Updemocrats down. The trends for the two parties since 2008 in this state show a significant drop in democratic voter participationwhile gop voters continue to turn out in greater numbers. 2008 of course, a good year for the democrats here with the first contest between Hillary Clinton and a relative newcomer named barack obama. About 23 per cent of democrats go to the pollsalmost 20 per cent of republicans. In 2012thenpresident obama firmly in command and there was no democratic primary here as he sought and eventually won his second term. South Carolina Republicans managed to grow their turnout by a couple of pointsin the year they chose former House SpeakerNewt Gingrich and snapped their string of picking a candidate who went on to win the partys nomination. This year, continued expansion of gop participationa sharp rise of almost four per cent with just over 25 per cent voting. A level of enthusiasm likely driven in some part by the trump candidacy. Democrats meanwhiledropped dramatically by almost ten per cent compared to the 2008 numbers, while still handing secretary clinton a landslide victory over Bernie Sanders. Today, were seeing some early indications that super tuesday statesmany here in the southare also seeing strong turnouts for republicans, less so for democrats. Trump is leading polls in most of those states with one or two exceptionsprimarily texas where senator ted cruz is hoping to win and stop speculation that his campaign cant continue if he loses his home state. In fact, winning home states is absolutely critical for all of trumps remaining challengers. It would seem if cruz loses texas and if rubio loses florida and if kasich loses ohio theyre all out. Rubios probably in the most precarious position. Rubio is already fighting off attacks from trump that he hasnt won any of the states to this point. If he loses florida march 15th, it could be fatal to we have much more on super tuesday. Were looking at where each of the candidates stands. But first, lets go to meteorologist ben tanner, who is tracking showers that could be coming in tonight. Ben. Rain chance 50 super tuesday could be a defining moment for lower to middle 70s. A cold front is just off to our west and will be here by tonight. Look for increasing clouds by Late Afternoon with scattered showers and a thunderstorm or two late night into wednesday morning. Rain chance 50 tonight into wednesday morning. Super tuesday could be a defining moment for republicans and democrats vying to be the next president. A new nbc news, surveymonkey online poll shows how candidates are polling as ballots are cast in more than a dozen states today. Among registered republicans, donald trump Still Holding a commanding lead. Percent. Marco rubio now in second place at 21 percent. Followed by ted cruz whos down to third place and polling at 18 percent. Ben carson in fourth at 8 percent. Followed by john kasich at 7. For the democrats, following a win in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton polling at 51 percent. Compared to 41 percent for Bernie Sanders. Nbc news is hot on the campaign trail for super tuesday. Lets get a quick preview. Im jacob rascon on the trail with donald trump who is so confident in his super tuesday chances he has moved on to states like ohio and florida, must wins for his opponents, where he will also point out he is ahead in the polls im Andrea Mitchell in miami where Hillary Clinton is hoping to hold a big against Bernie Sanders tonight. She is far ahead of sanders in most of the big southern super tuesday states, but shes also hoping to make inroads against him. And try even to win massachusetts or minnesota. And, tonight nbc will have an hourlong special of nightly news with lester holt. Extended live coverage of todays contests starts at 6 30 and runs through 7 30. You can also catch more of the results tonight on wis news at 11. You can get extensive coverage of super tuesday on our website, wistv dotcom. Just click on the special decision 2016 tab. Just a short time ago a Richland County deputy was fired for misconduct in office. Our Billie Jean Shaw is at the Richland CountySheriffs Department with more. Sheriff leon lott says today 25 year old kaleb broome was arrested and charged broom is accused of stealing a piece of doublesided tape from a poster inside of a victims home. While responding to domestic dispute last tuesday. Turned him in. Lott says the poster was a picture of africa, which broome defaced. He says broom offered no explanation on why he stole the tape other than he wanted to use it to stick driver licenses on his computer as he ran them. Sheriff lott says the incident is stupid. When he took that piece of tape, he crossed that line, he tarnished the badge that we wear. He put himself in just like any other criminal that we charge for stealing something. The trust that the Community Places in us to have deputies out here that