the polls are all closed and the headlines are in for super tuesday. a big night for donald trump. and hillary clinton. marco rubio finally gets on the board. and ted cruz wins two states, including the biggest prize tonight, texas. 12 states. two epic battles. and the clock ticking down after a brutal fight on the stump. >> we will not accept a weak economy -- >> we don't need to make america great again, america has never stopped being great. >> i'm not a politician, thank goodness. i am but i'm not. >> friends do not let friends vote for con artists. >> if you want someone who will

yourself who actually has stood up to washington. >> tonight the battle lines get drawn all over again. >> from nbc news, "decision 2016:super tuesday." here's lester holt. >> good evening to our viewers in the pacific time zone. we're live. the polls closed in all super tuesday states. i'm joined in election head quarrels by my colleagues savannah guthrie and chuck todd. the results starting with the gop race and the biggest prize tonight at the state of texas, that goes to ted cruz. we project ted cruz is the winner in texas tonight. in the oklahoma primary, another one for ted cruz. his second win of the night. in minnesota marco rubio, this is his one and only win so far in this campaign season. an important one for marco rubio. and the vermont primary, donald

and a lot of states lined up trump's way. in fact, seven in all. there you see them on the screen. and chuck todd is here right now. chuck, talk about the republican race that we've seen it play out tonight. >> that's the big story of the night is donald trump rolling along. ted cruz doing what he had to do to make a compelling case that he stays in this race. marco rubio is probably the big loser of the night. he got his first win, desperately needed that. boy, if he could have added a virginia where early in the night it looked like he could do that. let me put up the delegate board. this shows you the night here. donald trump has a 100-delegate lead and it's only likely to grow after tonight. cruz is a solid second. rubio trailing cruz by almost as much as cruz trails trump. so this is what we're staring at tonight. the question's going to be can the republican establishment, which is doing everything it can to stop trump, can they rally around either cruz or rubio in order to try to do this? i don't think they can.

about that in a minute. let's walk you through the democratic results for the night. let's start off with bernie sanders. he wins in colorado tonight over hillary clinton. also a win in oklahoma, all four wins tonight for bernie sanders. the texas democratic primary goes to hillary clinton. a big prize of the night. and hillary clinton scoring seven wins on the night. a very good night. her southern strategy holding firm for a very big night for the clinton campaign. savannah guthrie, your thoughts on what we've seen in this democratic race. >> hillary clinton did what she had to do. she did have her southern firewall, it held strong. she won huge margins of victory with african-american voters which really poses a question to bernie sanders, what's your path going forward? you have to be able to expand beyond this progressive white liberal base. and that is not something that he was able to do tonight. there were really just two

contested between them and they split them. so hillary clinton takes massachusetts, bernie sanders takes oklahoma. he takes his home state of vermont. if you do the numbers, if chuck would have put up his delegate count and you know he's dying to do that, it would be quite alarming for bernie sanders because it's starting to look like an insurmountable lead. >> you do have that. >> i threw it up there now on savannah's cue. she asked, you shall receive, savannah. 600 delegates, that's a 3-1 -- 2-1, that includes superdelegates at this point. she netted 200 hell gates the hard way and it's because of just her sweep in the south. >> but he's still got money and he still has passion. >> but to what end? and i think that that's going to be what -- does he keep going after hillary clinton or does he start thinking, i'm going to be the progressive leader of the party and the progressive check on hillary clinton but i'm no longer going to attack her, instead i'll attack trump. >> should at some point will

that's right and i think she's going to have to do it via running mate. not to be sanders will be the running mate but a progressive nod to his people. >> donald trump, wins rather than the usual victory speech, he spoke with reporters, hear some of what he had to say. >> this has been an amazing evening. already we've won five major states. and it looks like we could win six or seven or eight or nine. it's really been great. i just want to say that this was an exciting evening. it's so great to be in florida. it's so great to be with friends and the press and the media. our nation is in serious trouble. we're being killed on trade. absolutely destroyed. china is just taking advantage of us. i have nothing against china, i have great respect for china. but their leaders are too smart for our leaders, our leaders

