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Coverage Of South Carolina's Democratic Primary; Chris Christie Endorses Donald Trump; Some Republicans Gear Up To Support Candidate Against Donald Trump. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 27, 2016 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:51] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everyone. It is 3:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow live in Columbia, South Carolina. Thank you so much for joining me.

This is the day, this is the state, the polls are open, voters are making their pick for the Democratic moment know for president.

Hillary Clinton is hoping to score a victory here in South Carolina looking to extend her winning streak just three days before the all- important Super Tuesday showdown, her rival Bernie Sanders is not campaigning here in South Carolina today. Instead, he is hop scotching across the country, focusing on states where he believes he has a better chance of winning come Tuesday.

And on the Republican, wow, this rate has been turned upside down. The bitter brawl for the future of the party gets more intense by the hour. Senator Marco Rubio accused Donald Trump of trying to hijack the party, slamming the billionaire's business skills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Any time he bankrupted a business the people who paid the price were the contractors he had hired. We are also hearing from them. I'm telling you they are calling nonstop, small businesses that didn't work, and he pulled his money out and he did what he needed to do and they never got paid. He is not some great businessman. He has taken four companies into bankruptcy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Trump retaliated by calling him little Rubio and quote "Mr. Meltdown." And right now senator Ted Cruz is hosting a rally in Georgia, a crucial Super Tuesday state.

Our entire team following it all very closely. CNN's Jim Acosta outside Trump's Arkansas rally today. Republican consultant Margaret Hoover and John Avlon, editor-in-chief of "the Daily Beast" are with us. Also the "New Yorkers" Ryan Lizza with me here in South Carolina and Trump supporter Scottie Hugh.

Thank you all for being with me. I want to begin with Jim Acosta. He is on the ground where Donald Trump just wrapped up a rally in Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of a big corporation, a home of Walmart.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: True.

HARLOW: Jim, what is he saying today? I would assume narrowly focused on Rubio, right?

ACOSTA: Yes, pretty narrowly focused on Rubio, Poppy. He did mention Walmart once during this one-hour take-down of Marco Rubio, you might call it here in Bentonville saying if he wins Arkansas he may shop at Walmart forever. That was what Donald Trump said during thighs remarks here. He was joined by Chris Christie, who also went after Marco Rubio.

You know, normally you pick a vice presidential running mate as your attack dog. Donald Trump has not chosen Chris Christie as his running mate at least not yet but Christie was almost serving in that fashion here just going savaging Marco Rubio for a good 10 to 15 minutes before turning the microphone over to Donald Trump. And it was interesting, because it does appear, Poppy, some of these attacks leveled by Marco Rubio in the last few days starting at the CNN debate in Houston has started to touch a nerve. Donald Trump throughout this speech sort of went step by step defending himself against some of these lines of attacks from Marco Rubio, the one about inheriting $200 million from his father. Donald Trump said it was only $1 million, and that he paid that loan back to his father.

Also about Trump University, the school that was started by Trump in his organization. It was offering classes on how to achieve success to people. A lot of people are suing Trump saying that they were defrauded out of thousands of dollars, Donald Trump saying that this is being brought by people who just want to bring frivolous lawsuits. He even said the judge hearing the case should probably recuse himself, and also noted that the judge is Hispanic, which Trump said is fine.

But then Trump went on to attack Marco Rubio on his own business dealings saying that Chris Christie could perhaps as a federal prosecutor bring a case against him. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rubio stalled from the Republican Party, but you know what happened? They said you stalled from the party. He says, no I didn't. Yes you did, you have a driveway built. No, I didn't. Yes you did, OK, well he reimbursed them, OK. And for some reason he didn't get indicted? Why doesn't he get indicted? I guarantee you one thing Chris Christie would have indicted him so fast. But why doesn't somebody look into his house deal? How can he make that kind of a profit on a house to a lobbyist?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:23] ACOSTA: Now in this back-and-forth between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz has almost been lost in all of this. Donald Trump used to spar with Ted Cruz on a daily basis as you remember, Poppy, all too well in the early primary and caucus states just a brief mention of Ted Cruz once or twice during the speech by Donald Trump, at one point Trump was praising his former business school the Wharton business school. He was saying that Marco Rubio, the Marco Rubios of the world could never get into Wharton but probably Ted Cruz could.

