tonight, bernie sanders is pulling ahead after two strong finishes in iowa and new hampshire. what is next for him where i am tonight? and a king maker in south carolina.

is he ready to finally crown someone in that state? coming up. he's my guest. let's go out front. good evening. the town hall there's begin and i'll have much more on that. i'll be speaking with mayor buttigieg this evening. $also, the former nypd commissioner bernie kerik. these are people convicted of extortion, fraud, false statements, tax fraud, corruption. the very things he cares so much about. some of the men have ties to trump. in two days, another person close to the president will be extensioned. of roger stone. is his pardon next? we again our coverage.

what are you learning about how the president decide who had to pardon and whose sentence to commute? >> before they make decision like this. instead, he seems to have relied on the advice of friends, business allies and even some of his political allies as well. >> the former governor of illinois was serving 14 years after he was convicted of trying sell barack obama's open senate seat for personal gain. he once appeared on the apprentice but was fired by trump on the show. he has paid attention by his family to get him out of prison. >> i watched his wife on television. i don't know him very well.

>> trump came close to commuting his sentence last summer before being talked out of it by republicans who barnld the blowback he would face for enter intervening in the pay to play scheme. >> it was a prosecution by the same people, comey, fitzpatrick, the same group. >> today the president also pardoned the new york city commissioner bernie kerik who was found guilty of eight felonies including tax fraud and lying to white house officials. >> i just pardoned bernie kerik. a man who had many recommendations from a a lot of good people. >> the president also watched how many fox news. kairg was heavily involved in the case of eddie gallagher, the navy s.e.a.l. accused of war crimes whom trump recently cleared. >> this was a retaliatory measure by the admiral. an admiral that has overseen this entire corrupt unethical and criminal investigation and should be booted from the navy s.e.a.l.s.

>> trump didn't stop there. he also pardoned eddie debartolo who was found guilty and michael milken, the 1980s investment banker known as the jump ons king. >> he played a big price. he paid a very tough price. he's done an incredible job. >> despite all that, the president wouldn't say if he's considering leniency for his long time friend roger stone who was said to be sentence in the just two days. >> i haven't given it any thought. >> sources say that's not true. that trump has weighed pardoning stone in recent weeks as stone's allies have lobbied the president to do so. >> time chief law enforcement officer of the country. >> the president pardoned or commuted the sentence of 11 people today. most were white collar criminals often two were related to drug

offenses. we should note when it cops to michael milken that the president pardoned, we'red a lot of it had 22nd the treasury secretary steven mnuchin who favored this party. and they said in part this had to do with an eye toward fundraising with president the's campaign. >> all right. thank you very much. i want to go "outfront" to greg broward, former u.s. attorney, former fbi assistant director and state lawmaker. gloria borger for us. and the prosecutor who has worked for and against. what do you make of these pardons? >> i think they're an obscenity. i think there is 171,000 people in custody in the federal system. and the notion that somehow mr. trump and this committee he claims he has looked around and these people, all of whom have

personal connections to him or people around him. friends and family. these are the people that they came up with deserving of clemency. it is a lie and it is disgusting and another assault on the rule of law and equal treatment before the law. and this president seems hell bent on doing everything he can to destroy the rule of law. >> greg, when it comes to the blagojevich pardon specifically, which patrick is talking about, along with others in his comment. the white house put out in a statement that democrats, dick durbin, jesse jackson, eric holder had all supported shortening blagojevich's sentence. that's what the white house put out. when the president fwaktd, he made it about himself and his enemies. he said it was fitzpatrick, the same group. fitzpatrick being patrick fitzgerald. for him, it's personal.

