with ted cruz. he says, do i want to fight ted cruz? he says, yes, he thinks he can beat him, and he says "that will be easy." chris? >> all right, wolf. we call you the captain for a reason. thank you for leading us through all 77 hours of this coverage today. important day. always a pleasure to be with you, sir. all right, each of the panelists, your final thoughts on what your take is from what you just saw with trump or aything. what's the significance tonight? starting with you, michael. >> i was very surprised that he spent so much time in his remarks tonight addressing a potential third-party candidacy. i hope he knows something. >> i thought trump looked very tired tonight. i hope that we are moving past the point of talking about the size of people's hands and also just florida, florida, florida. that's where he was tonight, and that's where i think this race is going to get something of a second look. >> and in presidential primaries, you change the dynamic by breaking serve. tonight the f

let's listen in to ted cruz. his supporters obviously they are in idaho now, very excited as we await ted cruz' first projection we made of the night that ted cruz wins in kansas. doing well by the way also in maine right now. we'll see what happen there is although only 5% of the vote is in. at least ahead with 5%. >> let me say to rod and to steve, thank you for your incredible leadership. thank you for your friendship to our tremendous leadership team here, to my friend congressman raul, thank you for your support and thank you to the patriots gathered here in the great state of idaho. and while we're at it let me say god bless kansas. and god bless maine. now, it's a little bit early, we don't know time election results yet. the votes are still being counted. but as of today, the networks have called the state of kansas for us. and right now as they are counting the votes, we have roughly 50% of the votes in the state of kansas. and you know, maine it's still early, they are starting to count. right now on th

callede weeks ago, he ted cruz a liar. last night, he told supporters that ted cruz was the only conservative left in the race. you might recall lindsey graham said this about ted cruz one month ago. a few kill ted cruz on the floor of the senate and the trial was in the senate, nobody could convict you. [laughter] that might leave you thinking about the day that senator graham supported senator ted cruz. currently, pigs are flying. pigs are flying actually today because lindsey graham the supporting ted cruz for president. john: that is correct. the lindsey graham is hosting a fundraiser for ted cruz on monday and he says that in order to stop trump, he will help ted cruz in every way he can. and lindseyo rubio graham siding with ted cruz? lindsey graham has thought for a while that john kasich would not have enough strength to stop donald trump. he looks at the map in the money and the message and he believes it up or conservative person -- he believes that a more conservative person can stop trump at the convention. tha

because this is a big if, certainly for ted cruz, to get this from mitt romney, but it also makes ted cruz an insider. and he's been trying to run on the outsider message, just like donald trump. so if you're doing the net gain and negative here, how does this calculate for a ted cruz? >> well, what we've seen is the establishment is coming to ted cruz, because they so fear a trump candidacy. and i also think and have seen the establishment's -- day begin to look at ted cruz's agenda. you know, what he's running on. and he's talked about balancing the budget, going to a 10% flat tax rate, having better relationships with israel, strengthening that relationship, rebuilding and building the military. and what the republicans need to ask themselves is what -- will they not work with ted cruz on? and the answer is really none of the above. and so the donald trump candidates presents such a unknown to them, so markets don't like unknowns. they like stability. political parties don't like unknowns either, because they don't know if a trump candidacy, if that's going to be -- establishment d

ted cruz has three. everyone else combined has zero. >> that's right. >> this is going to buttress his argument that it's time for everyone to consolidate around him, around ted cruz, so as to defeat donald trump. this is going to be a very forceful argument, and, look, jeffrey lord quoted lindsey graham speaking on behalf of the republican establishment saying a choice between donald trump and ted cruz was a choice between something like shooting yourself and poisoning yourself. >> right. >> well guess what, that's the choice that the republican establishment has. they're going to have to either shoot themselves or poison themselves. they have to get behind one of these guys. that's the argument because the math is just becoming impossible for any other candidate, dana. >> that's right. and you hit the nail on the head. it is about math, and, well, it's two things. it is about sort of the psychological impact of having two wins on a night where people were looking at donald trump to run the board. texas

and ted cruz, that is a very good day for ted cruz. having a good night in kansas and dominating the caucus there and will it give him a boost and will it change the dynamics going forward. we'll speak to the cruz campaign after this. >> we are here because of our countries. we are here because we love our kids and grandkids and we want our country back. i think it l. 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. [dog bark] trust me, we're dealing with a higher intelligence here. ♪ the all-new audi q7 is here. ♪ when age-related macular have degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan. including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula that the national eye institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd... after 15 years of clinical studies. pre