So he was actually being a little nice to Ted Cruz during these remarks here in Bentonville, Arkansas. And Donald Trump has a very busy campaign schedule heading into Super Tuesday. He is going to end that campaign headed into Super Tuesday. We'll have his watch party down in Florida, which is again putting another bull's eye on Marco Rubio. He wants to beat Marco Rubio in Florida and that event on Tuesday night seems to say that pretty clearly - Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. And latest polling does show him ahead of Marco Rubio at least one of the polls there in Florida.

Al right, Jim Acosta thanks so much live in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Two former contenders for the Republican nomination are offering really two completely different views of where their party stands in the race to try to retake the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The most dishonest person in America is a woman. Who is about to be president. How could that be? My party has gone bat (bleep) crazy.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm proud to be here to endorse Donald Trump for president. I can guarantee you the one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton did not want to see on that stage come next September is Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right back with me, my panel.

Margaret Hoover, I'm beginning with you, only one of those views can be right. Which one is it? What resonates with you, what does it mean for your party right now?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think Poppy what you have is ultimately a lot of Republicans who are asking themselves whether they're going to join or die, right? I mean, it's almost like two questions, which of the two strategies you have. Do you want to dig in deep, stand for a principled Republican party and sort of go the route that Marco Rubio is going which is fight like heck to make sure that Donald Trump never becomes the president, or do you make a more calculated decision that by the way I don't think is cynical on Chris Christie's part, though it does seem utterly inconsistent with his history, is to gain, betting he's going to be the winner try to get inside on the ground early and maybe influence the campaign or the Donald in a way that might be positive. Those are the two choices I think the Republican establishment has, and I think you're starting to see that fault line break for Republicans everywhere.

HARLOW: And there was a fascinating piece in the "New York Times" this morning just talking about sort of the calculations that have been made by leaders in the party thus far, and what someone called missed opportunities if they were trying to take down Donald Trump.

Let's all take a moment and listen to the slugfest that erupted on the debate stage CNN's GOP debate on Thursday night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: You don't know a thing about business.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know anything about bankrupting four companies.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Where was Donald? He was firing Dennis Rodman on "celebrity apprentice."

TRUMP: You should be ashamed of yourself.

RUBIO: If he builds the wall the way he built Trump towers he'll be using illegal immigrants to do it.

TRUMP: He lied 100 percent.

RUBIO: If we hadn't inherited $200 million, you know where Donald would be right now?

TRUMP: No, no, no, no.

CRUZ: This is another area which Donald Trump agrees with Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: I think we should do a hell of bad job --

TRUMP: First of all, very few people listen to your radio show. That's the good news.

RUBIO: A lot of the positions that he is taking are new to him.

TRUMP: When you say crazy zealot are you talking about you?

RUBIO: You may not be aware of this Donald because you don't follow this stuff very closely.

TRUMP: I know you're embarrassed but keep fighting. Keep swinging men. Swing for the fences.

I watched him melt down and I tell you it was one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

It's a lot of fun up here tonight I have to tell you. Thank you for the book.

CRUZ: Donald, relax. TRUMP: Go ahead I'm relaxed. You're the basket case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right, you heard it. You saw it.

Scottie Hughes to you, you are a big supporter of Donald Trump, ultimately a, who are these insults good for and does it hurt your party in general?

SCOTTIE NEIL HUGHES, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, USA RADIO NETWORK: Absolutely they hurt our party and I don't know what happened to senator Rubio. I don't know if he got new writers because 24 hours before Thursday night he was saying he was not going to go dirty. He was not going to attack Trump. And 24 hours we see the most rabid frothing politician that I've seen yet spewing nothing but lies from him that night. I mean every point that was just played in that montage was basically a lie. The bankruptcies, 1 percent of --

[15:10:07] HARLOW: What does it do to the party, Scottie?