>> yeah. the fact that there may be some bipartisan support for some of these commuteations, it looks like it is about settling scores and granting political favors more than doing justice. >> every case is different. jack johnson pardoned from a few months ago. that was legitimate. i supported in the nevada legislature a few years ago a resolution to, we documented a resolution urging obama to pardon jack johnson. unfortunately that didn't happen. so there are among these pardons some that might make sense. the problem is overwhelmingly they looked political. and i should remind you. all of these people were convicted, charged by ordinary citizens. they were convicted by juries of ordinary citizens. judges approved those convictions and judges imposed those sentences based pop the federal sentencing guide appliances congress documents.

so in a way, it undermines the whole system of justice by shortcutting and as i understand it, bypassing the doj. the president doesn't have to follow but really should. >> especially given the situation that we're in. when he says it is because of personal reasons. look at michael milken. he says, you know, it's clearly aimed at fundraising for the campaign. that's what they're saying. this is all personal. >> well, it sure seems to be that way. i would like to know what the process was. i would like to know that the official process was even considered much less used. when you look at all these names, it clearly may be about campaign contributors but it is also at least in blagojevich's case, about people who know how to flatter the president. his wife was out there talking about the president and what a difficult job he has. but how much they like the president. so it is a combination of they

really like me and i can really use them and the people who want me to pardon them are people who can be useful to me. to be able to do other than complain? not much. what will the republicans be able to do? or will they want to do anything? because they're all in with donald trump. he feels completely liberated after impeachment. and this is what we're getting. >> patrick, i want to give people a chance to understand why this is different. obviously controversial pardons go with the presidency. we hear about them he have time, right? president clinton pardoned mark rich. we remember. that he had fled to switzerland, tax evasion, racketeering, he would have had 300 years in jail. his wife was a major democratic donor. clinton pardoned him and "the new york times" called it

indefensible. what makes the trump administration with these pardons and the justice department overall, what makes it different or worse? >> it is worse because it's bigger. the rich pardon was ridiculous. and wrong. but what trump is doing is multiplying that. and he's doing it so crudely. so obviously. i mean, of all the prisoners he happens to pick the guy on the apresent snis it's insane. it is taking a bad precedent, the rich pardon, and multiplying it. and he's doing it, as i say, for people who know people in the cabinet. for people helpful to him on television. who flatter him, who tell him lies, like that james comey had anything to do with the blagojevich prosecution. james comey was not in the government during the years that the blagojevich prosecution was put together. so they tell these lies to the

president and then crudely in front of everybody misuses his pardon power. >> but he is friends. >> the president, obviously -- >> comey is friends with patrick fitzgerald and that may be enough for donald trump. don't you think? >> that's insane. if you're going to say just because you know somebody. >> yeah. jim comey has a lot of friends. a love us who have served as u.s. attorneys over the years. will he really look fox every connection jim comey may have and look at pardoning those deputies? it makes no sense. >> as i said at the outset. the president has the power to grant pardons for good sxreen there are over time legitimate pardons. it was clearly racially motivated and it was inappropriate. so justice was finally done. >> i think there were issues of domestic abuse.

that may have been obama's issue with it. >> may be. but it was clearly a racially motivated issue. so commutations can be legitimate. when we're talking about people who have not served their entire time, we're not talking about decades old convictions and what appear to be payback pardons, that undermines the system. >> so what happens to roger stone? >> well, i think he feels a little more comfortable. if write rudy giuliani, i would feel a little more good. what the southern district of new york is looking into tonight. in the end, although the president said he hasn't considered a pardon for roger stone, i don't see how we can say he hasn't. he's been complaining about his sentence. he'll be extensioned on thursday. i don't think the timing is any kind of coincidence. now the president has everyone expecting a pardon for roger

stone. if write a betting person, lure the in vegas, i would boat a pardon for roger stone. >> thank you all three vex. next, the start of the democratic town halls. less than an hour away. bernie sanders will be up first. tonight, a now poll shows him pulling away. is he the undeniable front-runner at this point? plus, one of the most powerful democrats in congress. a friend of joe biden's for years. he still has not endorsed the former vice president. why? well, congressman james front will be out front. the nevada caucuses could be a repeat of the iowa mess. long hair goals? stop cutting. new elvive dream lengths. with a cocktail of vitamins and fine castor oil. strengthens hair's length and helps seal split ends. to save that last inch, for the hair of your dreams. new elvive dream lengths. from l'oreal. you're worth it.