candidate ted cruz. his very first endorsement from a fellow senator. after all this time it's finally happening. the republican senator from utah, mike lee, is set to give his support to ted cruz at an moment. but while we wait, the bitter and sometimes bizarre republican primary race has now come to this. the party's national chairman essentially begging the candidates to keep it g-rated at tonight's debate, after the last debate broke down in angry attacks, in name-calling, even bragging about a certain -- well, you remember. the republican national committee boss, reince priebus, says the group has talked with the campaigns and debate sponsors about toning it down a bit tonight. the front runner in donald trump says he hopes it will be, quote, nicey, sorter, lighter debate. you heard that right. trump says he wants is nicer, softer, lighter. but if tonight is anything like the top two candidates' most recent events don't expect cease fire. >> lying ted. you know, don't forget, lying ted was supposed

let's talk about ted cruz. you're supporting ted cruz. i guess one of the issues around ted cruz is he hasn't made friends in the senate. people are worried he's not going to get the full scale support that he needs to beat hillary clinton come november. >> well, first of all, ted cruz is the only guy who can beat donald trump. and the only way to beat donald trump is at the ballot box. all the discussion about a brokered convention is absurd. honestly speaking while they're good men and have ran campaigns, marco rubio needs to step aside. even if john kasich were to win ohio on tuesday he has no path. so people need to rally around ted cruz, the party needs to unify behind ted cruz in order to beat donald trump fair and square. secondly, and you know this, i've challenged the system all my life. and guess what? when you challenge the system, you do more than ruffle feathers, you make enemies. he's made enemies because he challenged the system. the system needs to be challenged. in fact, donald trump and hillary clinton are the system. th

i have to tell you that ted, i was watching him and congratulations on the two states, ted. but he was saying that donald trump has a ceiling of 35% to 40%. well, cnn just came out with a poll two days ago that said i have 49% compared to his 15%. so i guess it's not 40%. i have a 49% number. some of the polls are showing over 50%. and i don't think they're accurate. i've won many polls, as you know, against hillary clinton directly. and i'm the only one that's going to beat her, if she's allowed to run. [ applause ] and the only one, remember that. and i am the one person, the one person, trust me, that she does not want to run against. now, we only had one little skirmish four weeks ago, and that was not pleasant for her and bill. i'm really ashamed of the press, because they got it wrong. they didn't give me any credit. do you remember when she was beating bernie easily and four weeks ago, all of a sudden bernie was doing great. you know why? because she went down. you know why? because of my skirmish. and i got no credit. please give me some credit for that. [ applause ]

ted cruz at 161. marco rubio 87 bondage they both argue as this case is, there's a long way to go, 70% of the delegates are outstanding. a touch balance to that is momentum. and psychology. >> it was a much more compelling argument before yesterday. you had four contests before yesterday at a small percentage, the challenge, john kasich does not have a path for the nomination. the challenge for ted cruz and marco rubio is what changes? what is different? wheat saw sifting through those reams of exit polls, the exit poll data from last night looks like the exit poll data from south carolina. going back to iowa, certain patterns emerging and if those patterns are not destructive donald trump is the nominee. martha: if those patterns are not disrupted, for so long republican party just assumed that eventually the pattern would be disrupted. that the cosmos was not in the right place for donald trump to get the nomination but it turns out the many american people disagree with that. >> i am not a donald t

against ted cruz. i just don't see ted cruz winning those states. >> i think steve nailed it. because the longer kasich stays in this race, it's difficult for cruz to have another night like he's having in utah because the states that are coming up, their electorates on the republican side do not look like utah at all. these are rust belt states. they are suburb man, maybe a little more moderate. >> tell me about the lds folks. i've had some experience with it over the years. they don't like people like trump, a show off. >> it's an interesting state. it's my state that i live in now. first off, it's a very pragmatic state in its governance. he's an exception that he's the most ideological-type candidate that you'll see elected in the state and that goes for the republican areas of the state as well as democratic part of the state. mormons are just repelled by aspects of donald trump's personality and so you see culturally in the state you see a state that in the republican party that it was dominated by lds voters, you know, rejecting trump's candidacy very significantly toni