HUGHES: That's it. I think you hit on the nail in the head, Poppy. It absolutely destroys our party. I think both of those politicians, Governor Christie and Senator Graham have gone right, we have gone bat (expletive) and we have absolutely done this things right now and that's horrible. And it is because people are pointed in the GOP to be unified, have wanted diversity, have wanted engagement, we have it right now more than we have it for any other campaign or election in history. And yet instead of celebrating it we're continuing to have leaders like that continue to tear us apart.

HARLOW: Wow.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Poppy --

HARLOW: All right, yes. Quickly.

AVLON: There's little more hilarious and ironic than a Trump surrogate talking about candidates really being too aggressive and dividing the Republican Party. This is, if anything, Marco Rubio trying to play the happy warrior too late. If he is being digressive, it is because he has taken a note from Donald Trump because that's where he has taken the national debate. Let's not have people all of a sudden claim the high road when they've been profiting off low blows this entire campaign.

HUGHES: That's how he's been the entire way.

ACOSTA: You can respond after the break but I have to get in a break in. Scottie will be after the break. First though, Ryan Lizza gets first word after the break.

Also, we turn to the Democrats making their case to the voters across the country ahead of Super Tuesday. How does what happens right now, right here in South Carolina change the game? Also the voice of the people. You've got the pundits. You've got me,

the media, what about just the voters? I sat down with the big group of African-American voters here in South Carolina this morning, some supporting Bernie Sanders, some supporting Hillary Clinton, some still undecided even as they head to the polls. What is it going to take to earn their vote in the final moments?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:04] HARLOW: If you haven't heard, things have gotten pretty interesting in the Republican race for the White House in the last 24 hours. Blows back and forth, back and forth. It is Donald Trump and it is Marco Rubio in the headlines.

Here to talk about it our panel. Let me bring in Ryan Lizza because he didn't get a word in edge wise in the last block.

So Ryan, to you. I mean, in fact, you wrote this week, let me quote. You wrote "not backing Trump is one thing but many anti-Trump Republicans may soon have to grapple with the question of whether they may actually need to support Clinton assuming she's the Democratic nominee."

For ideological conservatives the question may come down to which candidate is worse for their movement. That's what you wrote this week. Is this a fracturing of the Republican Party? Will a new party emerge out of this do you think, Ryan?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you already have some prominent conservatives calling for a third or even a fourth party if Michael Bloomberg runs. Bill Crystal the editor of "the conservative Christian standard" has been saying for weeks that he will try to start a third party if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. He told me he is trying to recruit Dick Cheney as the party's standard there. Not sure how popular that would be.

But look, and you saw in the great "New York Times" report today about this issue. You saw quotes that were attributed to Mitch McConnell basically saying if Donald Trump is the nominee and he proves to be at enormous burden to elected officials around the country, then Republicans should just disavow him. And so, if you are an ideological conservative thinking that Trump is too liberal and not consistent, you have got to decide do you want that guy in the White House representing you and your movement and in some ways being responsible for him or do you just hope that Hillary Clinton is the president and then you have a sort of pure opposition to her and your movement and your ideology remains consistent.

HARLOW: But Margaret Hoover, referring to the McConnell comments which were confirmed by several senators, Maggie Haberman, et cetera, at "the Times" then what happens to the party in general?

HOOVER: What you're seeing Poppy is no less than a real crackup of not just - I mean, a real significant challenge to the Republican party but even more significant I think to Ryan's point is a crackup of the conservative movement.

Every single conservative candidate, every Republican candidate has had to prove they're conservative. They have proved they are conservative because they have been ardently pro-life, they have been ardently free trade. They have been for smaller government mostly in the form of entitlement reform and shrinking the federal government. None of those things are things that Donald Trump is for. If he were elected he is the exact opposite of everything, the next third in line for the presidency would be Paul Ryan.