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welcome back to a special edition of "out front." we are live in las vegas ahead of the cnn town halls. bernie sanders has been surging in the polls. we have two new national polls showing him with a 12 point lead over his democratic rivals in 2020. sanders at 27.

joe biden at 15%, michael bloomberg and elizabeth warren at 14%, pete buttigieg at 13. sanders at 31. bloomberg comes in second there with 19 which qualifies him for his first debate here tomorrow. the new york city mayor is up 15 points since december. david, there's a lot of things in these polls that make you go wow, this is pretty incredible to see it all happening whether it be to see the surge of michael bloomberg in one but both. is it undeniable bernie sanders is the clear front runner? >> he is. he's in the driver's seat. it's about to experience a new element with michael bloomberg on the debate stage. he qualified for the poll. michael bloomberg will be part of the conversation in the fray,

not just on television ads. but there is no denying bernie sanders through the power of young voters, liberal voters, and a significant chunk of nonwhite voters, has put him in the running. how do you grow beyond? he may not need to. he's doing it out in front with the double digit leads. his quest to get to milwaukee with a majority. it is to grow that coalition. >> it is stunning when you think about it. bernie sanders didn't expect to be in this position a couple months ago. he had had a heart attack. he talked about changing the nature of his campaign. now here he is undeniably the front runner. it shows how little anybody knew or predicted. >> yeah, in that period it was unclear where the candidacy was going. we have seen a steady rise as the front runner of the race. he has made it work in iowa and

new hampshire and even as the electorate shift. he has enough non-white to give him a coalition to cross states. unlike these other candidates. we have seen buttigieg surge in early states but looks less like a front runner nevada and south carolina. we've seen klobuchar. elizabeth warren hasn't been able to make it work. bernie sanders has been able to make it happen in multiple states. >> and what's been amazing with different people having their moment has been all the daggers come out for that person. we remember the daggers without for elizabeth warren and everybody said the nomination is hers. now sanders in the front and here we go. this is a taste of what's happening. >> i think senator sanders should also be explaining how he's going to pay for medicare for all. >> my friend senator sanders

doesn't seem to think it matters how much things cost, that there's a gap of $25 trillion in his plan which is bigger than the whole u.s. economy. >> bernie acknowledges he doesn't even know how much the program is going to cost. >> that was -- those were the daggers were elizabeth warren, now they're for bernie sanders. >> i would note joe biden has been making this argument against bernie sanders since last summer. >> excuse me. >> since last july. we made this argument on our debate stage last july in detroit. hillary clinton tried to use the arguments against price tags against bernie sanders but emerged with the nomination. this notion of how are you going to pay for the plan, it habit stuck to him. maybe we're in a different time. voters minds are trained now

that we're in the electoral contest it's not the year before. i would argue that we've heard this argument against bernie sanders. he's been answering that question whether satisfactorily or not for years. and i think that if they're really looking for daggers to start taking a piece of hide out of him, i don't know that that's going to be the final answer. >> now michael bloomberg is going to be on the debate stage, both debate stages. now we get to find all the things he said. now, he is trumpian in some ways, right? says what he thinks. now these clips start to surface. our file uncovered this clip of bloomberg talking about bernie sanders and his supporters just a few years ago. >> democratic socialism and the young people -- i don't mean to knock young people. i wish i was one again. but young people listen to donald trump -- to bernie sanders -- and they said, yeah, democratic. that's good. socialism. yeah, that's that social media stuff. >> and we're going to hear a lot more of this. >> yeah.

