i was listening to what boris was saying. if there are a lot of first-time caucusgoers, people who have not participated in this process before, then i think that means that bernie sanders has brought in new people, into the process, and that would really be a plus for him, and one of the reasons we sort of don't know here is because, you know, bernie sanders has not been tested on this kind of a stage before, where it's diverse, urban. and so we're just -- we're just going to have to see. i think that another thing i'm going to be looking for is this question of the vulnerabilities that hillary clinton had in both iowa and new hampshire. this question of, cares about people like me. and the issue of trust. and wiee'll see if those were jt things that were problems in iowa and new hampshire, or whether they are issues for her as she goes down through the

primaries and caucuses. >> there are issues bernie sanders hasacy well including electability. a lot of democrats might actually go for hillary clinton because they think she'll do a better job against whomever the republicans put up. >> kind of a hard-head batteart. the heard going with bernie sanders. the head with the hillary clinton supporters but hard to mobilize around the head. easier to mobilize around the heart. the feeling in nevada, if this turnout goes high, that bernie sanders has a chance to win this thing. when you see these long lines you have to wonder how this is going to turn out, and it is hard to imagine that just three or four weeks ago, the assumption, this would be a relatively easy day for hillary clinton. >> the assumption of the clinton campaign, namely, a week ago? >> right. namely they won there before and people working for their campaign, they organized that state. they had the experience. it is a surprising turn of events, that sanders has been

able to reverse this thing and keep it so close. so, again, that is sort of why we don't know and partly the caucus system which is so different as well. hard to poll going into these races, but fascinating to see what happens and how each of these campaigns sort of spins whatever comes out of here. >> one of the things, momentum breeds momentum. when he won new hampshire as big as he did, that set nevada on fire. that's really what got this surge moving, and i talked to a clinton person yesterday who said we are sandbagging here. just trying to stop the surge. >> hmm. >> that surge really began with new hampshire and the question is, if he is able to win here, will it reduce her advantage in south carolina, vicario and others, more experts on south carolina were speak to that, but momentum breeds momentum. >> at stake, jake, the sense of inevitability, for her. even though bernie sanders had success so far, a general feeling among long-term

democrats this will pass and in the end she'll confirm the nomination. now all of a sudden should he have a strong -- i don't think he needs to win by the way. we could have a conversation about define what winning is. if he comes with five percentage points, look what i've achieved in the last 30 or so days and then doubts cast about her viability. >> can i just say, it's gotten nasty, too. this has not been, oh, we democrats have a different kind of debate than the republicans have. this has gotten very nasty, and the question here, i think. >> not compared to the republicans. >> not compared to the republicans. okay. not compared to the republicans but it has gotten nasty. the question, whether this attack on wall street from bernie sanders has an awful lot of resonance. >> we'll talk more about that in a second. taking you behind closed door inside the nevada caucuses. talk about the sides of the crowds and will it be a split decision between clinton and

sanders? first results coming up after this break. all her aches and pains. and i said "come to class, let's start walking together" and i said "and i bet you money you'll be able to do that senior walk". that day i said "ok it's me and you girl, me and you!" i said "if you need to stop, there's a bench we'll just hang out in the shade." she said "absolutely not! we are going to finish this race!" and we were the last ones in, but you know what? we finished the race. and she goes "desiree, i'll never quit walking. ever" every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. ♪ those who have served our nation

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i'm wolf blitzer in the cnn election center. our political team is positioned on opposite sides of the country right now, in south carolina and nevada. eight candidates seeking the white house and today's results could go a long way to decide who eventually occupies the oval office. could hillary clinton bounce back after suffering a stinging 22-point loss in the new hampshire democratic primary? will she be a resurgent candidate now in nevada? and for the republicans, 50 delegates are at stake in south carolina tonight. just how many will donald trump add to his total, the front-runner among the republicans, anticipating a resounding win after a bruising campaign trail clash with

senator ted cruz. while the polls in south carolina are open for another four hours, we're just a few minutes away from caucus sites in nevada closing their doors. several caucus sites have clearly been overem wered with voters right now. over to cnn's national correspondent john king over at the magic wall. nevada. remind viewers in nevada where it is so critical for both hillary clinton and bernie sanders to do well. >> start with the big picture. hillary clinton won in iowa, barely. a tie. bernie sanders won contest two in new hampshire, a blowout. a momentum day. yes about delegates and getting momentum from south carolina and the calendar explode with many super tuesdays. look at nevada. 2008 race to fill it in. hillary clinton won. then senator clinton over senator obama and senator edwards and delegates, senator obama in the long run. takes a couple months to sort it out after caucuses. obama actually won.

how did hillary clinton win? down here. most in clark county. more than 70% of the population. heavy latino population, significant chunk of the african-american population in nevada is here in las vegas. looking at mostly as votes come in. the panel talked about earlier, a competition here for the much more rural northern part of the state where you can, a, add to your popular vote totals. more importantly, at the end of the day, talking tonight about dep gits, we now believe this democratic race will go on a long time. we'll score the popular vote, the count, for momentum and look at delegate race in case there's a march, a march into march and april and beyond in terms of the contest. look for votes at clark county in the reno area and western part of the state combined getting you close to 90% of the state's population. the rest much smaller and can become significant as things move on. the first thing to do, as caucuses begin, count the votes and later, wolf, math gets more complicated. divvy up delegates. >> certainly we will try to do

all of that. we're getting ready, right at the top of the hour, a few seconds from now, they will be closing those doors, all of those people waiting in line presumably will be able to get in and participate in the caucuses. a very important moment right now. all right. right now the doors are going to be closing at those caucus sites. at one of them in reno, nevada for us right now, we don't have enough information yet to report on what's going on, but it looks like packed crowd there where you are? >> reporter: it is a very packed crowd, and let me explain what's happened in the last few minutes or so, wolf. you're seeing here a line snaking back and forth, up and down the rows of this auditorium. think of it like the security line at the airport. what these people are doing, told to get inside. trying to put as many of these caucusgoers inside the auditorium as possible. there's still, wolf, a couple hundred people who are outside and what they're doing