have integrity and character and do the right they and he didnt. Sheriff leon lott says today 25 broome was arrested and charged with misconduct in office. Broom is accused of stealing a piece of doublesided tape from a poster inside of a victims home. While responding to domestic dispute last tuesday. Lott says the poster was a tape other than he wanted to use least 29 million dollras of his funds and possessions should be distributed in what they believe was his last will. Biggest requests that most of it be used to continue global jihad. Documents part of the 113 taken in the Us Special Forces raid that killed bin laen in 2011. Set down specific amounts that should be spread between his family members. One document laid out how he wanted to distribute millions of dollars in sudan. These documents were all translated from arabic and investigators now say a Richland County councilman accused of drunk driving says he only had one beer. Kelvin washington is charged with felony dui after a crash saturday night. A newly released report says an investigator saw signs washington had been drinking at the scene and later in the hospital. The trooper investigating the crash wrote in his report he could smell a strong odor of alcohol. Washingtons car had slammed into the rear end of a honda sedan carrying two young men, pushing that car into a ditch. Investigators arent saying what washingtons blood alcohol level was that night. One of the midlands biggest names in real estate is making a big change. Today russell and jeffcoat real estate announced it has merged with Coldwell Banker united. Now 600 agents will work under the new company in 16 offices across the midlands. While a new name may be on the way, agents were told work will continue as normal and clients shouldnt see a change aside from some new online tools market their properties. Russell and jeffcoat has a long rich history of being number one in the marketplace. Coldwell banker has a long rich history of being dominant in other marketplaces. And now our Parent Company nrt has been number one in the country for 18 years, so we see this as a win win for all of the agents involved and ultimately for the buyers and sellers of columbia. The city of cayce needs a new top lawman. This afternoon the city announced that Public Safety chief Charles Mcnair is retiring after 16 years in the job. Mcnair is a cayce native who got is start with the the city as a firefighter, then in animal control and then the police before he moved to the Highway Patrol and sled. But he came back home after he retired from sled and hes been the chief in cayce since 2000. Today is the kickoff for colon awareness month. Its a joined effort between consultants and gastroenterology. Uscs center for colon cancer several community advocates. Cer plank is at a coloprep party to show you can make an unpleasant experience one that encourages you to protect your health and your life. Part of the joy of reaching 50 is having a. Colonoscopy. What do you mean not fun . we can make it fun. We can make it a party. Thats what dr. Raj vasudeva and some friends did before having their colonoscopies. And its what usc coach dawn staley knows is important as colon cancer is in her family history. Since march is colon Cancer Awareness month. And since i turn 50. Which is the time youre to showing you the critical importance of being screened. Doctors say about one in three adults between 50 and 75 years of age about 23 Million People are not getting testing as recommended. Colon cancer knows as coach staley learned when her mom was diagnosed with the disease six years ago. Staley says, i think Early Detection is great, but you dont get Early Detection without having competent doctors who will look after you like they would look after your parents like they are their parents. To help keep you from ever fully involved crew on the way a look now at your first alert march coming in like a lamb with mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures, highs in the lower to middle 70s. A cold front is just off to our west and will be here by tonight. Look for increasing clouds by Late Afternoon with scattered showers and a thunderstorm or two late night into wednesday morning. Rain chance 50 tonight into wednesday morning. A few showers wednesday morning cloudy, breezy and cooler, highs in the lower 60s. Dry thursday before another shot of rain moves in and out for late thursday night through midday friday. Rain chance 60 . Highs upper 50s to lower 60s. Break right now on the news at 5, states and hundreds of delegates up for grabs. We are following the campaign trail on super tuesday. Were here with Richland County gop chair Eaddy Willard and executive director of progress south Michael Wukela to get their perspectives on todays races. President ial contenders Hillary Clinton and donald trump trounce competition going into super tuesday. Hillary clinton