So what you're seeing is the fact that the conservative movement has lost its political viability within the context of the Republican Party. That has turned everything on its head. In terms of where you go in the general election I think you'll have principled opposition not to support Trump in the form of a third party or a protest candidate or else an endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

HARLOW: Scottie Hughes, what do you do about that?

HUGHES: Well, you know, I think it's funny some of the establishment folks are saying third party after they've railed against conservatives who for the last seven years have been saying if we don't get a conservative at the top ticket we're going to form a third party. And so, now that we have one that's winning it's interesting to hear them say that.

But to Margaret's point of all the points she said if those were true, why would you have good concerns like (INAUDIBLE), Sarah Palin, now we have Governor Jan Brewer that has endorsed Donald Trump? You think they would get behind r somebody that was pro-choice and anti-second amendment?

HOOVER: I don't think it depends what you think a good conservative is. And somebody who has just been a Republican for the last four years who is only suddenly pro-life, who is only suddenly anti-China, even though apparently he makes his products overseas, he's really not an anti-free trader but he is for the purposes of this election. I mean, he has just invented these positions and none of them are principled. So it's hard to make the argument that's a true conservative.

HUGHES: How can you sit there and say he's just been --

HARLOW: I want to get John in here. Go ahead, John to you.

AVLON: Yes. Look, I mean, you know, this was basically goes to the heart of whether it's about conservative populism or whether winning the Senate and actually being a viable national party matters.

What Mitch McConnell says in the report that they are going to drop Donald Trump like he's hot, it's about electability and because the base of the party shrunk to such an extent that, you know, Sarah Palin, if you want to say Sarah Palin she's an exemplar of good conservatives that's a deeper, deeper problem.

And to Ryan and Margaret's other point, you know, whether Republicans will start to look at Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton if she is the nominee and make a decision outside of third party, you know, Alexander Hamilton endorsed Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr earlier. So if we want to elevate our founding fathers there's precedent for people saying you know what, I may have hated this person my entire political life but they are better than someone who is amoral who would lead the country into a ditch.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: From John Avlon, on that history lesson from John Avlon, I have to leave it there, going to break in.

Thank you, John. Thank you, Ryan, Margaret, Scottie. Appreciate it.

Coming up next polls close here in South Carolina in less than four hours, and Hillary Clinton is widely expected to win, that is if you believe the polls, but this election has shown anything can happen and remember, she was also expected to win here eight years ago, but it was another senator, Barack Obama, that ended with the victory in this state. We will talk about that all ahead.

And as we go to break live pictures of Ted Cruz stumping in the crucial Super Tuesday state of Georgia. Camera trying to find him there. We're going to talk a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:22] HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow live in beautiful Columbia, South Carolina.

Today the day when the voters go to the polls, make their choice in the Democratic primary. And we are now under four hours until those polls close here in South Carolina. But no time to rest for either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, as both are already looking ahead to Tuesday, Super Tuesday as they call it.

Hillary Clinton just wrapping up in Fairfield, Alabama at a get out and vote rally.

CNN correspondent Chris Frates and Joe Johns are with me.

And Chris, you were there at the Clinton event. What did she say? How is she trying to take it home not just here but's specially Super Tuesday.

[15:25:00] CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, I got to tell you. We saw a very relaxed, a very confident Hillary Clinton. And her speech here was very forward looking. It sounded like someone who was feeling the speech for a Democratic nominee. They are very confident coming out of South Carolina. That they're going to win and want to crush Bernie Sanders and get that momentum going into Super Tuesday. And no surprise right at a historically black college here, Miles College outside Birmingham and she talked about issues that are very important to the African-American community, let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know there a lot of people here care about voting rights. Well, we have got to do more to protect them from constant encroachment, where too many states are trying to constrict who gets to vote, make it hard for people to vote. What part of democracy are they afraid of? I know that among the barriers we still have to knock down is systemic racism, too many people who feel left out and left behind and we have got to reform our criminal justice system and end the era of mass incarceration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So there you have it, Poppy. Hillary Clinton talking about voting rights, criminal justice reforms, systemic racism, and that is not by accident. They are here in Alabama because Hillary Clinton wants to have a very strong showing throughout the south on Super Tuesday. We talk about our home state of Arkansas, Georgia, Texas. They really want to sweep the south on the strength of their African- American supports so something to look for in South Carolina tonight. It's not just Hillary Clinton win, but what are the margins? How much does she turn out the African-American vote, if it's higher than expected, that could bode very well for Super Tuesday in the excitement she's able to generate going forward, Poppy.