not beer goggles but trump goggles. >> they're thinking, oh, ted cruz, but this guy, ted cruz is almost as electable as donald trump to me. he's basically in the santorum bucket there and he's still not really breaking out of that. he's the most conservative member of the united states senate. so democrats i feel you got to be thinking pretty well of yourselves. >> it is amazing what happened today on the show. mitt romney went closer and closer to saying he was almost enthusiastic -- not enthusiastic about cruz, but he was closer. and lindsey graham by the end by the time with mary he seemed to agree with the premise do it before florida and ohio. >> well, winning helps. and cruz has demonstrated an ability to get voters to commit to him even if the party is so hesitant to do so. now that he's racking up some wins and republicans looking seriously at this and worried about what could happen if trump is the nominee are seeing cruz in this atmosphere that's something -- >> bad saturday for marco rubio turning into a disastrous sunday. >> using an old template on this. it's not republican

ted cruz needs to win 61%. if he gets the rubio support, which is a natural constituency for him, it suddenly is a real neck-and-neck race and i think senator cruz pulls ahead and wins this. >> justin, you're a key figure in the tea party movement which is all about having your voice be heard, don't tread on us. are you ready to sit here and say right now that if donald trump does end up with the most delegates heading into the convention, maybe not a majority but the most, that he should get the nomination? i mean, do you think that all of this talk in the contested convention goes too far? >> no, i don't think it all goes too far. where it does go too far is if you talk about establishment figures stepping in to take the race away from the two top candidates, such as throwing a mitt romney out there, then, yeah, that goes way too far. that's stealing the election and, you know what, that's suicide for the republican party. if somebody like mitt romney or some other establishment figure comes in and in a conte

that's going to help ted cruz here. but i'm not getting any sense of trembling inside the trump campaign even though ted cruz is having what is undoubtedly a good night so far. the last time we saw donald trump give a press conference after an election, wolf, it was after super tuesday when he did very well. the outcome is a little different tonight so we'll have to see whether the tone is different from donald trump when he speaks later on here tonight, wolf. >> of course we'll have live coverage of that. that's coming up at the right point as soon as we see donald trump show up behind you, we'll, of course, have live coverage. thanks very much, jim acosta. so far as jim said a very good night for ted cruz. one contest down, six contests for the democrats and the republicans to go. >> that's right. we still have a long night ahead of us. jim was saying the trump camp was trying to say

if there were one, it might be ted cruz. they don't really like ted cruz. marco rubio, everybody likes except the voters. and john kasich everybody likes, but he didn't do as well as he wanted do. >> that is why ted cruz is the only one of the other candidates who hasn't said he would be cool with a brokered convention. i don't understand the theory of john kasich has said he'd drop out if he lost ohio, so it would be transparentally manipulative to say i'm going to hang around to try to assist this project. it seems -- i understand why they're encouraging the anti-trump people because his numbers are going down, his unfavorables are going up, he's taking on water, but i think it may be too late. >> let's not forget trump has won with two wins tonight, ted cruz seven, marco rubio two, john kasich zero. we'll take a quick break. when we come back we're going to speak to bernie sanders campaign manager and get his reaction to the win in michigan tonight. there has to be a way. carry the centimeter, divide by 3.14 something something something... [ beeping, wh

>> you have to get behind ted cruz. i don't know where john kasich will win next and you can make the argument that rubio owes it to ted cruz at this time. the anti-trump effort has put more ads in florida than all of the other states combined today and it will be trump's biggest win of the night if not the election and that comes at the expense of other states where ted cruz will be within a few points of north carolina and illinois. if this effort really is to stop trump and not to help rubio, then they will have to line up behind ted cruz. illinois, what happened in chicago, did it help him or her him? >> i think it probably not make a huge difference. i think it probably helps clinton long-term the most. i was in the room that night and it was like a crazy college football game that went terribly wrong with two teams that hate each other pouring onto the floor. one of the things that went to my mind is that this is good for hillary clinton because if you are a suburban mom who is a independent voter, this is a scary

ted cruz in second place, 31.1%. marco rubio and john kasich, they are fighting for third place but they are a distant third. 13.5% for rubio. 13.1% for john kasich. i want to go over to john king to take a closer look at kentucky. we're having trouble with kentucky. more than a third of the vote is in and trump leads but still outstanding counties to see who wins the state. >> it's been a steady trump lead. but we like to be cautious about these things. if you look at it so far, donald trump is clearly winning more counties. we have absolutely nothing from the largest county in the state, jefferson county. we like to get at least a flavor of that to see if the statewide trend is continuing. fayette county, shy of 7%, the state's population, absolutely nothing in. again, a key area in a contested republican race in the state. you want to at least get a flavor of those votes to see if they track what you are seeing statewide. so far, impressive. cruz holding his own in some places. donald trump doing his own. if you p