and the trade deficit's at $400 billion and $500 billion are too much. no country can sustain that kind of trade deficit. it won't be that way for long. we have the greatest business leaders in the world on my team already. and believe me, we're going to redo those trade deals and it's going to be a thing of beauty. you look at countries like mexico where they're killing us on the border. border. they're destroying us in terms of economic development. companies like carrier air mexico. ford moving into mexico. that businessnabisco closing up shop in chicago and moving into mexico. we have to stop it, i know how to stop it. we're going to create jobs. we're going to create jobs like you've never seen. we're going to lower taxes substantially for the middle class. the middle class has been forgotten in our country. it really helped and really probably was the predominant factor in making our country

so much and we're all so proud of. but we've forgotten the middle class. we're going to lower taxes. we have tremendous power over everybody because we are really the source. we have great, great power. the problem is we have politicians that truly, truly, truly don't know what they're doing. so we're going to work very, very hard. i'm so honored by this even frrg you would have told me on june 16th when i was with my wife melania and we came down the straighter in trump tower and it looked literally -- literally like this. you have a lot of cameras here tonight. academy awards. my life. you what. it takes a lot of courage to run for president. when you look at all of the problems our country has, you look at our military, which is really being depleted, rapidly depleted, we're going to make our military bigger and better and stronger than ever before and nobody, nobody, nobody's going to mess with us, folks. nobody. >> donald trump speaking a bit

night for him. governor chris christie of new jersey over his shoulder, who of course recently threw his support behind the trump campaign. nbc's katy tur has been with the trump campaign all day. she joins from us palm beach, florida. give us your observations on the night, katy. >> reporter: hey, there. the trump campaign is feeling really confident and they're looking forward to the next states that vote. that's why you saw him in florida tonight. he was in ohio this morning and kentucky this afternoon. ohio and florida vote on march 15th. the second super tuesday. and they're hoping they can potentially lock this nomination up as soon as the 15th. the calendar is certainly on their side for that. also looking ahead to the general election. that's why you saw him almost immediately attack hillary clinton tonight, vowing that he will go after her hard every single day if he gets the nomination and goes up against her. especially when it comes to her e-mail scandal. he's claiming that he doesn't even think that she's eligible to run for president.

out and the establishment is certainly worried that he won't be able to bring a lot of new voters into the polls. hispanic voters, voters that they needed in 2012. the democrats are happy to see that but the establishment is certainly concerned about that. the trump campaign, and certain other gop insiders, will point out this fact -- there is record turnout in all of the gop primary states so far except for vermont. they're pointing to those new voters, those disenfranchised voters, older white voters who are turning out in record numbers to vote for donald trump. they believe that will offset potentially some of the damage that has been done with minority voters, hispanic voters. that being said, trump is adamant that he will be able to woo those voters back. whether he can do that given all of the controversies, the muslim ban, the talk about the wall and deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants and

and drug dealers during his campaign announcement, how he can overcome that, that remains to be seen. the candidate still remaining pretty extreme in a lot of his platforms. but potentially, and there's speculation about this, rumors that he could move much more toward the middle as this campaign goes on. he's starting out from an extreme position as a negotiating position in order to move towards the middle down the line. and potentially get in more moderate voters out there. >> katy tur, thanks. as we note it's a big night for hillary clinton. she did lose a number of states to bernie sanders but she also swept the south, as many expected. clinton watched the results come in from miami where she had this to say earlier to her supporters. >> america prospers when we all prosper. america is strong when we're all strong.

do. but that work -- that work is not to make america great again. america never stopped being great. we need -- [ cheers and applause ] we have to make america whole. we have to fill in -- [ cheers and applause ] fill in what's been hollowed out. >> usa, usa! >> nbc ace kristen welker joins us live from miami. what's the mood in the clinton camp after tonight? you look back a few weeks ago, they were licking their wounds coming ow new hampshire, now seven wins tonight. >> reporter: no doubt secretary clinton and her campaign fired up and feeling very confident. you heard that there in her speech tonight when she addressed her very energized supporters. this was a very strong night for her. she swept her southern firewall largely with a lot of support from african-americans.

