Tonight the manhunt to find him. Nightly news begins right now. Good evening from lex headquarters on super tuesday, a night that could be the Tipping Point in both the republican and democratic races for the president ial nomination. 12 states are in play tonight with the first poll closings just a half hour from now. But ahead of that, we have a new snapshot of the state of the race nationally. Republican donald trump has a 21 lead over marco rubio, whos now in second place, according to a new nbc News Survey Monkey poll. Democrats, Hillary Clinton with a 10point lead nationally over Bernie Sanders. Will she pull away from sanders for good . Will trump close the deal tonight . Theres an awful lot to cover. Our team is in place. Lets start with the trump reporter another dramatic entrance for whats shaping up to be a dramatic super tuesday. Trump is riding high. Chris christie by his side. And brushing off the insults. He said i had small hands . Theyre not small, are they . Ive always had people say, donald, you have the boast beautiful hands. Reporter nine months ago his Unconventional Campaign and the outsider is poised for a blowout. Confident enough to call on marco rubio to quit on fox news. I think he has to get out. You know, he hasnt won anything. Ted cruz very rightfully points out marco has not won. Reporter if trump wins big tonight there is already talk he might refuse to take part in future gop debates. The next on thursday in detroit moderated by fox news and megyn kelly who trump has repeatedly trashed for reciting his own words back to him during the first debate. The campaign telling nbc news it hasnt even thought about thursday yet. But that there is a lot of trump late today saying he wont skip it. No, im not going to skip it. But i think these debates are ridiculous. Donald trump has played by his own rules since he started this Campaign Last summer. Should he not choose to play by them now i dont think we should be surprised. Reporter the bombastic millionaire promising to turn to the general election and Hillary Clinton. Hillary cannot make america great. She was talking about something yesterday, making america whole. Whole. No, no. I dont want whole. I want great again. I want great again. I dont want whole. Reporter meanwhile, the grand old party is worried about its grand old legacy. After trump failed to immediately condemn the kkk over the weekend. 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. Reporter ryan said he will support whomever the party nominates but gop sources tell nbc news there is real concern staff will cooperate with the party. And whether hell quit calling people losers and start acting more president ial. To put it into perspective, that is campaign that started out with Little Organization and no backing from the republican establishment. A campaign that many called a joke. Despite all of that and despite all the drama, donald trump is expected to run away with the majority of delegates in 11 states tonight. All right, katy. If trump dominates as many suspect the most suspenseful storyline of the night may be the republican race for second place. Both marco rubio and ted cruz are competing to be the face of the antitrump effort within their party. As nbcs Hallie Jackson reports both campaigns believe they have viable pathways to the nomination. How are you feeling . Reporter ted cruz cant afford a misstep here, voting today in his houston hometown. How do you feel . I feel very good. Reporter its the biggest super tuesday prize, 155 delegates where cruz leads and needs a win. Also watching arkansas. If you think reporter spending more money there in the last 24 hours. His campaign privately acknowledging to nbc theyre all but conceding vermont, massachusetts, and virginia. Why should i cast my vote for you instead of donald trump . Reporter cruzs argument to voters like cindy that trump has a ceiling. Him. By that same logic, 80 of republicans are not backing you. 85 . It is qualitatively different. Why . Donald trump loses the general election and republicans recognize that reporter cruz wants a twoman race by tomorrow. But wont get it. With marco rubio in the mix. I will campaign in all 50 states reporter hes again shifting his strategy against trump, not below the belt now you know what they say about men with small hands. Donald trump has small hands were not talking about that today. I want this to be a serious election reporter his aides telling nbc rubio wants to focus on more serious warnings, calling trump dangerous. The florida senator hasnt won anywhere yet and probably wont tonight unless he pulls off shocking upsets in virginia or minnesota. He needs to get his fair share of second places. Reporter even if rubio drops 15 in a row his campaigns looking to the 15th of march where he has to win his home state. John kasich needs a win in his home state too. Ohio in two weeks. Hes already looking past super tuesday. But ben carson is not. On political life support, a top Campaign Aide acknowledging how important these