HARLOW: Such a good point to make, Chris. It is not just what the numbers show here in terms of total votes for both candidates in South Carolina, it's who voted for whom, of course and what does that pour tend for the rest of the south especially come Super Tuesday. We have six of the states with a big African-American voting bloc. All right, thank you so much.

Joe Johns to you. Big story today here in South Carolina, here in Columbia, seems to be actually what you're not seeing and that's a huge turnout at the polls. Is that right?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I think that's true. We have been to three different polling stations, two inside Columbia, one just outside Columbia, and we haven't seen that many people quite frankly. This is the forest heights elementary school polling station in Columbia, South Carolina. They have seen over 200 people come through, a big crowd this morning.

But talking to the South Carolina election commission, one of the things I think that's interesting despite the fact that they say there is light to low turnout, steady in some places, that they have seen a large number of absentee ballots come in through the mail, and from other locations. In fact, that number is something like 53,747 absentee ballots coming in, a number that could change by the end of the day, after they open all the mail. That's compared to 60,000 number of absentee ballots that they saw just last weekend with the Republican primary, and that primary of course broke a record. So we're seeing low turnout on the democratic side, but a lot of absentee ballots compared to high turnout on the Republican side with a lot of absentee ballots -- Poppy.

HARLOW: We'll see who that helps more, right, Clinton or Sanders. Joe Johns thank you. Coming up next, African-American voters they hold the key for

Democrats, in South Carolina's primary. I sat down with eight of them this morning, some supporting Sanders, some backing Clinton, some still undecided as they head to the polls. What issues matter to them the most and who do they see as the most electable in a general election? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:35] HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow live in Columbia, South Carolina. As Democratic voters here head to the polls today, a key group to take center stage are African-American voters.

Fifty-five percent of registered Democrats here are African-American and that is a vast increase from previous primary states, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders have tried to woo those voters. In a recent CNN/ORC poll of African-American voters in this state, Hillary Clinton leads Sanders 65 percent to 28 percent. But anything can change on voting day.

This morning, I sat down with the group of black voters of all ages here in South Carolina, some still undecided as they head to the polls, some are backing Clinton, some are backing Sanders. We spoke first about the issues, namely education income and equality and criminal justice reform.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: It is 7:00 a.m., the polls have just opened, and I want to know who you like. So Hillary supporters raise your hand. Right there. Undecided? Even on voting day? Bernie Sanders supporters? There you go.

Let's talk about the issues. And I'm going to name a few issues and I want to you raise your hand if that is the most important voting issue for you in this primary. Education. Education. Income inequality. None of you. Criminal justice reform. You didn't name an issue.

REP. JUSTIN BAMBERG, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: I was waiting on you to ask about the issue of people and that's one thing about Bernie Sanders is that a lot of people will say he's a one issue candidate. I don't necessarily agree with that, but his main issue is the people and that covers everything you named.

HARLOW: Why are you supporting Secretary Clinton? What is it about her?

KERRY ABEL, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: There are several things. I think if all the persons running I think she has the best experience to take us to the next level in this country. I like her work in the education, working with youth. When you look at what she brings to the table, I think it's going to put America in a place and move President Obama's initiatives further. And I think she just has what it takes to take us to where we need to be.

HARLOW: So Tyler, you raised your hand when I asked you if the biggest issue for you send indication. Correct?

TYLER ALEXANDER, UNDECIDED VOTER: Yes, ma'am.

HARLOW: You're an undecided voter. Senator Sanders has spoken extensively about free college, making sure that everyone can go to college and that it is affordable or free. Do you think that is realistic, because his critics say how are you going to pay for that?