holds an elevenpoint lead todays races. President ial contenders Hillary Clinton and donald trump trounce the competition going into super tuesday. Hillary clinton holds an elevenpoint lead over Bernie Sanders among registered democrats nationally, according to the nbc News Survey Monkey weekly election tracking poll. Support for sanders is at an 41 percent. And donald trump hits a new high among registered republicans, garnering the support of 40 percent of those polled. Thats nearly double the 21percent who name marco rubio as their president ial pick. Ted cruz is in third place with 18 percent. The poll was conducted online among a National Sample of more than 30thousand adults aged 18 its the biggest day so far in the race for the white house super tuesday. Its shaping up as winning day for the frontrunners democrat Hillary Clinton and republican donald trump. Steve handelsman reports. Texas senator ted cruz cast his vote on a super tuesday thats do or die for him president ial candidate 05 08 any candidate who can not win his home state has state polls show cruz with a lead over donald trump. Mos texas voter 12 20 i voted for ted cruz primarily because i dont want donald trump to get those electoral votes in texas we need to stop his momentum but trump. Without texas. Could sweep 10 of the 11 super tuesday states he and his new ally Chris Christie are talking tough s donald trump president ial candidate 28 33 i deal with rubio i deal with new jersey 34 39 in the next two weeks. His desperate opponents will say and do anything to try tear him down americas top elected republican tried today House Speaker paul ryan on trump not repudiating the kkk s rep. Paul ryan House Speaker 48 48 if a person wants to be the nominee of the republican party, there can be no evasion and no games, they must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. Marco rubio. Trying to hold on two weeks til the vote in florida. Called trump unelectable and democrat Hillary Clinton slammed trump s Hillary Clinton out against bigotry where ever i see it or hear about it like trump, clinton could win every super tuesday state but one vermont, where Bernie Sanders hopes for a big turnout in other liberal states s sen. Bernie sanders president ial candidate 1 221 24 if not theres not were probably going to be struggling. Like ted cruz, if he loses texas. Audio outcue im steve handelsman, nbc news, houston, texas and, tonight nbc will have an hourlong special of nightly news with lester holt. Extended live coverage of todays contests starts at 6 30 and runs through 7 30. You can also catch more of the results tonight on wis news at 11. Andyou can get extensive coverage of super tuesday on our march coming in like a lamb with mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures, highs in the lower to middle 70s. A cold front is just off to our west and will be here by increasing clouds by Late Afternoon with scattered showers and a thunderstorm or two late night into wednesday morning. Rain chance 50 tonight into wednesday morning. Inside the state house South Carolina senators were anticipating another long filibuster over the roads bill. But now, theres a filibuster taking place in the senate will whitson reports. State senator Gerald Malloy took the podium earlier today blocking a vote not on roads but instead on peanuts law a law about Road Construction zone safety in doing so, keeping lawmakers from discussing roads at all. The senate purposely started early today to get the roads filibuster started early a filibuster here in the state senate is a little different than what you see in washington the body can adjourn for the day, and they can discuss and vote on other bills which is where peanuts law comes into hour ago, speaking about the failure to pass roads and in discussing the bill. Darlington we dont want to raise the taxes we dont want to have the discussion weve got all these amendments on the desk and no real way to get there. Now other democratic lawmakers are on the floor still filibustering peanuts law but lawmakers are only really talking about roads also saying today, which was supposed to be all about roads, has been a waste of time. Live, ww wis news 10 the seemingly endless filibuster is not only frustrating for lawmakers sam bleiweis reports its continuing to affect those who are out on the roads every charles, most of the drivers i spoke with today were able to quickly recall a recent popped tire thanks to a pot hole on either an interstate, or a local road. And the biggest concern the cost of replacing it. Drivers say bridges and onramps are problem spots across the state. One driver told me that going west towards aiken hes seen a lot of roads that are touched up, but not completely fixed. Many drivers say especially driving at night when its already hard to spot hazards on the roads, thats when those potholes seem to jump out of nowhere. Its