and so this is going to give her a lot of momentum heading into march and those states that vote at the end of march. she barely mentioned senator sanders in her speech tonight and instead set her sights firmly on donald trump. she didn't mention him by name but it was clear she was taking aim at him. you heard her there in that sound bite you just played, take aim at his make america great again speech. she also tried to paint herself as the anti-trump. talked about the fact that she wants to build bridges instead of putting up walls. this is a preview of what we would see in a general election. i've been talking to democratic strategists, clinton campaign officials who are signaling that if she takes on trump in the general election she will be pointing out all his controversial comments, offensive comments he's made toward minorities, his controversial policies by putting up walls. still, one top strategist tells me she shouldn't get down into

to refrain from making personal attacks on donald trump unless he actually goes after her personally, which we anticipate he will do. meanwhile she's got to get through this primary first and her campaign says at this point in time they don't have enough mathematically to put this race out of reach. te think that might be possible on march 15th when florida votes. that's why she held her watch party here tonight, or possibly a little bit later on in the month. but senator sanders vowing to stay in this race tonight. and he's got the money to do it. as you all have been discussing he raised $40 million this month alone. so this primary fight very much continues. >> all right, we want to go back to chuck todd. you have been drilling down on the exit polls. >> let's go to the republican side. it's just simple formula for donald trump. he's the change candidate. let me show you. basically that's two characteristics that are important to republican voters. the top two characteristics are either they want a president who will basically bring needed change versus a president who

let me throw up the values numbers. this is where ted cruz was strong across the board in states. for the most part ted cruz won the voters that want a presidential candidate who shares my values. if you go up on screen. trump finished third, fourth in some cases -- in one case fifth on this number in many states. many republican voters not saying they care about this issue, not picking trump. where trimp ran away with things is the candidate who brings needed change. he topped the entire field in every single state on this issue, closing in on nearly 50%. he topped the field on every -- except in the state of texas where cruz won texas, he was seen as the can date who would bring needed change. even that, trump was a fairly close second on that. trump is winning right now, bringing new people in as the change candidate. and it really is sort of a mirror image of barack obama eight years ago. barack obama was the change candidate. record turnouts. new people coming to the democratic fold.

candidate, record turnout, new republicans coming in to vote. >> what kind of change are they saying? >> change, a different kind of change, but that's what's powering trump. >> thanks very much. still ahead we'll hear from marco rubio. what he sees as his path forward after tonight's losses. we'll be back. hey, need fast heartburn relief? try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours.

no pill relieves heartburn faster. announcement: is storm promises to be the biggest of the decade. with total accumulation of up to three feet. roads will be shut down indefinitely. and schools are closed. campbell's soups go great with a cold and a nice red. made for real, real life. i'm chris bosh. when i was sidelined with blood clots in my lung, it was serious. fortunately, my doctor had a game plan. treatment with xarelto . hey guys! hey, finally, somebody i can look up to... ...besides arnie. xarelto is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. xarelto is also proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. for people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there's lited information on how xarelto and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. you know, i tried warfarin, but the blood testing and dietary restrictions... don't get me started on that. i didn't have to. we started on xarelto . nice pass. safety first. like all blood thinners, don't stop taking xarelto

as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto , watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto , tell your doctor about any kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you know xarelto is the #1 prescribed blood thinner in its class. that's a big win. it is for me. with xarelto there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto ... ...was the right move for us.

welcome back. marco rubio notched his very first win of this race tonight with his victory in penn. that helped him avoid a shutout but otherwise a tough night for the senator. nbc's gabe gutierrez is at rubio's headquarters in miami. good evening, gabe. >> reporter: hi there, lester. the rubio campaign had precious

as you mentioned it did pick up its first campaign season primary victory, rather, caucus victory in minnesota. the rubio campaign what they are saying is that they do still plan to go ahead and pick up as many delegates as possible. they did cross the 20% threshold in states like georgia but failed to cross it in other states like alabama. and they weren't able to pick up any delegates there. very tough night for the rubio campaign. but they expect to stay in this as long as possible here if florida. this will be a crucial state for them. march 15th, the florida primary, marco rubio's home state, they are laying it all on the line here. now earlier tonight, rubio took the stage here in florida and he continued to hammer donald trump. let's take a listen on what he has to say. >> it is not a coincidence that so many young americans my age and a few years older are all