primaries are to carsons future. The bigger storyline, thats cruz, rubio, and this showdown for second as they hope to prove one of them can slow down donald trump. Were joined by nbc news if trump wins in a big way tonight will sound we hear be the sound of the Republican Party fracturing . I think the Republican Party is already fractured along the lines hallie laid out. Cruz represents and the people hoping for cruz to have a strong night, win his home state, represent those that feel trump is inadequately not conservative enough. Rubio represents the last best hope of the establishment. All the warring, excitement and momentum is behind donald trump and what hes captivated in this republican electorate. Thanks very much, good to have you on. Turning to democratic race, Hillary Clinton also expected to have a very big night. Her Campaign Hopes that tonight spells the beginning of the end for opponent Bernie Sanders. As our Andrea Mitchell reports clinton is already looking ahead to the general election and sharpening her attacks against donald trump. Reporter trying to run up the score, frontrunner Hillary Clinton today in minnesota, a Bernie Sanders stronghold. I need your help with the caucus tonight. Boston challenging sanders in the new england senators backyard backyard. The clintons tag teaming sanders, trying to put the nomination beyond his reach. Meanwhile sanders voting this morning in his home state of vermont where hes expected to coast to victory. I know that Bernie Sanders here in vermont got at least one vote. I was working on my wife but i think i probably got two. Reporter no matter tonights result, sanders vows to fight clinton all the way to the convention. Hes got the cash to do it, raising more than 41 million in the last month alone. Mostly from small online contributions. Thousands turning out yesterday for his rally in massachusetts where the race is tightening. Your state led the american revolution. Now it is time for massachusetts to lead the political revolution. Reporter but clinton with overwhelming support from africanamerican voters is counting on a southern firewall tonight. Texas, tennessee, and georgia. According to our nbc news wall street journal maris poll, already confident enough about the nomination to start focusing as well on donald trump. Im just speaking out against bigotry and bullying wherever i hear it. Reporter Campaign Officials telling nbc news the strategy against trump includes hitting him early and often, portraying him as dangerous and bigoted because of his comments on race and ethnic minorities, energizing minority voters to turn out for her. Clinton already testing new attack lines against trump. You know, america never stopped being great. Weve got to make america whole. Reporter trump is threatening to turn the campaign into a knife fight. I guarantee you one thing, were going to be talking about those emails every moment of every day. The clintons know that donald trump does not play by the rules but the clintons are also known for their tough campaigning. So if clinton and trump become their parties nominees, you well put, andrea, thank you. Were joined by chuck todd and savannah guthrie, joining super tuesday coverage in primetime. Chuck, im always curious what youre going to be watching tonight. Let me start with the republican super tuesday map here. Theres really four states im watching. Early on its going to be virginia. It should be a competitive race tonight. Can marco rubio do well with the mostinformed electorate in the country . Then arrange, oklahoma, texas. Ted cruz has to do well. If there are going to be places cruz and rubio can beat trump it is in these four states. Thats why i think they matter the most. Lets move on the democratic side of the super tuesday map. Its slightly different. Theres basically a northsouth strategy. In the south its about Hillary Clinton, she expects to do well, minority voters. Where sanders hopes to have better nights is in the northern states, fewer minority voters, well see. I think the targeting, he may have missed opportunities in a couple of southern states. We have learned a couple of experience versus outsider. Whats interesting on the republican night, not surprising, want for an outsider president ial candidate, half of republicans in all the super tuesday states said shouldnt that. Only 40 want experience. On the democratic side, 80 want an experienced next president versus an outsider. Thats good news for Hillary Clinton. Let me turn to savannah. Youve been working the phones for the campaigns. Rubio and cruz, what do they see as the pathway out of super tuesday . They see two different paths ironically theyll see a path without the other and theyre focused on that even though both have fired on trump more in the last few days and weeks than they had before. Rubio has said it plainly and his advisers repeat it behind the scenes, hes it in all the way. They think he has the money. They think this whole part of the Republican Party that is mortified that trump could