ALEXANDER: It's good for people who really want to learn and can't afford it because I have friends that can't afford the things that I could afford. And you know, they're really smart but don't have the opportunity to go to school because they don't have the money or they can't get a grant.

HARLOW: So do you think it's realistic? Do you think he will be able to get it through Congress?

ALEXANDER: I mean, I think it's realistic and I hope he can for the people who can't go to school.

HARLOW: Who likes the sound of senator Sanders education plan but worries about the implementation?

BUTCH KENNEDY, UNDECIDED VOTER: Where is the money going to come from to pay for that education? Sounds great. It's beautiful but where. And I see a lot of kids who can benefit from free college, those who don't have the means to pay for it, but have the brain and have the aptitude to actually succeed. So that's one of the big things for me.

ABEL: The education is the backbone for everything. Persons get a college education, they can get an excellent job, then they can have great home, they can take care of their family so you don't have to wore are I about those. They can have the resources, they have the health care they need. Education is the backbone to everything we need to do.

ASHLEY WILKERSON, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Which is why we should support Hillary Clinton, because she supports and advocates for early childhood education.

BRYANTA MAXWELL, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: If you could focus on education and elevated education that will be a way to lose everyone's income. That would be a way to help with the income inequality in America. Everyone can get viable jobs and be able to take care of their families and that could also help with issues such as mass incarceration.

HARLOW: Raise your hand if criminal justice reform is your number one issue as you head to the polls?

KENNEDY: I'm from Charleston, South Carolina. We had a lot happened in Charleston this year. We have the Emmanuel tragedy. We had a young man shot in the back by a law enforcement officer. These issues have to be addressed. I'm losing too many people in Charleston, South Carolina. So many mothers that have lost their kids to gun violence. Something has to be done about the crime in our streets. Something has to be done about gun violence in our street. And so far I can tell nobody's really talking about that.

ALEXANDER: One of my friends got killed after he graduated because of a gun over something petty, stupid. Like he said, maybe you know, better education for the kids, they could have something to do or people get in trouble because they don't have nothing to do.

I disagree because I got friends that parents give them whatever they want, and they still tend to do bad things, sell drugs. I didn't have a lot coming up. You didn't see me running around breaking into nobody's house or stealing drugs just to get a little bit of money. And it's not worth going to jail over. So you know, you got -- I done lost what three friends in the summer as soon as we graduated over guns. It's not guns. It's the people with the guns.

HARLOW: Is there a candidate right now that you think can help more on the issue of violence?

ALEXANDER: I feel like they both can but I still kind of am undecided because I feel like at the end of the day you could catch anybody with a gun, that's still not the only gun that's out there. Just one gun off the street it is multiple guns.

HAMILTON GRANT, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: And for me as a young African-American male and seeing the tragic events that's happened to unarmed African-American men, senator Sanders' criminal justice reform and his boldness to speak head-on to racial issues stuck out. He was one of the first ones to say is Sandra Bland's name, and so that stuck out to me. So many times we say black lives matter, black lives matter, but it's another thing to make it personal. He said her name. He said Sandra Bland. And so I think making that difference separated him between any other candidate.

BAMBERG: Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for criminal justice reform. It's because of who he is, OK, and he is not afraid to stand up to big money. He's not afraid to stand up to anybody. I'm not worried about him in special interest groups getting in his ear.

ABEL: We properly educate everyone. You don't have to worry about mass incarceration because people commit crimes for the most part because they can't make money and don't have the resources to take care of themselves. If we educate them and provide the proper programs for young people they won't commit crime and provide jobs for young people. They won't commit crimes. But what out of mind is the devil's workshop. We need to deal with the issues that people are having in this country and stop dealing with the person. We need to deal with education, crime and let's talk about that and what they can do to move this country forward.

HARLOW: Raise your hand if you would be pleased to see a Sanders/Clinton ticket in a general election, and I'm not saying who is in which spot. Raise your hand.

[15:40:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wouldn't bother me.