conservative message. because we, we are the children of the reagan revolution. we will not allow the party of lincoln and reagan to fall into the hands of a con artist. we will not allow the next president of the united states to be a socialist like bernie sanders. and we will not allow the next president of the united states to be someone under fbi investigation like hillary clinton. >> reporter: that is a line of attack that he has repeated for several days now. one point going into the gutter, attacking donald trump over his hair, over his spray tan. he's backed off from that over the last day or so, instead really hitting that point hard about donald trump he says being a con artist and attacking him over his finances and trump policy. certainly, lester, this was a

rubio in that he finished third place in many states. at one point it looked like he might not walk away with a single victory and that is what his critics pointed to, an 0 for 15 start to this campaign 15. he was able to pull off victory in minnesota. but now the question will be, will he be able to convince less donors and supporters to stick with him as ted cruz was able to pull off victories in texas and oklahoma? the cruz campaign saying that his campaign is the best positioned to take on donald trump going forward. rubio again really laying it all on the line here in florida, his home state, which votes on march 15th. >> all right, gabe. you spoke of cruz. he of course won tonight in oklahoma and his home state of texas. and earlier he spoke to his supporters. this is what he had to say. >> together, we will repeal

abolish the irs. that are killing small businesses. stop amnesty and secure the borders. >> and our hallie jackson joins us from cruz headquarters in stafford, texas. >> reporter: hi, there, lester. the lights are on, the parties over. for ted cruz he is hoping to move momentum into the coming states after winning texas and in his backyard in oklahoma. i had a chance to speak with the senator after he delivered that speech you played a little bit of. he talked about the need getting conservatives behind his candidacy saying, do not nominate a candidate who will drive the party off a cliff, a clear reference to donald trump. cruz also not calling on marco rubio to drop out of this race but instead saying that candidates who do not have a clear path to the nomination to

cruz and trump can go at it head to head. obviously marco rubio still very much in the mix, planning to stick around for a while. for cruz this is now for him a chance to try to show that he is the one who can beat donald trump. he will point to those victories in two states. while marco rubio has won minnesota i'm told by the campaign to keep an eye out for cruz to make the argument he also performed well against donald trump in minnesota and other states too. the issue for him, he lost those right evangelicals and very conservatives in some states, according to you're exit polls, to donald trump. so he's got to make the case now that he can actually coalesce those conservatives, the gop base around him. one way his campaign may do so, look to oklahoma, lester. the first closed primary, meaning only registered republicans can vote, and the fact that ted cruz was successful there, look for the campaign to point to that and say, hey, this is what republicans want. this is what the base really wants. donald trump is pulling

segments of the population. about the cruz they will argue is the true conservative who should be the nominee. >> all right, hallie, thank you. i want to bring in hugh hewitt, conservative host of "the hugh hewitt show" who joins from us his studios in irvine, california. hugh, good evening, thanks for joining us. >> good to be here, thanks for having me. >> rube grow and cruz both think they're still a path despite donald trump's victories tonight. how do you see the numbers breaking down in terms of delegates and a path to victory? >> i'm always a little worried when i disagree with chuck todd, but i do. i think this was actually not that great of a night for donald trump. he had a very good night, a strong night. but on thursday morning of the last debate, hurricane donald was a category 5 that was going to make landfall and win 10, maybe 11 states tonight. instead it's a category 3, maybe a category 2, and there's a couple different narratives. there's a narrative of ted cruz's comeback and what you just heard hallie say about

is important. there's a narrative for marco rubio, who with this minnesota win caused 100 headline rewrites overnight. you see a delegate count for donald trump which is slightly more than half of what mitt romney had at the same point in the race four years ago. so i don't think anyone's going to get to 1,237 delegates. earlier tonight when chuck sat down with marco rubio, watching that during the radio show break from the salem city, senator rubio said, i don't know how donald trump gets to 1,237. and that is the question. i think we're going to have an open convention. >> hugh, i guess that's -- okay, we know marco rubio can't get there and neither can ted cruz get there. so the hope for them has got to be to deny trump. the next two weeks, explain to me how donald trump loses mississippi. explain to me how donald trump loses michigan. then we get to the big second super tuesday states on march 15th.