be the nominee will come to them. Troouls thinks, im going to win texas tonight. Hoping to pick up a couple of border states and cobble together enough delegates to challenge trump. All the way to the convention. Good to see both of you. Youll be with me on our 10 00 primetime broadcast. Well have live updates throughout the night as results come in. Ill be joined by chuck and savannah and our entire team across the country starting at 10 00 p. M. Eastern with all the breaking news. The battle between apple and the fbi reached all the way to capitol hill today. Apple is fighting the fbis used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. As our Pete Williams explains, both are asking congress to play referee and find an answer. If you would please rise ill begin by swearing you in reporter the fbi director faced a skeptical House Judiciary Committee over requiring apple write special software to help the fbi unlock an iphone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. Essentially were asking apple, take the vicious guard dog away, let us try and pick the lock. Reporter comey said the fbi government to crack the phone and concluded only apple health the key. When has it been the function of government to compel or force a private citizen or a company to act as an agent of the government to do what the government couldnt do . Reporter apples top lawyer warned if the fbi gets what it wants the software to disable an iphone security could get into the wrong hands. We think that protecting the security and the privacy of hundreds of millions of iphone users is the right thing to do. Thats the reason that were doing this. Reporter but some Committee Members worried about phones keeping evidence out of the reach of law enforcement. You can go into peoples bodies and remove bullets but you cant go into a dead persons iphone and remove data . I just find it baffling. Reporter the federal judge in brooklyn has ruled for apple in a battle over access to a drug dealers locked iphone, saying the government cannot force apple to bypass the security measure it markets to its customers. Something the judge said would for now apple is on a roll, a win in court, its stock price up. Next the San BernardinoCourt Hearing in three weeks. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Tonight. Back on the stand, more andrews. The trauma she still feels years after a stalker secretly taped her. The defense firing back suggesting the incident actually helped her career. Also police say he led them on a chase in a hummer Holding Children hostage. But he slipped away. Now the manhunt is i built my business with passion. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. I earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy for my studio. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Thats huge for my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Doctors recommend taking one claritin every day of your allergy season. For continuous relief. With powerful, 24 hour. Nondrowsy claritin, live claritin clear. Every day. I accept im not 22. I accept i do a shorter set these days. I even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, tnot caused by a but i wont play so if theres Something Better than warfarin, im going for it. Eliquis. Reliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus it had significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis had both. Thats what i wanted to hear. Ndont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, p as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Neliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have p an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. R while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. P. And it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Sudden signs of bleeding, p eliquis may increase your bleeding risk tell your doctor about all planned medical i accept i dont play. Quite like i used to. But im still bringing my best. And going for eliquis. V plus less ask your doctor. If switching. For a second day, Sports Reporter erin andrews took the stand to testify in her 75 million civil trial. Today the defense got its chance to cross examine andrews. She is suing both her convicted stalker and the hotel where he admits secretly videotaping her. Andrews told the jury its a trauma she has never recovered from. Nbcs Morgan Radford has more. Reporter another emotional day on the stand. I know im not fine. Reporter erin andrews describes the daily nightmare of that secretly taped viral video and the therapy she still needs. Always have to go get treatment for this, always go need to talk to somebody about because this will always be on reporter she was particularly emotional when describing what could eventually happen when she has kids. What happens when my kids come home from school, mom, kids are saying youre naked on the internet. Reporter traumatized, andrews says she now does a thorough sweep of every hotel room. I look for lights, i look for red lights, i