>> i mean, we've seen this even in the last week, the redlining comments, the comments about transgender individuals. this will come on and on. >> trans gender, referring to them as it. >> exactly. and polls show him rising. it's going to be difficult however is his vast amount of resources allowing him to define himself uniquely in these super tuesday states. he's playing a game unto himself. he's told the voters as a thinker that can go up against trump and has been able to saturate that message. the candidates have to redefine him and make him someone voters are scared about. that's going to be a difficult task. for months now they've seen the bloomberg ads and created a story in their head. >> thank you both very much. don't miss our democratic presidential town halls tonight on cnn. anderson is going to kick it off at 8:00 with bernie sanders. i'll moderate with pete buttigieg at 9:00. then amy klobuchar at 10:00.

on thursday, joe biden and elizabeth warren. >> pete buttigieg sounding the alarm when it comes to defeating trump. >> i think if the socialist bernie sanders was the nomination, trump will beat him. what do you think? >> i share that concern. >> plus tom steyer admits the next two contests may be make or break for his campaign. so, how confident is he that he can make it here in nevada and south carolina? i love the new myww program, because it's tailored to you! ...take the personal assessment and get matched with a proven weight loss plan. find out which customized plan can make losing weight easier for you!

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welcome back to a special edition of "out front." we are live from las vegas tonight. tonight several of the 2020 candidates will appear on the stage in the room where i am, including my town hall with pete buttigieg who tonight is questioning whether bernie sanders can defeat president trump. >> i think if the socialist bernie sanders wins the nomination, trump will beat him. what do you think? >> i share that concern.

>> well, buttigieg in saying that, is possibly previewing what he might be saying tomorrow night at the debate. there is a lot of pressure on these candidates like joe biden, like elizabeth warren to stand out after losses in iowa and new hampshire. jeff zeleny is out front, been with all of them every step of the way. this race is not what people expected it to be. for a long time, joe biden was the front runner. now he's not the front runner anymore in these polls and he's got a lot to prove. what -- who has the most to approve or lose tomorrow night? >> i think bloomberg has a lot to prove to show he is a front runner. let's go to joe biden because he is in an unusual place. i was with him in reno yesterday. he still acts like he's the front runner. he has the trappings of that. when you talk to the voters and see the confidence is gone a little bit. joe biden has to show he still is in this game, not just for nevada, for south carolina, for super tuesday.

he has to show some fight. when voters see him in person, they still like him, think he can do it. so, i think the most is riding on his performance. also elizabeth warren, she has to get back in the game if she wants to stay in the game. she has a strong following here in terms of super tuesday. probably not as much in nevada and south carolina. she has a lot riding on it. joe biden i think first and foremost, if he wants to revive himself in south carolina, he has to have a strong showing here. that's what they're counting on. >> because it's so close. it's not like you cannot do well here and hope for next week. thank you very much. i want to go out front now to jim clyburn of south carolina, the majority whip. i appreciate your time, sir. thank you very much for being with me tonight. i'm going to be blunt here. you're a key endorsement in this race. you're one of the people everyone looks to. who will you endorse. you said you're not going to announce who you are voting for until after the debate in charleston, south carolina next week.

i know you've known joe biden for a long time. you spoke at one of his events about a month ago. what's been holding you back from endorsing him? >> well, b thank you for having me. but i made a promise to the network that is doing the debate that i would not get out in front of the debate. i said the same thing to the national democratic committee, that i would stay out of any kind of endorsing early in the game so that we could have a good, valuable debate and primary. so, i decided to keep my vote to myself until after the debate. >> have you decided or are you, yourself, still unsure? >> oh, no. i'm not unsure at all. i know exactly who i'm going to vote for.

i've known that for some time now. >> all right. so, i'm not going to try to read between the lines. i respect what you've chosen to do. let me ask you about something "the wall street journal" quotes the chairman of south carolina chairman of the democratic party as saying. it says, quote, this race is wide open here, talking about south carolina. joe biden has work to do to close the deal and win south carolina. do you agree with that, congressman, that joe biden has work to do to win south carolina? >> yes, i do agree with that. i said several days ago that there's a contest in south carolina right now, so i do believe that all the candidates need to continue to work because south carolinians will be