hard to see and the cones that they put out for them get moved and then you dont see them and you drive straight into potholes and pop your tires. I bought it a year and a half ago and about three months after i bought it i broke the axel on Fish Hatchery road. Both of those complaints common among people we spoke with today. Another complaint davis had was all of the incomplete road work she says shes had six nails in all four of her tires, theyve all been replaced. Roads are this bad, where the money is going thats what they are hoping to hear from lawmakers. Meanwhile, the filibustering continues. The longestserving lawmaker in the states house of representatives announced today he wont seek reelection in november. Democrat grady brown gave an emotional farewell today surrounded by several colleagues and senators. Brown said he would serve out the rest of his term but acknowledged there are younger citizens who want his job. The job is no bigger than you, lot of people come up here and say im a house member, im a senator, i can do what i want to. Never forget those who sent you. And if you do, you dont stay very long. Brown has served as the representative for lee, kershaw and sumter counties since 1985. Some local athletes are literally running around the state raising funds for a River Bluff High School coach Brian Thompson who is battling colorectal cancer. Of body shop athletics in lexington, will start in landrum. Theyll continue through greer, woodruff, clinton, newberry, lexington, columbia, st. Matthews, holly hill, North Charleston , before ending at sullivans island. The run is about 250 miles, itll take about 40 hours to complete. We wanna help. And we feel like this would be a good way for us to do it. To just draw awareness to colon cancer because it could be any of us, any day. But more than anything because we wanna show our support for brian. For more information about how you can support coach brian and the men running across the state this weekend, head to bodyshopathletics. Com and look for coach Thompson Fund on the home page. Today is the kickoff for colon awareness month. Its a joined effort between uscs center for Colon Cancer Research and several community advocates. Break a look now at your first alert march coming in like a lamb with skies and warm temperatures, highs in the lower to middle 70s. A cold front is just off to our west and will be here by tonight. Look for increasing clouds by Late Afternoon with scattered showers and a thunderstorm or two late night into wednesday morning. Rain chance 50 tonight into wednesday morning. A few showers wednesday morning cloudy, breezy and cooler, highs in the lower 60s. Dry thursday before another shot of rain moves in and out for late thursday night through midday friday. Rain chance 60 . Highs upper 50s to lower 60s. Today is the kickoff for colon Dawndy Mercer plank is at a coloprep party to show you can turn an unpleasant experience into something that encourages you to protect your health and your life. Part of the joy of reaching 50 is having a. Colonoscopy. What do you mean not fun . we can make it fun. We can make it a party. Thats what dr. Raj vasudeva and some friends did before having their colonoscopies. And its what usc coach dawn staley knows as colon cancer is in her family history. Since march is colon Cancer Awareness month. And since i turn 50. Which is the time youre to showing you the critical importance of being screened. Doctors say about one in three adults between 50 and 75 years detection is great, but you parents like they are their parents. To help keep you from march seabrook with consultants in gastroenterology says, colonoscopy is an extremely powerful test. What other test can you have find out what happened in a new break a Virginia Community will gather later today to remember a Police Officer who approval. From the vatican. In an editorial monday. The vatican newspaper losservatore romano, said the movie is not anticatholic. And has a compelling plot. Spotlight follows a group of boston globe reporters delving into the Catholic Priest sexual abuse scandal. This isnt the first vatican outlet to praise the film. In october, Vatican Radio described spotlight as this afternoon, sportscaster erin andrews lawyers rested their case. But not before she spent another tearful day on the witness stand. Shes suing nearly 8 years after a stalker released nude video of her secretly taped inside her hotel room. Jay gray has the latest. 