look to see if theres cameras. Reporter her testimony complete. The manufacturer rin andrews rests her case. Reporter its up to the defense to make their case. First up former employer espn. Do you see her suffer in any way as a result of the actions of mr. Barrett . No. Reporter the hotels legal team trying to convince the jury seven women and five men that the hotel shouldnt pay for a video that wasnt their fault and that didnt damage her career. Your income has gone up substantially since this occurred. Reporter andrews argued back saying the work is her escape. Ive been overcompensating in my life and i admit that. I feel likefy can do the top nfl game, if i can work the world series, if i can pass out the trophy then people will forget. Reporter but, she says, shouldnts the jury to remember. Morgan radford, nbc news, nashville. When we come back, after nearly a year in orbit a for an ame Terry Bradshaw . What a surprise you know what else is a surprise . Shingles. And how it can hit you out of nowhere. I know. I had it. M here. And talk about it. Three people will get shingles . I didn t know that. I did. He s on tv saying it. But have you done anything . all no. M reminding people like you to ask your doctor or pharmacist about your risk of getting shingles. Because if you had chickenpox all oooh. Who s had chickenpox . Scoot over. Me too when i got shingles i had this ugly band of blisters and look that nasty rash can pop up anywhere and the pain can be even worse than it looks. So talk to your doctor or pharmacist. We all in . all yes good, cause if not we re gonna watch highlights of my career 12 hours straight. I know, talk about pain. Seriously now, talk to your doctor or pharmacist today about a vaccine that can help prevent shingles. They call it planning for retirement because getting there requires exactly that. A plan for what you want your future to look like. For more than 145 years, pacific life has been providing solutions to help individuals like you achieve longterm financial security. Bring your vision for the future to life with pacific life. Talk to a Financial Advisor to help build and protect your retirement income. Pacific life. In southern california, an intense manhunt is under way for a kidnapping suspect who took police on an hourslong pursuit while holding his girlfriend and her children captive. Police tailed the man across the Los Angeles Area during rush hour monday before he escaped on foot on a rugged hillside. Even though he was surrounded by officers. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer has the wild details. The driver may be armed reporter the 40mile chase started during rush hour. You can run but you cant hide. Reporter a lowspeed pursuit but this was high drama. When kids inside Reporter Police say the driver thomas wano kidnapped his girlfriend and two young children, a domestic dispute playing out on one of the nations busiest freeways, i5, endangering the public over five hours. Hes not going to get very far. Reporter onlookers with cameras when the pursuit comes to an end in affluent newport beach, the suspect holding up this 1yearold. Finally the women and children able to run towards police as wano flees into the night. The suspect is shot with nonlethal rounds. The suspect in a hoodie comes running up and says, im hit, im hit. Reporter he escapes. Slips through the dragnet into the night. Today its a manhunt. But like this chase police say its only a matter of time before they have their man. Miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. After spending nearly a year in space, astronaut scott kelly is coming back home. Scott departed earlier from the International Space station for longest single space mission. Hell finally set foot back on earth with all its gravity late this evening. When i interviewed kelly last week he said the thing he missed most about home was human contact. When we come back, more on super tuesday when tom brokaw joins us. Amid all the insults and attacks in this campaign my belly pain and constipation . Ive heard it all. Eat more fiber. Flax seeds. Yogurt. Get moving. Keep moving. I know try laxatives. Been there, done that. My chronic constipation keeps coming back. I know. Tell me something i dont know. Vo linzess works differently from laxatives. Linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. It can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements that are easier to pass. 