looking at nevada in order to make some determination as to whether or not they will -- their vote will be one in vein. i really believe they have to keep working. >> and congressman, i want you to know what you're hearing in the background is our washington bureau chief getting the crowd ready for the town halls tonight where we will hear from senator sanders, mayor pete buttigieg, and senator klobuchar. i know you have known him for a long time. you have said though that the stop and frisk policy bothers you. he's apologized for that on the campaign trail. i want to play what he's been saying again and again for you. here he is. >> i spent a long time speaking with black leaders and community members. i've listened to their stories. i've heard their pain, their confusion, their anger. andive other learned from them and i think i've grown from them. i know i can't change history, but what i can do is learn from

my mistakes and use those lessons to do right by black and brown communities who have suffered. >> congressman clyburn, when you hear that, is that enough? does that go far enough for you? do you believe that he is being genuine? >> well, as you know, i was born and raised in a parsonage and i always apply some of those early learnings to whatever i hear in the political arena. so, i always say i can appreciate your words. it's your deeds that make it for me. and so what i will be doing is watching his proposals, seeing exactly what he says he's going to do to help us overcome what we know to be a big problem in this country, and that's trying to make the greatness of this country accessible and affordable for all of its citizens. we've got a great health care system in this country. it's just not accessible and affordable to everybody.

same thing with education. we have got to have proposals laid out that will demonstrate exactly what you're going to do in order to overcome some of this. so, i'll be watching for the deeds irrespective of the words. >> your grandson, walter, works on pete buttigieg's campaign and he is featured in this ad which is airing in south carolina this month. he talks about you. here's a clip. >> my grandfather is my hero. my grandfather is my hero. community organizers, civil rights activists. >> one of the leading voices for the disenfranchised. >> i'm working for pete buttigieg because he's got a real plan to combat gun violence and get health care for everyone. >> i'm working for pete because he spelled out policies for lifting people out of poverty. >> tackling racism. >> investing in child care after school. >> he's a fresh start.

>> he's the change we need. >> congressman, you recently told our dana bash that older african-american voters may have a hard time voting for buttigieg because he's gay and your comments got a lot of people talking. do you still believe that? >> you know, there's a big difference between what i personally feel. i've had conversations with my grandson. i know what some of the feedback is that he is getting. his fiance i spoke with yesterday, and she tells me the same thing. so, i'm with my grandson who i'm very proud of to know exactly what he is up against. working not helping him get prepared for what he might hear. so, all i did was express what i know my grandson is going to hear, what all of us have heard all of our lives, so he can be prepared to deal with that. i do not have a problem with it. but i know of a lot of people

whose expressions are to the contrary and i think it's showing up in a lot of people you talk to. >> all right. i appreciate your time congressman clyburn. thanks very much again. >> thank you for having me. >> all right. great to see you, sir. and i will be moderating the town hall with pete buttigieg coming up at 9:00 eastern. you can hear us getting ready for these now. you'll also here from bernie sanders and amy klobuchar. tom steyer says nevada and south carolina are do or die for his campaign. he's my guest. we are less than 30 minutes away from the democratic town halls as officials in nevada insist they are ready for the upcoming caucuses. there are some red flags. so i've been using this awesome new app called rakuten that gives me cash back on everything. that's ebates. i get cash back on electronics, travel, clothes. you're talking about ebates. i can't stop talking about rakuten. pretty good deal - peter sfx [blender]

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tonight do or die, that's what billionaire businessman tom steyer says the next two contests in nevada and south carolina means for his campaign. he's spending nearly $35 million combined. in south carolina, where he has more than 90 campaign aides on the ground, he pulled second place last month. he's out front now. okay.

what does do or die mean for you in nevada? >> i think this. i have to be able to show to people that i can get people to vote for me and i can pull together a diverse coalition of democrats. nevada and south carolina, the first two diverse states. they more reflect the democratic electorate and the american people. and so i've spent a lot of time on the ground here. i think more than anybody else. i've spent a lot of time on the ground in south carolina more than anybody else really going out seeing people face to face, talking to them, holding town halls, really listening and understanding what's going on on the ground. >> you've enlisted in a lot of time and money in nevada. you're not going to be on the debate stage tomorrow night. mike bloomberg will be. even though he's not campaigning. according to the national campaigning, he'll be there. do you respect those rules, the rules they have -- [ cheers and applause ]