1220 for the second straight day erin andrews emotions spilled over as she talked about being video taped. Without her knowledge. Nude, inside a Nashville Hotel room. There is always that thought as i walk by fans, and you are as close to me as they are, and i think, my god, everyone in this stadium has seen that video. That video was posted online by Michael Barrett who spent 30 months in jail after he admitted to stalking the popular sportscaster in three cities. Altering peepholes in her hotel room doors. And secretly recording her. And now. Andrews is seeking 75million dollars in a civil lawsuit that names barrett, along with the its Management Company at the time of the incident claiming negligence, Emotional Distress and invasion of privacy. Do you believe you will ever get over this . No. During a brief crossexamination. Establish that andrews career hasnt been irreparably damaged. They also argue. The hotel had nothing to do with barretts actions. Despite reports Staff Members told him andrews was staying in there. And agreed to give him the room next door. The trial is expected to wrapup by the end of the week. Jay gray nbc news. Coming up on wisstart reving up your engines for the worlds fastest road car. Francisco gas station. Officials say the bus driver pulled into the station monday after his engine started overheating and smoking. The potential for explosions forced fire crews to retreat to a safe position and douse the bus in water. The blaze was extinguished half hour after it began. One firefighter suffered minor injuries, no civilians were hurt. Bugatti says its about to break the record for the fastest car in the world. Its called the chiron. And bugatti promises it to be faster and more powerful than all its previous models. We still dont know how fast the chiron can go but its been capped at 260milesperhour for road use. Bugatti says its already sold about a third of the 500 chiron series cars it plans to make. The price tag . A base price of two pointsixmilliondollars. Oscarwinning character actor George Kennedy has died. He won a best supporting actor oscar for his role as the convict dragline in 1967s cool hand luke. He was a staple in such 1970s disaster epics as earthquake and the airport movies. In all, kennedy appeared in more than 180 movies and tv shows in a career spanning almost 60 years. Nasa astronaut scott kelly is coming back down to earth today after nearly a year in space. Hes been at the International Space station longer than than any other us astronaut. Kellys Current Mission has lasted 340 days. In his last briefing before heading home, kelly told reporters that he is feeling good. After he lands, hell be flown to houston tomorrow. Kelly took some amazing pictures during his one year journey in space. Here is a stunning image of the earth. Splashes of color make this image of south america look interesting. This is a colorful abstract of africa. Heres an illuminating photo of barcelona at night. And a gorgeous shot of egypt captured in this image. Thanks for joining us for the news at 5. Well be right back. Out to vote in super tuesday and it may be a hard pill to swallow for some republicansso how could a trump nomination impact the support of the gop establishment come november . And as lawmakers stall on a plan to fix our roadsdrivers say theyre fed up. Your news at 6 starts now. Good evening and welcome to the news at thanks for joining us this evening. Im judi gatson. Tonight we could know who is best positioned in both the democratic and republican races for president. Its super tuesdaypossibly the most important set of contests the largest slice of the delegate count is on the line in the 2016 primary season. Frontrunners donald trump and Hillary Clinton are expected to do very well tonightbut their respective challengers say theyre not ready to call it a race just yet. Polls in several states along the east coast are expected to close in the next hour. The proof will come later tonight as the votes roll in. But if the latest polls are accurate, this could be a breakthrough day for donald trump as he builds momentum toward taking the gop president ial nomination. And if trump comes away the big winnerwhat then, for members of his own party who dont want him to be their nominee . Jack kuenzie is here with more on that. Questions now looming over the gop judi and charles. And it is one that could determine the outcome of the general election if donald trump becomes the republican nominee. Trump has drawn big crowds and become the hero of the angry conservative electorate. Hes also, especially in the last couple of weeks, turned into a target for highranking, high visibility members of his own party. Not only his two principal challengers, senators ted cruz and Marco Rubiobut a range of big name Party Leaders like former nominee mitt romney, House Speaker paul ryan and South Carolinas own nikki haley and lindsey graham. While there have been a few critics converted to the trump causenew jerseys Chris Christie for instancethere is already a sizeable chunk of the gop who would appear to have a tough time signing on with the Trump Team Just because there will be an r next to his name on the fall ballot. It seems that there are only two ways to go. Hold your nose and go with a candidate that you dont particularly like or alternatively you back