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Ask your doctor if chantix were Just Moments Away from the first poll closings on this super tuesday. Were joined by tom brokaw. Weve talked about the insults, the personal attacked, the anger. Is that the only thing driving thing tonight as we head into super tuesday . I think its driving a lot of it. Weve seen how well donald trump has done as the most unconventional candidate i can remember who could be the frontrunner. The speaker of the house, a republican, and the Senate Majority leader, another republican, condemned him for his remarks about the ku klux klan or rather his remarks not against the ku klux klan. The question is did the country care about that . They were establishment politicians. One of the things im going to be looking at tonight is whether that anger quota stays up as high as it is. The other thing is not just who wins tonight but who stays in the race. Like to clean this on it a little bit but there is the possibility tomorrow morning well still have a full team back in there with just enough to hang on at the bottom to keep this thing going for a while and that works in trumps favor. Well look forward to it throughout the evening. Thanks very much. Thats going to conclude our first half hour of nightly news. For many of our stations well continue another half hour of special coverage. And were back on the air at 10 00 p. M. Eastern across the country with all the breaking results. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, thank decision 2016 super tuesday update. Hello, the polls have now closed in three states on this super tuesday. Lets walk you through what we know at this hour. Lets start with the republicans in georgia. Nbc news projects donald trump wins in georgia. In virginia, republican side the race is too close to call but based on early exit polls, trump and rubio are vying for first place. Again, thats virginia. In vermont, republican race too early to call. Lets look at the democrats now. In georgia, nbc news projects Hillary Clinton is the winner in in virginia, nbc news again projects Hillary Clinton will win. Vermont, Bernie Sanders home state, we project he will win in vermont. Bernie sanders wins the Vermont Democratic primary. Chuck todd is with me right now. Your first thoughts as the evening begins . I think the bill surprise is virginia republicans, too close rubio. If there was a state that he had virginia. Moderate electorate. Anybody can vote in the primary and theres a lot of evidence a lot of democrats may have turned out to help rubio in virginia. So a big deal. If youre ted cruz and marco rubio youre not happy about that georgia result. The fact that we could call that poll closed thats a big win for trump, a premonition of what arkansas and alabama could look like. Well be looking at four more states. Well have closings coming up at 8 00 eastern time. And of course well be back on for you. You see alabama, massachusetts, oklahoma, tennessee will be up next. Im lester holt at nbc news election headquarters. Well see you a bit later on. We are back with our continue ing nightly News Coverage of this super tuesday. The polls have closed in georgia, vermont, virginia. Youve seen the results. Lets get to Nbcs Kristen Welker with the Clinton Campaign in miami. Whats the latest from there . Reporter the crowd erupting into cheers as they have learned secretary clinton has won georgia and virginia. It as strong start for this campaign, hoping to build on its momentum in order to claim entire southern firewall to hold. That includes states like arkansas, alabama, and tennessee. Still, the Campaign Says the earliest it could put the race out of reach mathematically is march 15th. Thats when florida votes. And one of the reasons shes holding her watch party here. Clinton is already starting to set her sights on the general, taking increasing aim at donald trump, criticizing him for being a divisive candidate. Democratic strategist and Campaign Officials are signaling, if clinton makes it to the general and faces trump, shell stress his divisive and offensive comments and his controversial policies like building a wall. Meanwhile, one democratic strategist tells me if clinton makes it to the general and faces off against donald trump, she shouldnt get personal unless and until he does. And also says trump makes democrats nervous because while he energizes the base, he could also bring a lot of new voters into the polls. All right, from the democratic side lets move to katy tur live with the Trump Campaign in palm beach. He wins georgia, what are you hearing from there . Reporter the Trump Campaign is happy about this win. Trump tweeting just now, thank you to georgia. Certainly surprise is though to find out he is neck and neck for first place with marco rubio right now. Also competing for first in vermont with kasich. Now, if youre going to believe the polls, trump was supposed to run away with the majority of the delegates tonight and that could still happen. Keep in mind theres been a lot of drama the past few days. Trump refusing to immediately condemn the kkk. That got a lot of headlines. Rubio has also been going after him hard. But it would take a major upset for him not to win the majority of delegates tonight. Regardless the campaign is looking forward to states that vote in the next few days, states that vote in the next few weeks. Theyre also looking ahead to the general election, promising to go after Hillary Clinton hard, to bring up her email scandal every single day. To put this in a little bit of perspective, this is a campaign that started