nonaggression pact in ohio against kasich and rubio against florida if you want to continue to try to deny trump these delegates. aren't we looking at triple bank shot territory here, hugh? >> no, i don't think it's that difficult. i do think michigan is going to be the key test in that run of contests. i think that's a wide-open state. and i do believe florida will marco rubio. but i also do believe you hit on it. deny trump category where cruz and rubio camps begin to talk to each other about how do you cooperate in this sophisticated strategy to have us both on the ticket. and i expect you'll see donald trump pick up the phone and talk to john kasich about ohio and what happens after ohio. they all want to win. they all play to win. >> what you're saying is happening now. what you're saying is we're brokering now. >> you just outlined -- >> there are no brokers. >> you outlined two, cruz and

>> that's the way i kind of see the two teams working out, although john kasich might be a little prickly when approached with that idea. nevertheless, that's not brokering, it's an open convention. there are no brokers. they can only agree to cooperate. i also think you're going to see the nastiest two weeks of republican primary campaigning since 1976 and even the ford/reagan campaign's going to appear to be genteel in comparison to these next two weeks. >> hugh, it's savannah guthrie. i want to say for the record i love it when you disagree with chuck todd. >> we're barely disagreeing, by the way. >> i know. >> by degrees here. >> how do republican -- the establishment or the conservatives, the non-trump factor, how do those republicans say to the voters who turned out in record numbers tonight, you know what, woulder erwe're going to do what's right, we'll take care of it. you're essentially thwarting the will of the people and this organic movement -- the

it is real. >> well, 36% nationally of the votes cast tonight went to donald trump. that is indeed significant. and he is the leader and he's the leader by a lot. but this is a process that counts every vote along the way. and i think what will disenfranchise republicans is being told that it's over at any stop along the way. i would point out that marco rubio did best in minnesota, where there were very few late voters. very few absentees. where the kkk exchange with donald trump took its greatest toll on him. i consider that to be kind of a limpet mine attached to his candidacy. far worse than mitt romney's 47% comments four years ago. when you factor that in, republicans who want to beat hillary clinton are going to be listening closely to the arguments over the next two weeks, made in abundance by super pacs that are hostile to donald trump, about the fact that he cannot beat hillary clinton. and that his negatives are so high. will that persuade the donald

supporters are extravagantly top. donald trump makes unforced errors. tonight he basically threatened paul ryan. he said, i don't know him, i don't know if i'm get along with him, if i don't it's going to be bad news for him. i step back and i said, donald trump, come on, stay on game to bring the party together. he said he's a great unionfier, but that was a brick thrown at probably the most universally admired republican in the party, speaker ryan. in two weeks if it's over or we'll know for sure i was right. i've been saying open convention for a year and chuck owes me dinner if i'm right. >> i want that open convention. plus it's in your home state so it would be a lot more fun for you as well. >> great haveing you on, thanks for spending time.

are may be reshaping this race. the future belongs to the fast. and to help you accelerate, we've created a new company... one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership where people,technology and ideas push everyone forward. accelerating innovation. accelerating transformation. accelerating next. hewlett packard enterprise. allergies can distract you. so when your symptoms start... ...doctors recommend taking non-drowsy claritin every day of your allergy season for continuous relief. with claritin you get powerful, non-drowsy relief 24 hours a day, day after day. and with fewer symptoms to distract you... you can focus on the extraordinary things you do every single day.

being gay is not a choice. the amount of people who struggle and struggle so much because of internal issues and the shame they feel, external issues because of the fear of being owe pressed or hurt or killed. why would somebody make that choice?

choice? i know too many americans have lost faith in our future. we hear it in the voices of parents who don't know how they're going to give their kids the opportunities they deserve. we see it in the eyes of working men and women who don't expect anything to come easy but wonder why it has to be quite so hard. like many of you, i find

values i learned from my family and my faith. they gave me simple words to live by and old methodist sayings. do all the good you can for all the people you can for as long as you can. >> hillary clinton speaking to supporters tonight. we want to bring in our nbc news political analyst, nicole wallace and eugene robinson, also an associate editor and columnist for "the washington post." it looks increasingly like this race is shaping up into a donald trump/hillary clinton battle. what does that mean for republicans, nicole, who have been in denial that this could happen if. >> listen, hugh hewitt is one of the smartest among us and my head is spinning from his analysis. i think you have a real problem if you try to steal the domination from donald trump, who is being sent to the top of the polls, who is winning state after state in every corner of this country, by the most passionate supporters. >> that was savannah's point, the will of the people.