HARLOW: Two of you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like Bernie's passion. I really do. I like Bernie's passion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both of them I think there's a place for Bernie in her administration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I think so, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: I don't know if we're going to see that but you heard what they had to say there.

Coming up next I talk to the voters and we delve into the issues of electability in a general election. We also talk about honesty and trustworthiness, the Clinton and Sanders supporters then make their case to the undecided voters. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:07] HARLOW: Welcome back. As Clinton and Sanders battle for the African-American vote here in South Carolina, today I sat down this morning with a group of African-American voters who made their case for their candidates and they tried to convince undecided voters heading to the polls to go their way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: When you talk about a general election, the latest polling from this month shows if you match up senator Sanders against Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner right now, and Secretary Clinton against Donald Trump, Sanders beats Trump 48-42 percent. Secretary Clinton beats Trump 44-43 percent. So it is tighter margin for her.

KENNEDY: I thought Hillary would have a wider margin, I really did. I thought she was more electable because of who she is and because of her name and because of what she's on it for this country. I'm really shocked that Bernie Sanders has a wider lead over Trump. It doesn't surprise me that Trump is behind. That doesn't surprise me at all. But what does surprise me is the numbers between.

[15:45:12] HARLOW: So will you think about electability when you head in to vote today?

KENNEDY: I'll think about a lot of things, you know. And I've already determined that I'm not going to really know exactly who I'm going to vote for until I actually walk into the booth.

MAXWELL: We have to figure out a way to unite the Democratic Party and on the flipside, in the event if secretary Clinton wins we have to figure out a way to keep these Bernie Sanders voters. We got to figure out a way to keep them because as president the young Democrats of South Carolina a lot of my people, young people are supporting Bernie. And they have already said they don't know what they're going to do in the event Secretary Clinton wins.

HARLOW: Really?

MAXWELL: So it's like --

HARLOW: They may not support her?

MAXWELL: Exactly.

HARLOW: Raise your hand if your candidate does not win in the primary, will you support the democratic nominee for president at the polls? No question about it?

WILKERSON: There can't be a question. We cannot afford for a Republican to be in the White House. They will totally reverse everything President Obama worked hard to do in his two terms of presidency.

HARLOW: Let's talk about the issue of honesty and trustworthiness.

BAMBERG: I trust Bernie Sanders higher than my arms can reach.

GLORIA MAJOR, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I trust Hillary more so than Bernie is because I have like a connection with her background, more so Bernie just came on board as far as I'm concerned hearing about his name publicly out there.

HARLOW: So there have been multiple calls, Gloria, on Secretary Clinton to release her transcripts from those speeches she gave to the banks and at this point she has not. She said I will when everyone else does even on the other side the Republicans. Do you want to see the transcripts? Do you feel like she should just release them to the public and see them?

MAJOR: No it's not important.

HARLOW: And why not release them her critics would say?

MAJOR: Because that's her rights. I mean, how many of the politicians have released theirs? I just feel that they're going after her with this. It's a distraction for what she wants to do. You know, it's just, I mean this lady just been drug up through the mud, mud slung at Miss Clinton one after the other, for what? My thing is with Miss Clinton I don't feel like she have to take the transcript. Nobody has been asked to release their transcripts before.

HARLOW: Delvon, to you. As an undecided voter looking at the honest and trustworthy poll numbers, what is your take?

DELVON HARLING, UNDECIDED VOTER: It's not surprising to me because Bernie kind of makes me feel the grandfather you don't want to ask to go outside. Like grandma -- go ask your grandfather. I don't want to ask him. And he seems like he will tell the truth and be brutally honest every time you ask him a single question.

HARLOW: Do you not feel that way about Secretary Clinton?

HARLING: Well like I said before, you know, that name is, the Clinton brand has been known for years, so we can trust her, and with the e- mails and stuff like that, I mean, it's not a big concern to me. Her numbers isn't as surprising to me as Bernie Sanders. Like I understand why his numbers are solid.

HARLOW: What about the other undecides?

KENNEDY: I agree with what he just said. He looks like somebody's grandfather. I agree with that.