out with very Little Organization, a campaign that started out with no backing from the republican establishment, a campaign that still is getting a lot of hostility from the republican establishment, a campaign that was often called a joke. But now donald trump is poised to potentially win big. Certainly close races in virginia and vermont have got to be a little worrying for the campaign at this moment. All right, katy, thank yous. Chuck todd is with us, lets continue that thought. Whats happening in virginia right now . Trump and rubio vying for first place. Does that give anyone pause . Its more important for rubio to win than it is for trump to win. Trumps going to win a lot tonight. Hes the guy if hes not winning hes in second. There may be different first place guys, maybe cruz somewhere in the southwest, maybe rubio in virginia, maybe john kasich in vermont. Ultimately its always trump is the other guy. So look, rubio desperately needs his first victory. Virginia is his best shot tonight. Theyve got to feel very good it does mean that weve got to wait for more sots to come in. Virginiasn early counting state, we should know. Trump is poised to have a big delegate night and we cant underscore that. The virginia win here is what should really scare ted cruz and marco rubio. Because he did it with such ease. This is still a period where were looking at proportional delegates. It is except winning isnt everything, but georgia, we think its going to be a substantial donald trump win, well, that means were going to have hes going to get a lions share of those delegates and it could mean cruz and rubio barely make the threshold necessary to get delegates and may not even get delegates in every congressional district. We know trump is going to get delegates everywhere. So thats what makes that if alabama and arkansas and tennessee look more like georgia than it does in virginia, thats why donald trump could be poised to have a big delegate lead after the nights over. Clinton getting off to a good start, her firewall strategy totally holding, i dont understand why Bernie Sanders didnt play in a state like virginia, very perplexing to me, tennessee in particular. Hes going for that northern strategy. Well find out if the strategy works in less than an hour. Whats massachusetts look like when polls close . A very important state to Bernie Sanders and the difference between clintons having a good night and a great night. Chuck todd, thank you very much. Its rare to see so much importance placed on a race for runnerup. As we do tonight in the battle for republican nomination. Both marco rubio and ted cruz see themselves as weve explained as viable alternatives to trump. But do voters . As nbcs Gabe Gutierrez explains the road to the nomination is a tough one for both candidates. Reporter for marco rubio, the slog to second place is steep. Anyone who votes for donald trump today in these caucuses is voting for Hillary Clinton in november. Reporter today his campaigns hoping for a surprise finish in minnesota. But he could go 0 for 15 so far, possibly failing to win a single primary or caucus. Of the vote in states like georgia to pick up delegates. Right now the strategy seems to be coming in second everywhere. How long is not winning going to be a Winning Strategy . Reporter after a weekend full of personal attacks he should sue whoever did that to his face reporter the florida senator now toning down jokes about donald trump, telling nbc news rubio wants to make a more dire Closing Argument on super tuesday, calling trump dangerous. Get him out of here donald trump has been insulting people. Every now and then a bully needs a taste of his own medicine but thats not going to be what my campaign is. Trump refuses to denounce the kkk. Reporter the prorubio super pac spending millions in florida, his home state, ahead of the key primary in two weeks. If rubio doesnt win florida his campaign is essentially done. Reporter ted cruz betting on a crucial win in his home state of texas. The only campaign that is in a position to beat donald trump on super tuesday is our campaign. On winning ohio on march 15th. Ben carson ignoring calls to leave the race, instead calling the other candidates, urging civility. These trump voters believe fundamentally that the country is no longer great. And that it is at its last hour to be great again. Reporter with the billionaire frontrunner dominating in national polls, the gop is split on any alternative. Rubio is running neck and neck with donald trump right now in virginia. Now today both trump and cruz called on rubio to drop out of the race if he underperforms tonight. Late this afternoon, rubio said thats not going to happen. And hes promising to win his home state of florida here in two weeks. Gabe gutierrez, lets pingpong over to the democratic side again. Lets go to nbcs casey hunt with the Sanders Campaign in vermont. He has won his home state, loses in georgia and virginia, whats the mood of the crowd . Here still has not learned that Bernie Sanders