why does ted cruz want to debate again? this is something we're seeing triggal out throughout the day and throughout the morning already, this idea that it's going to be ted cruz versus donald trump and cruz wants this to happen tonight just outside milwaukee. that said, john kasich is still in the race. kasich is a front of governor sko scott walker. walker said he likes the conservative credentials of cruz and kasich, he also believes cruz is the only one with a real shot to stop trump from getting the republican nomination. any time in the next couple minutes, we expjt to hear from walker about this. expect an endorsement announcement. it could have an impact. walker's approval rating is about 40% in wisconsin. remember where he's strong. with conservatives, the reddest of the red in the suburbs outside of milwaukee, for example, and those are some of the folks who ted cruz is trying to pull in to his camp. people who are reliable conservatives in wisconsin. people who have supported scott walker in the past. remember, w

ted cruz wins. yesterday, with all the advantages trump had in arizona he only got 45% of the vote. 55% of the people voted against him and that's going to be the case as you go around the country. so, ted really has a chance to bring the party together and ultimately beat hillary clinton so we can have a congress to make the reforms necessary in the gridlock, to keep us strong to do all the things we need to do in this great country. >> let's talk about the policies. >> i'm enthusiastic about it. >> of course, you're enthusiastic, when you want to take a state, a win is a win for donald trump. let's talk about what ted cruz is talking about. in the aftermath of the horrific terror attacks ted cruz has called part of his response to make sure an attack like that doesn't happen here like that at home. ted cruz is calling for this, that police should be securing and controlling muslim neighborhoods in the united states before they become radicalized. i want you to list ton what the new york city polic

it's not like i prefer ted cruz. here's what happened. government to repeal obamacare, i thought that was never going to happen. it's going to be hard to repeal a law named after a president while they're still president. and when ted said that me opening up the government made me for obamacare, that kind of stung. but ted is a conservative. he's more ideological than i am, but he is a republican conservative. and donald trump is not. i hope rubio wins florida. i hope kasich wins ohio. but if i had to support ted cruz over donald trump, i would because i think he is a republican conservative and he might could beat hillary clinton. >> stephen. >> senator, stephen henderson of the detroit free press. four years ago your party talked about the need to sort of expand the tent, get more of these new voters to support your party. >> yeah. >> what are the prospects for that with either a donald trump or a ted cruz as the nominee? >> some hope with ted, no hope with the donald. we're in a demographic death what did we learn

ted cruz with 18. if rubio, a big if, decides he cannot go on, does not want to get bludgeoned in his home state, what then? mark: if trump gets the 45 in the state, nobody will be him. -- beat him. i believe right now, unless he has some sort of spurt, does well in the debate tomorrow night, somehow comes back, i believe if he got out, ted cruz would have a better chance of effectively stopping donald trump one-on-one. i think ted cruz has a better chance of stopping trump in this state than rubio. john: i imagine all of the rubio vote going to case it. -- going to john kasich. as hobbledagine -- as rubio is coming he has a better chance of beating trump than ted cruz ever will. mark: he can go on the air trump out ontake all of the liberal stuff. this is republicans only, this n older electorate. trump is the odds on favorite. all i'm saying is i think cruz has a better chance. john: i wonder how many florida republicans are thinking around -- sitting around saying, i wish , jeb bush was still in the

this is the first poll that shows ted cruz leading with ted at 28 and ted cruz at 26%. it shows that trump number one at 34% but he's down. and he's only nine points ahead of second place ted cruz. and i want you to take a look at this. republican voters are split on trump becoming the nominee. as a% said they would be satisfied but 48% said she would be dissatisfied. and in a hypothetically two-way match trump would lose to both cruz and rubio. so is this more broader for a brokered convention? scott brown, morgan, and meka, meka let me go to you first. inyou're a cruz supporter. super tuesday and last saturday he outpaced the polls big time. and it may looks like he may be able to give trump a legitimate run now. >> i think he can. first of all, nothing's more exhilarating than to be shot at without result. and cruz being attacked on all sides and holding his own. he won two states last saturday. he raised $1.5 million as a result on the internet. charles: why is this happening? why is he doing better now? >> well, there's two reasons. first of all, i think the establ