>> they loved your question, erin. i am in second or third place in nevada and i am in second or third place in south carolina. there have been no polls counted towards those states because it's supposed to be either national polls or state polls. so, the people in the debate can reflect. the democratic national committee basically disenfranchised the voters of nevada and south carolina by who would be on the debate stage. i've been going to them all along. that's what i've been continuing doing. we're getting great response on the ground and we're going to continue with great response on the ground. and i'm going to show us pull together for the coalition and show that in fact what i'm talking about is really progressive main stream democratic stuff. >> so, bloomberg got in the race late, four months after you did. you waited a while to decide. he was really --

>> i was july, he was probably november. >> october/november. you're both wealthy businessmen. you're willing to spend whatever it takes. a new national polls shows him doing way -- he's second in some polls. >> i haven't spent any time on national polls. what i've been doing is going to these states to do grass roots organizing. i built next gen america. i believe in seeing americans face to face not just in tv ads but going face to face and listening to people and understanding what's going on in nevada. going to south carolina and understanding what's going on in south carolina. i really think that that is -- if you can't do that, i don't understand how you can be president of the united states. >> you used the words progressive main stream and put those terms together. pete buttigieg was asked whether trump would beat the socialist bernie sanders in the general election. that's what the voter said. buttigieg said he shared that concern.

do you share that concern? >> i am not in the anybody but bernie camp at all. what i'm saying is this. i believe what i stand for is progressive democratic values without being a socialist, and i believe that that is in fact something where i'm standing for a choice in terms of health care, a public option in the affordable care act. i'm talking about 4.5 million union jobs to rebuild the country in a climate smart way. i'm talking about a 10% tax cut to everybody who makes less than 250,000 bucks. i'm talking about the kind of progressive change that i think democrats need. and i'm somebody who will talk explicitly about race and ethnicity here. i'm for reparations. i'm for someone who wants to explicitly deal with our racial issues and talk directly to those -- >> i understand in some of those cases you're to the left of some i don't have your rivals. >> including bernie sanders. >> to an issue of a socialist

defeating president trump, do you think that's doable? >> what i think is this, erin, whoever the democrat is, we're going to have to pull people together across racial lines. we're going to have to have black people and latinos and aapi and white people, have people across the country, and pull together the progressive and moderate wings, somebody who can really pull together the coalition. what we can't have is a candidate who can't do that. and i think the whole point about nevada, the whole point about south carolina is being able to prove that in fact i can do that, that i can beat trump on the economy, that i have a much more progressive approach to the economy than he does and that i know more than he does, that i can show he's a liar, that his economy only works for the people in the mar-a-lago, not the people of the country.

i think the minimum wage should be $22. we're in a different place and the people of america need somebody to fight for them again. and that would be me. >> i appreciate your time. next officials in nevada are scrambling to prepare for the weekend's caucuses. how confident are they that they can pull it off? >> only 60% chance that they will still be problems, but it was an 80% chance yesterday. plus a crucial democratic presidential town hall is about to begin, what bernie sanders, pete buttigieg, and amy klobuchar need to do tonight. at fidelity, we'll help you build a clear plan for retirement. one that covers health care costs, taxes, and any other uncertainties. because when you're with fidelity, a partner who makes sure every step is clear, there's nothing to stop you from moving forward. a partner who makes sure every step is clear, you can't always stop for a fingerstick.betes with the freestyle libre 14 day system,