>> if you think the party is ruptured now with this fight we're having? imagine trying to take the nomination from donald trump at one room. you've never seen so much blood. >> 11 republican races tonight, donald trump so far has won 7. the guy went 7 of 11 so far. who knows what will happen in alaska. and has won three previously. he is the story. he's the front-runner. >> just think about where we are. sorry to interrupt. but you're talking about aspects of the republican party actually trying to figure out how to bring down the person who would otherwise, in any other cycle, be the prohibitive front-runner, perhaps even november's nominee. >> i'll be devil's advocate. number one, he's short a delegate. number two, he hasn't been in a one on one. >> there's no sign he's going to be because anybody's getting out. >> this is why i think this was

tonight than winning 10 of 11. because it kept everybody in and if everybody's in, 35 or 40 is a winning number. by the way, we have a bunch of contests in between now and march 15th. i know we have a map of all the remaining march states. before march 15th we have a kansas, nebraska, michigan, mississippi. these are all the remaining march states. i look at those states. louisiana, mississippi. trump will be favored in one. maybe cruz can do pretty well there. arizona. that's a trumplandia. kansas. you have missouri. that's going to be trump. illinois. treasure's favored. michigan, too many people are trying to win michigan, case and i can rubio, which will split the vote. i look at that map and i think trump's going to win two-thirds of those states. >> we're here because of the crowded field. we will stay here because the field remains crowded. >> and because the system was

to a result no one ever anticipating -- >> strength in the establishment front-runner which trump is not. >> well -- >> probably saddled with it at one point. >> sounded like a great idea four years ago -- the only question i have is can you get what he's talking about here? will cruz and kasich, will they have a nonaggression pact? rubio, you're on your own in florida and we won't attack you. kasich, you're on your own in ohio. is there going to be this sort of nonaggression pact all in the name of denying trump delegates? >> primary campaigns and nonaggression pacts don't belong in the same sentence. i think if you had any interest in that they wouldn't all still be in. >> there's zero evidence that they're able to get together and unify around any common theme. other than stop trump. that's why they're all wanting to say in. i talk to senior republicans today who tried to bring them together. it's not happening. and if you talk to these campaigns, yeah, they'll talk

strategy. but man, they keep falling back to cruz people against rubio and rubio people against cruz. that's what animates them. >> the problem is there's not enough people that respect cruz, there's not enough people that respect rubio, there's not enough people that respect kasich in this group. they all think, i'm better than that guy. >> and i'm the one who should be the anti-trump, i'm the one who should benefit -- >> right, right. >> me, not you. >> how does clinton take advantage of this bout overwithout overstoking the flames if you can overstoke flames? >> clinton's job is to, assuming -- well, she's way ahead. so if we assume she gets the nomination, her job is to start pivoting toward a general election campaign, start laying out her themes, and right now she's got too think that perhaps donald trump is going to be her opponent and to the extent she can take shots at him, show him as the alternative, show what's

government, his whole approach to running for president. how all that's wrong. she can begin to do damage. >> we're going to take a break, back in a moment with bernie sanders vowing to still carry on clinton. thanks eugene and nicole and we'll be right back. a heart attack doesn't care if you run everyday, or if you're young or old. no matter who you are a heart attack can happen without warning. if you've had a heart attack, a bayer aspirin regimen can help prevent another one.

an aspirin regimen. bayer aspirin. hello my love! the flame is out... ugh...today the flame is out, tomorrow my attitude... your mother... antonio. antonio. que? the stove. it's not working. campbell's microwaveable soups.