ted cruz down at 20%. in wisconsin ted cruz is at the top of the pile at 36%. donald trump right there in a tie at 35%. john kasich down there at 19%. tom davis, that pennsylvania poll looks to me like a strong argument for your guy staying in there. >> well, yeah, and i think you'll see the same thing in new york and new jersey. when john puts some emphasis on a state he can close the gap. part of the numbers you see there are name identification. john kasich beats hillary clinton in every poll. >> you hear people saying if there's an open vote in the convention, they will be thinking about electability. that might be the only shot john kasich has. >> we have to take a break right here quickly. tom davis thank you for joining us tonight. >>> coming up, a new national poll has bernie sanders and hillary clinton in a tie nationwide. night, at&t helps keep everyone connected. right now at at&t, buy the new samsung galaxy s7 and get one free. no matter how you hang out, share every minute of it. buy one water resistant samsung galaxy s7 and get one free. and right

ted cruz thanks his voters. the message was all about donald trump though. >> our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten donald trump over and over and over again, and that can and will beat him over and over again. our campaign has now beaten him not once or three times, but seven times we have beaten him all over this country >>> al jazeera's chief correspondent michael shaw joins us live from l.a. let's talk about this open voting. earlier on in iowa you could walk up, register and vote. that's no longer the case. could this work in someone's favor or against them? >> yes. it would work against donald trump. a lot of his supporters are people that are new to politics. johnny-cum-latelys. people who voted in general elections in the past but haven't per taken in this process. they can walk up and do it. today all of them have at least a measure of closing the ballot to only people in that party. it hurts donald trump because the person who was an impulse buyer, shall you say, is sort of a dissuaded from

ted cruz with 18. if rubio, a big if, decides he cannot go on, does not want to get bludgeoned in his home state, what then? mark: if trump gets the 45 in the state, nobody will beat him. unless rubio has a spurt, does well in the debate tomorrow night, somehow comes back, i believe if he got out, ted cruz would have a better chance of effectively stopping donald trump one-on-one. i think ted cruz has a better chance of stopping trump in this state than rubio. john: i imagine all of the rubio vote going to kasich. as hobbled as rubio is coming he has a better chance of beating trump than rubio -- ted cruz ever will. mark: he can go on the air and try to take trump out on all of the liberal stuff. this is republicans only, this a conservative, older electorate. trump is the odds on favorite. all i'm saying is i think cruz has a better chance. john: i wonder how many florida republicans are thinking around saying, i wish jeb bush was still in the race. i bet there are a lot of established republicans thi

ted cruz won idaho. ted cruz finished second in michigan, despite a feverish effort by john kasich there. ted cruz finished second in mississippi. ted cruz seems to be the only legitimate threat. save maybe only in ohio right now to donald trump. >> and john, if you look at sort of the movement in the race over the last few weeks, i don't think anybody ten days ago would have pegged ted cruz to finish a strong second place in the state of michigan. that's not a state that's particularly well matched to him. i know there are campaigns or outside grops polling in states like florida and illinois have him doing better. a texas senator that mainly appealed to the far right. so there are indications of real momentum for cruz among voters who are just unequivocally opposed to donald trump. you probably have now one week for somebody like john kasich to make his case. >> ted cruz has an event at 10:00 a.m. this morning in miami. they're advertising anti-rubio ads in florida. what is the ted cruz play in florida

john: thanks to ted cruz. we will be back with a tribute to a genuine great. ♪ ♪ >> we would be remiss if we did not pay a modest to a tribe called quest. five dog -- phife dog. his records are some of the most influential hip-hop records of all time. he inspired ?uestlove. he died last night at 45 years old with complications from diabetes. you are always on point with the beats. mark: there is more from our bloomberg national poll on our website. coming up on our website, emily chang with a chief economist. thank you for watching. we will be back tomorrow. john: right here. in the studio. not on the road. mark: see tomorrow night. ♪ ♪ f thursday the 24th of march. this is "trending business". i am rishaad salamat. ♪ we take you to sydney, look at what we are looking at. and am a 70ss --rs, squinting the balance squeezing the balance sheet of the biggest trading houses.