has won his home state of vermont. Of course neither have they learned about clintons wins in those two major states. Of course underscoring the fact that this is likely to be an overall rough night for sanders. He himself reiterating when he went to vote today in burlington that hes in this for the long haul, no matter what. Potentially all the way to the convention, saying the only 15 states have voted so far and he wants to give more democrats a say in the process. The fundraising numbers suggest that he may be able to do that. Hes raised more than 35 million in the month of february after he asked his online donors threshold. They raised over 5 million in 24 hours. And that could help power them challengers. Still theyre keeping an eye on oklahoma, feeling good about that. Theyre watching massachusetts its still very close they believe, and thats going to be a key bellwether for some of these other states against Hillary Clinton. The reality is still theyre going to come under enormous pressure for him to ratchet back this campaign or potentially drop out. If he doesnt have a decent showing tonight so that Hillary Clinton has a chance to run directly against donald trump, lester. Casey, thank you. Were joined by savannah guthrie. These primaries are taking place against the backdrop of a contentious fight over a vacant seat in the Supreme Court. The president met with senators, republican senators trying to find a case for filling Justice Scalias seat, how high are the stake stakes . Incredibly high. Three branches of government essentially on the ballot. Not just the congress and white house but the Supreme Court as well because of the passing of justice scalia, a once in a generation chance for president obama or his successor to name someone that would tip that ideological balance on some of you see that 54 split eighther way on the court. Thats why the stakes are so high. Its lime a game of threedimensional chess for senate republicans. Right now their posture is, dont bother to nominate anyone, president obama, were not giving a vote, we dont want to meet with them, nothing. However, if theyre starting to realize its trump who may be their nominee, does that change the calculus . Do they think, maybe hes not as electable against Hillary Clinton, do we want to roll the dice that Hillary Clinton wins and shes the one who gets to appoint the new justice . Everything very complicated. And the stakes are very, very high. Some raise the questions about trumps credentials in terms of his republican credibles where he would go with that choice. A lot of people have asked that question. He has said he would appoint a conservative justice. But weve seen in the past how sometimes hell appoint a justice that doesnt necessarily turn out to be what the president had hoped. Savannah, well be talking with you throughout the evening, thank you. Still ahead the namecalling, the schoolyard taunts, the harpest attacks and controversial comments of this president ial race. Were going to take a look. Constitute republican race come down to a contested convention . Youve probably heard that come up from time to time. Well explain why it could happen and how it could end up were back on this super tuesday with the early results continuing to roll in. As this campaign has accelerated voters have watched it descend further and further into the dirt. Disrespect and nasty putdowns are par for the course. Its led a lot of people to wonder if this might be the meanest modern campaign weve seen yet. Heres abss Andrea Mitchell. Reporter from the ethnic insults theyre bringing drugs, reporter to schoolyard taunts. Biggest ears ive ever seen. A guy with the worst spray tan in america is attacking me. Reporter the attacks this year have gone from plain old nasty to flatout crude. Little rubio, hes a very nasty guy. His hands are the size of someone whos 52. You know what they say about men with small hands. Reporter even those who least expected got in on it. Ive got to get this off my chest, donald trump is a jerk. Its hard to think of any campaign in modern times where youve had the language and the debate be so raw and angry and getting personal. Reporter undeniably it is donald trump, the most controversial candidate in memory, whos driving the tone. Jeb is a lowenergy person. She said hes a [ bleep ]. Theyre losers. Reporter his sharpest tool, twitter. Social media rants sparking a new phrase. Donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum, if you like trumper tantrum. Reporter the personal todays big contest. Possibly marco rubios last chance. Maybe make sure his pants werent wet. Little mouth on him. Bing Bing Bing Bing bing. Hes flying around on Hair Force One and tweeting. Its rubio reporter is it the First Modern Campaign to hit below the belt . In 1992 it was george h. W. Bush attacking bill clinton and al gore on foreign policy. My dog millie knows more about Foreign Affairs than these two bow zos. Reporter in 2008 about senator obama this whole thing is the biggest fairy tale ive