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>> it's not just the outcome of saturday's nevada caucus that's in doubt but whether or not nevada democrats can pull it off. >> obviously a little frustrating waiting an hour online. >> reporter: one volunteer who has been raising the red flag, seth morrison. he let cnn sit in on a recent training web nar where volunteers were shown the crucial caucus calculator they'll use to tabulate results. >> it will also be calculated for you. >> reporter: the training session included screen shots of the calculator but they didn't show it in action. meaning no hands-on experience. that's a concern for another volunteer, christopher erbe, who will be working the caucus saturday. >> having it in your own hand and being able to work through it and being able to ask questions about something in the ipad that bothers you. zplufn't physically touched the ipad. zblif not physically touched the ipad. >> morris says he's seen enough to feel prepared. >> i am definitely satisfied with the training. >> nevada dems say they're confident. >> we're doing trainings around

the clock. that's going to happen every day until caucus day. >> reporter: another concern, after many voters stood in long lines this weekend they may not have their ballots counted because they either didn't choose all three options or didn't sign their ballots as required. the nevada democratic party wouldn't give us a specific number of invalid ballots. >> there was a small percentage of ballots that were missing a signature. >> are we talking dozens? hundreds? thousands? can you clarify that at all? >> it's a very small percentage. the main goal for us is to make sure we preserve the integrity of our election. >> reporter: the democratic party says it will be up to the campaigns to tell voters with invalid ballots that they can still come back on saturday to have their vote counted. melding the information from the early vote with the people who show up for the caucuses saturday could be tricky. because of that morrison, who will oversee multiple precincts, isn't sure saturday will be 100% problem-free. although he says things are improving somewhat.

>> probably 60% chance there will still be problems. but it was an 80% chance yesterday. >> you've got to love those odds right now here in vegas. erin, look, that volunteer christopher erbe said he just wanted to get his hands on the ipad and play with that calculator tool. he is going to get that wish, erin. as of today the nevada democrats tell me that they are allowing these volunteers to come in to use the ipads, become familiar with the calculator so they are comfortable on saturday. the democrats also tell me that they've allowed the campaigns to see the calculator tool as well, erin. >> all right, dianne, thank you. and next what to watch in tonight's presidential town halls which begin in just moments. ever since we moved here, i've been noticing it. i think the house is changing him... -[ gasps ] -up and at 'em! ...into his father. [ eerie music plays ] is it scary? -[ gasps ] -it's in eco mode. so don't touch it.

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welcome back to a special edition of "outfront" live from las vegas. you are looking at the stage. and seeing anderson behind me. bernie sanders is just moments away from kicking off our night of town halls with nevada voters. then at 9:00 i'll be joined by

the former south bend mayor pete buttigieg. and at 10:00 p.m. we'll hear from senator amy klobuchar. david chalian is back with me. these are three candidates with a lot at stake. you've got the front-runner in the polls, bernie sanders, pete buttigieg who's had two very strong performances and amy klobuchar who's hay surge. >> yeah. what i really want to see is how does bernie sanders wear the mantle of front-runner tonight. that's not a position he's been in. i'm wondering to see how he handles that on the stage tonight. you'd mentioned earlier daggers coming his way from some of his opponents. does he sort of brush those off? and does he give us clues on how he plans to take on michael bloomberg on the debate stanl since he's new to the fray? >> there's a lot at stake for mayor buttigieg as well because he did have two strong finishes but his polling numbers don't look anything like that here in nevada or south carolina. >> this is the big test now. we always knew this test was coming for pete buttigieg. he obviously overperformed in iowa and new hampshire. congrats to him.

but he's always had struggles with non-white voters. and nevada followed by south carolina are the first two big tests. and by the way, amy klobuchar has a similar test. she also has had trouble with non-white voters. these are their moments to see if they can take their iowa-new hampshire success or energy. >> and it is do or die for some of these candidates. these nevada-south carolina races. >> they will reshape the entire race heading into the super tuesday contest where 40% of the delegates are going to be awarded. >> all right. and thanks so much for joining us. "cnn tonight" with don lemon starts now. hello, everyone. you have been watching cnn's town halls. live from las vegas. bernie sanders, pete buttigieg, amy klobuchar, each trying to make their case to voters tonight. thursday night "uss joe biden at 8:00 eastern followed by elizabeth warren. but in less than 24 hours six democrats vying to run against the president will hit the debate stage in vegas with the