because can despite what is said, and ted said, and ooh, do i want to run against just ted. that going to be easy. okay. go ahead, david. >> can you comment on regard in the competition of the -- and what your position is on gay marriages? >> well, i have made it very strong the. we have policy on it, and i have said it very, very strongly, and i think that you know it, and it is all done in a -- and you know, how many times do i have to say it. and it is like, david, as an example, what is my position on 900 different thing, and i have said it 150 time, and we are not here to discuss that, but everybody knows how i feel on it -- >> i know, i know. >> question? david, sit down, you know my position. yes, go ahead. john, go ahead. [ inaudible ] >> it is what it should be, because we are the only two winning, and he is the one who says, i am the one who beats donald trump, and i have been beating him three to one, and on super tuesday, i got a million votes more than marco, and a f half a million more votes than ted, and that is a lot of vots.s okay. go ahead, john. >> [ inaud

but ted is a conservative. he's more ideological than i am, but he is a republican and donald trump is not. i hope rubio wins florida. i hope kasich wins ohio. but if i had to support ted cruz over donald trump, i would because i think he is a republican conservative and he might could beat hillary clinton. >> stephen. >> senator, stephen henderson of the detroit free press. four years ago your party talked about the need to sort of expand the tent, get more of these new voters to support your party. >> yeah. >> what are the prospects for that with either a donald trump or a ted cruz as the nominee? >> some hope with ted, no hope with the donald. we're in a demographic death spiral. what did we learn in 2012? hispanics don't like our message on immigration of self-deportation.8h;pw i don't think they're going to like forced deportation better. at the end of the day, donald trump has taken every problem we've had with hispanics and young women and made them worse. in that regard ted cruz would be much more accep

ted is incredibly principled. has great, gat courage and is the most thoughtful person i know. >> did you know he wanted to go into public service? >> i can tell when we met on a campaign that ted had incredible and great understanding of our constitution, of the principles that founded this country. but ted was to have a career in the law as a litigator, and he pursued that first and foremost. and as y/u may know, served as a solicitor general of our state. >> did you ever tnk you would be in this position right now, him running for president? >> no. not right now. you know, our country is -- we have such a great country. there are so many people in this country that workedo hard to make it great for what it is. and i think right now there is a dynamic where people arengry. people are angry at the left for having failed in their promises. and it is important that we have someone run for office that is principled, that has courage, that speaks to our better selves and has the brilliance and the intellect and e car

ted cruz distant third, 16.9%. in oklahoma, very close contest under way right now. 10% of the vote is in. donald trump ahead with 32.4%. 29.9% for ted cruz. marco rubio in third place 23.9%. that's in oklahoma. texas the biggest prize of the night, they close all the polls at the top of the hour but released numbers so far. ted cruz is ahead, it's his home state, 38.7%. donald trump 28.2%. in second place. marco rubio in third place with 19.9%. they're going to be closing texas at the top of the hour. let's move on to the democratic side right now. it's a close race in massachusetts. look how close it is. only 4% of the vote is in, but bernie sanders with 49.6%. hillary clinton with 49.3%. a very close race under way in massachusetts right now. in oklahoma, similarly, 11% of the vote is in, bernie sanders maintaining a slight lead. 47.5% to hillary clinton's 44.9%. bernie sanders spent a lot of time in oklahoma. in texas, hillary clinton doing very well. 15% of the democratic primary vote is in. 66.1% to bernie sa

you look at the primaries and they don't like ted cruz, either, and maybe they dislike ted cruz more than trump but cruz and trip are the only guys that have won. the establishment candidate in this race cannot get noticed. the republican primary voters whether close primaries -- closed primaries or open or voting for anyone but candidates attached to the establishment. >> you think ted cruz is the real conservative in the race. we will discuss him in a moment but, first, donald trump. how would you feel talking about him bringing in new people how would you feel if he is the republican nominee for president >> well...i would not, much way when anyone is elected, you daily with what you end up getting. i am not under any allusion i have any ultimate say so i am like anyone else in media i have my opinion and i am not afraid. you do not win everything. you have to take what you get. as far as trump this is a bigger upside. a lot of people disagree with me on this. the people who want someone not of washington, it is serious this time. it is a disconnect between the republican party es