seen. Reporter but this election has hit a new low. There has been nastiness in the past but it was over issues, not personal insults against each other. Reporter does nasty campaigning work . Well find out tonight. Back in a moment with other news. Theyve been kept secret till now. Private papers seized from osama votes are still being counted. The political experts like our chuck todd say there are only two scenarios left on the republican side, either trump will become the nominee or were headed for a contested convention. Something that hasnt happened in a long time. Nbcs Peter Alexander explains. Reporter its a political junkies dream and a political partys nightmare. A brokered or more accurately contested convention, where no candidates won a majority of delegates before this summers the delegates you keep hearing about the man that will lead our party to victory reporter yeah, those guys. The Republican Party will assign more than 2,400 of them. Right now donald trump has the momentum but less than 100 of the 1237 delegates needed to secure a simple majority. If trumps showing over the next two weeks isnt as strong as some polls might suggest, it gets tougher for him to reach the magic number hed need to win the nomination outright. Beginning march 15th, states will shift from assigning their delegates based on vote counts to winner take all. Which could help a candidate like marco rubio catch up quickly. A win in florida, his home state, is worth 99 delegates. But that still might not be enough without a big bump tonight. The rubio campaigns reportedly already drafted plans to overtake trump in a contested convention. But ted cruz says it wont come to that. A contested convention is the great hope of the republican establishment. Reporter the last one was decades ago where Adlai Stevenson got the nod. I accept your nomination reporter heres how it works. In the first round, most delegates are bound to vote for the candidate they represent. But if theres no clear winner they keep voting and delegates are freed up to pick whoever they want. Thats when things get messy. Having to bend the will of the majority to back one candidate is a large task. Reporter and get this, the partys delegates get to create additional rules one week before the convention. Theres nothing to stop them from making it easy for a new name to be added to mix, say the 2012 nominee mitt romney, or House Speaker paul ryan. An astounding race now potentially on track for a chaotic conclusion. Clearly a contested convention is rare and its very unlikely it would happen this summer. But with a growing movement inside the Republican Party to support a nominee other than donald trump, tonight several of a floor fight this Sumner Cleveland are getting bigger. Lester . Its a fascinating discussion, peter, thank you. U. S. Intelligence has released a treasure trove of documents seized from osama bin ladens compound, including a handwritten will in which he says hes leaving 29 million to be used for waging jihad. Also personal letters including one suggesting that bin laden and his aides plan to reach out to news outlets for a media blitz on the 10th anniversary of the 9 11 attacks. When we come back, tom for some final thoughts on this super tuesday were joined tom, historically speaking, looking at the disarray in the Republican Party, is it a oneoff or fundamental change in that party . Were yet to find out. Look at history on the other side. Democrats 1968 had Lyndon Johnson forced to step down, Bobby Kennedy assassinated in los angeles, dr. King killed as well. Riots in chicago. Vietnam war is going on. The nomination after a contested convention there as well. 72 is George Mcgovern for the democrats playing hard left. He only wins one state. After that younger democrats like bill clinton decided there had to be a third way so they reinvented the party. I would think that people like speaker ryan and others of that generation are now thinking about what do we do with the Republican Party if trump continues the momentum that he has . Im going to be looking tonight to see if there are fault lines in what appears to be the juggernaut of donald trump and who at the end of the night is all right, tom brokaw, thanks very much. Thats going to do it for us on a tuesday night, super tuesday. Were back on the air throughout the evening with breaking news and the latest results and our primetime special across the country begins at 10 00 eastern, 9 00 central time. Im lester holt for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching president ial race shakeup, whats at stake as candidates go head to head in the biggest day super tuesday and why donald trump visited ohio today when a dozen other states were voting. its sad to see what has happened to the community, but weve tried to do our best. well, thieves can smash his windows, but they cannot crush a local familys business. how the honor plans to fight back after this criminal act. pouring money into the sewers, the benefits thousands of residents can expect when a