HARLOW: You can trust your grandfather?

KENNEDY: Yes. Everybody trusts their grandfather. Everybody.

HARLOW: But he's not your grandfather.

(LAUGHTER)

WILKERSON: Exactly, this whole grandfather feel has to be more than appeal and feel gravitation towards Bernie Sanders.

KENNEDY: That's also the scary thing about him because he feels like your grandfather. So you know, the age thing plays a part of the factor as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To build off of the trustworthiness, I think as everybody has alluded to, you have to go back and look at the track record, I believe in leading by example, everything senator Sanders has said, he's done.

HARLOW: But he has reversed course. He recently reversed course on gun legislation which he previously signed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he hasn't shied away from it. He answered the request he. If he disagreed or had to retract and apologize on that, he has done that and has come out and said it straightforward. I think it's actually a great thing that we are talking about the black vote, because whether you're a supporter of senator Sanders, whether you're a supporter of Secretary Clinton --

MAXWELL: We talk about it in church on Sunday and we are knocking down doors. And register people to vote in the college campuses and black African-American are the biggest voting block anyway.

HARLOW: Raise your hand if you're undecided. Three in the middle. So I want to go down the line and I want you each to make your case to the undecided. But you only get one sentence.

[15:50:06] MAXWELL: You should support senator Sanders because as President Barack Obama brought us the message of change, senator Sanders is bringing us the political revolution. And that's exactly what a revolution is, change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should support senator Bernie Sanders because he's not running for president to play the game of politics. He's running for president to change the game of politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should vote today for senator Bernie Sanders because he's going to take change and hope to a new level. You don't have to re-invent the wheel. But you can just add chrome to it.

WILKERSON: You should vote for Secretary Hillary Clinton because she has a proven track record. She is well rounded, being a mother and a grandmother and this is my first time voting as a mother. She is compassionate to the needs to every woman, every family and the social injustices that are taking place and have always taken place in the black community.

MAJOR: You should vote for Secretary Clinton, Hillary Clinton, because she is the woman for the job. And she's balanced, and she will bring unity in the parties on both sides.

ABEL: You should vote for Secretary Clinton because of her years of dedication and experience and working in the community, and in education and because she's the right lady for the job at the time we need to move this country forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:55:23] HARLOW: We are back live here on Election Day in South Carolina. It is the election, the primary for the Democrats. Ryan Lizza is with me. He is the CNN commentator and Washington correspondent at the "New Yorker."

And Ryan, it is interesting, because Joe Johns just told us from one of the polling sites that it looked like to him, this is anecdotal, that it looked like to him that voter turnout is very light.

LIZZA: Yes.

HARLOW: Who does that help? Who does that hurt? Granted, we don't have the numbers. This is just what our correspondent has seen.

LIZZA: Look, so the conventional wisdom which has been wrong in this campaign, but I think it is probably right in this case, is that lower turnout hurts Bernie Sanders. So, in a lower turnout election you are having this sort of core of the Democratic Party. People that vote in every election. And those voters so far in the first three states have been Hillary Clinton supporters. In Iowa, for instance, the Sanders campaign predicted that Sanders campaign predicted that they would lose the campaign under a low turnout scenario. They would tie it under a little higher. And they would win it higher than that.

HARLOW: This was Iowa.

LIZZA: This was in Iowa. And it was obviously in the middle because it was tied. They nailed that. So their projections have always been more voters better for Sanders, because his two core constituencies are young people, you know, millennials, and independents. People who done self-identifies as Democrats. So people you have to get registered as Democrats, and then you have to get them to the polls. So people and then young people on a college campus, maybe on spring break now, they are also harder to get to the polls. So his two core constituencies are tough to get out. HARLOW: We will watch. We'll get the exit polls a little bit later

in just a few hours. We will see what is happening.

All right. Ryan Lizza, stay with me. You are with me at the top of the hour.

Don't go anywhere. It's Election Day here in South Carolina. Beautiful Colombia, South Carolina. Our special live coverage continues in a moment.

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