at the end of tonight, 15 states will have voted, 35 states remain. and let me assure you that we are going to take our fight for economic justice, for social justice, for environmental sanity, for a world of peace, to every one of those states. >> bernie sanders promising his

this battle against hillary clinton for the democratic nomination. nbc's casey hunt has been with the sanders campaign tonight and joins us now from vermont. she's been sampling some of the mood there. casey? >> reporter: lester, good evening. this of course is a night that is tough for bernie sanders. they knew that it was going to be tough. especially across the south. but they hung in there in a way that ultimately has made them feel like this narrative is still one that can be turned their way, at least somewhat. they were particularly excited to see those returns in oklahoma where he won and they were watching massachusetts really closely right up there until the end. and of course you heard bernie sanders there vowing to continue this all the way up to the convention in philadelphia. this is a candidate who gets very personally frustrated when people write him off, kind of write him out of the narrative. it's it's a campaign that's

anyone really expected that it would. but that said, there's already a lot of discussion about how this delegate massth is going to get insurmountable to him quickly. they're hoping to do well in states like ior and illinois but it's going to be a tough road forward. >> chuck, you've been looking at the exit poll numbers. it's not just a matter of states won or loss, it's the breakdown of the voters. it should be alarming for his campaign. >> it is, especially when you think about the african-american vote. this is among the most important parts of the democratic coalition. and look at these numbers. i want to put them up here on the board when we have the exit poll numbers from all these southern states. hillary clinton won them by 93% of the african-american vote in alabama. over 90% in arkansas. 85% in georgia. >> the one place where she did lose to sanders in oklahoma she got 71% of the african-american vote but that's not a large portion of that electorate. 83% in texas. 89, 84. these are numbers -- this is

and yes, most now there aren't many states left with large proportions of minority votes, perhaps. but i look at what's coming up. where is he going to make his mark? he's going to have to beat her in a state that shocks us. is it michigan? no. is it florida? i don't see it. i think he's going to try to make a play for ohio. that's what he's got to do. his strategy tonight was to survive and get to the convention. not to try to win. and that's what i didn't get and the fact that he made no improvement with the african-american vote at all going forward i think tells you where this nomination is heading. >> all right, chuck, thanks. when we come back we look beyond tonight to november and the general election. when your type 2 diabetes numbers aren't moving in the right direction, it can be a burden. but what if you could wake up to lower blood sugar? imagine loving your numbers. discover once-daily invokana . with over 6 million prescriptions and counting, it's the #1 prescribed sglt2 inhibitor

invokana is used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugarin adults with type 2 diabetes. it's a once-daily pill that works around the clock. here's how: invokana reduces the amount of sugar allowed back in to the body through the kidneys and sends some sugar out through the process of urination. and while it's not for weight loss, it may help you lose weight. invokana can cause important side effects, including dehydration, which may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, lightheaded, or weak, especially when you stand up. other side effects may include kidney problems, genital yeast infections, urinary tract infections, changes in urination, high potassium in the blood, increases in cholesterol, or risk of bone fracture. do not take invokana if you have severe kidney problems or are on dialysis. stop taking and call your doctor right away if you experience symptoms such as rash, swelling,

tell your doctor about any medical conditions, medications you are taking, and if you have kidney or liver problems. using invokana with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase risk of low blood sugar. imagine life with a lower a1c. are you loving your numbers? there's only one invokana . ask your doctor about it by name. hey, need fast heartburn relief? try cool mint zantac.

in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac.

welcome back. joining us, the former governor of michigan jennifer grant holm, a hillary clinton surrogate and republican strategist, nbc news political analyst ben ginsburg. unofficially does the general election campaign start tonight? >> no, it does not. he performed respectably tonight, she's going to -- >> he meaning bernie sanders? >> he meaning bernie sanders, obviously. they're going to go all the way. i think in the same way that the republicans have probably a cataclysmic moment on the 15th i think the democrat dozen as well. there's a lot of key states between now and then. we're not done yet but it was a good night for hillary clinton for sure. >> can she get some of those

especially those young people who energize, will come out to vote? >> it's a great question and she has to and she wants to and she will work her tail off to get those young people excited about her and part of that means that she's going to reach out to bernie sanders when the time is right, assuming they get there. and he's going to be a part of bringing them in. as well as some of the other players in the democratic party like elizabeth warren and others who may not have taken a position yet. >> let's have some fun here with ted ginsburg. you are an election lawyer expert, bush v. gore is probably the most famous thing you've worked on. mitt romney's campaign lawyer, you oversaw the delegate selection process in 2012. you have helped write these rules that the rnc -- at least you helped understand these rules at the rnc -- >> and he speaks latin. >> and he speaks latin, ergo, you can explain this.