but that puts ted cruz up on the board. it gives him an argument that there are places where republicans are active and he's going to be doing better there. i will give you the total too and get your thoughts. 744 is the total trump delegate math, going to 1237 to clinch. anything short of that could be an open convention. ted cruz up to 446 delegates. >> there's also the psychological factor in this win and him paving the way for the next big contest too and what that may bring in, as we begin and turn into april with wisconsin and that race. i want to bring in rick tyler and maria theresa kumar. rick, talk to us a little bit about this win. i asked you earlier, how does he stay in, how does he pave his way? and especially with this win and denying donald trump, even though with the delegate count that he has, denying donald trump these delegates. >> well, it's an important win. 40 delegates is quite a bit. even though in arizona, trump got 58. so he netted 18 plus. widened his gap a little bit tonight. but it's significan

even if you assume ted cruz is strong in the west and you just fill them all in for ted cruz, this is a hypothetical scenario. even if you give ted cruz all the west, if you come back to trump, at some point you got to stop him in the delegate rich states. some states are proportional. but if trump keeps winning, gets delaware, maryland, new jersey, there's donald trump out here now. let's say indiana, kasich says he's going to compete there, let's see it to prove it, here's where donald trump gets over a thousand and we could get down to the big state of california, i just gave donald trump all of california. could you take other things out. the point of tonight is if you're going to start donald tru trump, right now he needs 54%. if he wins tonight, he needs 52% you have to stop him to beat him. >> we have another major projection to make. cnn projects that hillary clinton will win the arizona democratic primary, a big win for hillary clinton in arizona right now, 75 delegates are at stake for the democrats. it's proportional. bernie sanders will get some of those delegates. hillary

ted cruz responded. watch. >> with all respect, people are fed up with the political correctness of barack obama and hillary clinton. >> reporter: and donald trump is siding with cruz saying he supports patrolling muslim neighborhoods. in fact, a president trump would take more expensive action. >> the waterboarding would be fine, and if they could expand the laws i would do a lot more. you have to get the information from these people. i am in the camp where you have to get the information and you have to get it rapidly. >> reporter: but even the former doj lawyer that wrote the memos that approved waterboarding during the george w. bush administration says what trump is suggesting is illegal. and he thinks trump is exaggerating. >> trace, thank you. >>> joining me now to react, pete hegsath and carl higby, a former navy s.e.a.l. and supporter of trump. carl, where do you stand on water boarding? >> i don't think it's that bad. we get that as part of our training. it's miserable, but it's not that bad.

ted cruz, you see right there. >> it's been neck and neck all night between donald trump and ted cruz. and as we head into 4:00 a.m. eastern, ted cruz pulls it out. >> the third state, by the way. third victory for ted cruz on the super tuesday. texas, oklahoma, and now alaska. paul vercammen live in anchorage. i have to imagine they have to be excited that we have finally called the race. >> they're excited. they're excited. they shattered the gop turnout here. we called the race. one precinct left. we'll go ahead. pet peter goldberg. you're the chairman here. tell us what the numbers are of the precinct that just came in. >> this is district 25. and the final numbers are, carson, 33. cruz, 171. kasich, 20. senator rubio, 87. and mr. trump, 161. cruz is in the lead here, too. looks like cruz has the election. >> how to you feel about the record turnout here? >> it's just phenomenal. we're 50% higher than our next-highest turnout in our history for an election like this. >> congratulations. and congratulations to the ted cruz supporters. sterling, come in here. how do you feel right n

ted cruz, senator ted cruz has won the kansas caucus. remember trump flew out to wichita, he made a speech. he tried at the last moment to turn kansas to him. he had the momentum but again you have the never trump. cruz wins. did you change your mind? >> no, no. don't short trump. that's a fool's game. ap is the one that reports cruz winning that one. congratulations to ted cruz. it's a great win for him. he was going into that, the polls had them tied, cruz up maybe a little bit into the last day of polling. but that's a good win for ted cruz. >> meghan, is it a great win for ted cruz? the continuous middle of the country? >> any win for him right now is a good win. any tiny bit of momentum he can take away from trump is greatp but everyone is waiting to see what happens on the 15th, especially in florida. >> do you concede that a victory is meaningful but that this may be the beginning of a crack in the trump machine that it may be that never trump is taking its toll? >> no crack and wins are always good. i like to file, you know, asse

what does this big night mean for ted cruz? >> well, it means a lot for ted cruz. he did what he has to do. he is controlling the narrative on the saturday night. he didn't just win in some of these states. he lost to donald trump by a little bit in louisiana. he kind of banquised marco rubio, saying he is the only person who beat donald trump and i'm doing it regularly and i'm the only person who should be against donald trump. he said that to supporters in idaho tonight >> our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten donald trump over and over and over again and that can and will beat donald trump over and over and over again. our campaign has now beaten him not once, not twice, not three times, but if kansas and maine both hold, seven times we will have beaten donald trump all over this country. >> ted cruz has maintained that narrative. one of the things that donald trump did say in his remarks just now, we will hear from him in a little bit, he said that ted cruz should have done welll in maine because it is so close to canada. so having a little bit of f

we saw ted cruz win in utah. he won by a pretty wide margin, so donald trump tweeted this out, a story that nobody knew about it last night, everybody had been talking about brussels, nobody had seen that ad for the most part. suddenly the entire country had seen it if not the world because his twitter followers span the globe apparently so it blows into this much larger story. ted cruz says what are you talking about, i have nothing to do with this ad on twitter and what are you talking about with me wife here. >> his wife made an effective appearance where she's saying donald trump is terrible and will say anything and you really -- when you have the trump campaign you don't want to see mrs. cruz standing up there doing what she did today. >> she was very forceful and strong. she said donald trump has said all sorts of things in this campaign and a lot of them haven't turned out to be true. she held her ground and this whole drama became much larger than it ever would have been, but let's take one quick thing.

let's talk about ted cruz. you're supporting ted cruz. i guess one of the issues around ted cruz is he hasn't made any friends in the senate. people worry he's not going to get the full scale support that he needs to actually beat hillary clinton come november, carly. >> well, first of all, ted cruz is the only guy who can beat donald trump. and the only way to beat donald trump is at the ballot box. all this discussion about a brokered convention is absurd. so honestly speaking while they are very good men and run honorable campaigns, marco rubio needs to step aside and even if john kasich were to win ohio on tuesday he absolutely has no path. so people need to rally around ted cruz, the party needs to unify behind ted cruz to beat donald trump fair and square. i've challenged the system all my life. guess what? when you challenge the system you do more than ruffle feathers you make enemies. ted cruz has made enemies because he's challenged the system. but the system needs to be challenged. in fact donald trump and hillary clinton are th

i think this is a big night for ted cruz. i also think that that's due partially because these are closed primary caucus states. he does tend to do better in closed primaries and in caucuses and also, one thing to remember, keep in mind all these states are proportional. i don't think the delegate count is going to change that much from ted cruz's big night. what it does change is momentum. he will get a lot of momentum from these big wins, especially in kansas, and i think you are going to see more calls for rubio to kind of step aside, make this a two-man race and make a sort of united anti-trump ticket there and endorse cruz. >> what we have seen is cruz moving into florida for head-to-head competition with marco rubio, who looks to be the man he wants to be a dead man walking after the votes are tallied from florida. do you see it that way, tony? >> yes, for sure. at the same time you have to look at tonight for something else. elizabeth's right in that the close primary tends to benefit cruz but maine is a big win. donal

he does not want to get blown out by ted cruz. the momentum is on ted cruz's side. you know, there is a conservative movement in this state that scott walker is at the top of the pyramid on. does his endorsement matter? i think it is more symbolic of the fact that southeastern wisconsin is dominated by conservative talk radio. the control the legislature. that is really what is at play. john: you are saying walker is more a lagging indicator than a leading indicator. mr. defour: he gave an indication that he was not going to back ted cruz a week before he did. yeah, he is part of the movement. guys theant to ask you same question we have anyone that hasn't -- has encountered this state, why is john kasich hopeless in this state? he should be competitive. ms. opoien: why is he hopeless -- why is trump doing so well anywhere -- no one knows the answer? kasich is a popular governor of a state that is not that different. ms. opoien: some might see him as a scott walker light. they might have a lot of things in common, but they have that in wisconsin. scott walker did no

to ted cruz. i think democrats across the countries don't really fear either, but ted cruz is the candidate that is easily defeatable. >> there's a reality about our politics. we've been becoming a more -- in our country we're becoming more diverse in each election. it's going to be 31% in 2016. no party is going to win a national election if they get wiped out among that close to third of the electorate. that is a fundamental problem for the republican party if they nominate a candidate. >> you hit the nail on the head. this is the problem with the republican conversation. this is what drives kevin mad is when you have these statements coming from donald trump, we spent the majority of the week talking about the front-runner of the republican party disavowing the kkk. so when you talk about these p minority groups he goes on this postmortem where he says we're going to reach out to minorities and hispanics and african-american. you can't do that with donald trump at the top of the ticket. >> you