>> i guess the point is, hughhewitt is claiming there is a way to a contested convention. explain how this would happen. >> the way that it happens is over the next couple of weeks, donald trump does not have a clear majority, clear majority path, to get there. so he's ahead by 100, 150 votes going into the convention. the work that has to be done before then is to go out to the state conventions and to figure out who the delegates are. because candidates in 73% of the delegates at the convention do not have a say in who they are. so it is possible for a movement to go out, elect delegates to the convention, and those delegates have to vote for the candidate on the first ballot. they don't have to vote for him on rules issues, credentials issues, vice presidential nomination, naming the permanent chair -- >> oh my god. >> what's the percentage --

>> is it a total fantasy? is it a 10% chance, 20% chance? what's the reality here? >> i think in reality it's about a 5% chance. you've still got three candidates who are earning some degree of delegates. so it is not a mathematical certainty that donald trump goes into the convention -- >> he is the only guy that can get the delegates before the convention, that's a fact. >> it is a triple bank shot to get into the contested convention scenario. but just like there's never been a contested convention, there was never a presidential recount. >> that's true. >> there you go. >> all sentences that start "there has always been this" or "the way it always works" should be banned from this campaign because the rule book, throw it on the fire. >> it's the black swan election, peter hart, i can't remember who said it. >> you know earlier, savannah, if that happened, if this sort of weirdo fantasy, establishment

would go absolutely bonkers. >> thanks very much. back in a moment with final

super tuesday race. it takes a lot of work... to run this business. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost. now try new boost compact and 100 calories. it's easy to love your laxative when that lax loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases and softens to unblock naturally, so you have peace of mind from start to finish.

one of the russian search recovery helicopters. >> my colleague savannah guthrie was asking, imagine somebody dropping from outer space in the middle of this election. here's the man that did it about 90 minutes ago. the longest american space stay came to an end, astronaut scott kelly touched back in kazakhstan after spending nearly a year in space. we visited over satellite a couple of days ago. he's talking about really wanting to get back, human contact. >> it's been neat. i think we've all done interviews with him at one point over the last year. it is sort of -- >> looking at pictures, he was tweeting gorgeous pictures. >> great selfies. doesn't it make you think of the best of humanity and space exploration and our better angels? >> i'm glad he's safely on the ground. hee has followed the news so he knows what's going on. a different perspective from orbiting the earth and we're happy he's back safely. final thoughts from the two of you.

it's too close to call. >> heck win his third state tonight, cruz. not a bad haul. we underrated ted cruz the last 72 hours. he's turning out to have a good night. this was supposed to be a better night when he fantasized about this two months ago. still a big night for donald trump. you could argue the best possible outcome for trump. because everybody stays in. and as long as everybody stays in, donald trump keeps winning with 35%, 40%. >> the next two weeks the republican establishment wringing their hands, what do we do, how do we stop trump? i have to say there's an equal and opposite reaction every time they do that. it only seems to make trump stronger. it only makes his voters more resolute. >> he has uncanny ability to seize the news cycle. >> it's record turnout, it's new voters. this is again the last candidate to do this was barack obama.

you can't -- a political party, its leadership may be absolutely thinking they're going over a cliff but you're not going to be able to deny what they're doing. >> you hear about contested elections and that sort of thing. you made an interesting point these votes are real. the votes for trump are real. >> to chuck's point he is widening the tent of the republican party, which was an aspiration after 2012, they didn't imagine it would happen like this. >> they didn't want to widen it this way. >> chuck todd, savannah guthrie, a pleasure to be with you. we'll have more in about an hour? tomorrow morning on the "today" show and at nbcnews.com. i'm lester for the candidates who have not yet won a state or racked up significant delicates, -- delegates, i ask you to

together. >> a plea from ted cruz as super tuesday comes to a close. and some iconic landmarks in yosemite national park now have new names. the trademark dispute behind it and how officials and the public are reacting. quiet for now that mother nature will soon war. -- roar. news for mac at 11:00 -- use 4 starts right now. >> good evening everyone, front runners hillary clinton and donald trump racked up near sweeps tonight as the primary votes were counted. that a republican spoiler ted cruz beat trump into contests. we will -- in two contests. here's the latest look, donald trump leading the republican pack with 274 delegates and for the democrats, hillary clinton the clear winner.