Buttigieg vies for top spot in New Hampshire

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Buttigieg vies for top spot in New Hampshire

Buttigieg campaign hopes to continue Iowa momentum; Matt Finn reports.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," February 11, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Here's by the way, Jesse, you know what, the food up here in New Hampshire, the clam chowder, delicious.

KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS HOST: Pretty good.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: All right, I'll be there.

DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: All right, set your DVRs. Never miss an episode of THE FIVE. Special New Hampshire Primary coverage begins right now.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Eight Democratic candidates, 24 pledged delegates, and 100 years as the first in the nation primary.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Who will come out on top and who may be calling it quits? This is DEMOCRACY 2020: THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: We don't literally don't have raw vote numbers.

MACCALLUM: They are being let down in such a huge way right now.

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Its top tier candidates spent a lot of time here.

WILLIAMS: But why would you trust any result coming from Iowa?

CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS POLITICS EDITOR: This is really too bad for the state.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The Iowa Democratic Party has failed them terribly tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Good evening. Welcome to New Hampshire. I'm Bret Baier.

MACCALLUM: And I'm Martha MacCallum. It's an exciting night here. We are coming to you live from the Fox box in Bedford, New Hampshire.

BAIER: And little less than one hour, the first polls close here, and then, all of the polls will close 8:00 p.m. We have "FOX TEAM COVERAGE" to start out the show. Correspondents covering all the major campaigns.

Plus, the finest analysis, opinion, even some predictions along the way.

MACCALLUM: Let's kick things off now in Manchester, where correspondent Peter Doocy, shows us how the candidates spent this final day. Good evening, Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: Good evening, Martha and Bret. Joe Biden predicted last week he'd probably take a hit here, but it won't be around to feel it. Biden volunteers and well-wishers and staffers from his 10 New Hampshire field offices will watch the results come in tonight by themselves, so he can get a head start on the South Carolina primary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- gone. We're going to head to South Carolina tonight.

DOOCY: That wasn't the plan when Biden started courting New Hampshire voters.

BIDEN: New Hampshire and I were important. And I plan on winning New Hampshire.

DOOCY: Still, the 77-year-old believes, history is on his side.

BIDEN: Remember, when everybody talks about how everybody won before. Clinton, when lost the first nine events. He get won one, went on Iowa, went onto win the nomination.

Look, the rest of the nation is out there. There's an awful lot of electoral votes to be had, and we're going to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go get them. Go get them.

DOOCY: Some rivals were quick to call out Biden for bailing.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it says that he's not here to fight for the votes in New Hampshire.

DOOCY: Elizabeth Warren pitched herself today to Biden and Buttigieg and Klobuchar's supporters at multiple polling places.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any last minute, days for people who are on the fence about you today?

(CROSSTALK)

WARREN: Every day. Yes, vote for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, what kind of people here --

(CROSSTALK)

WARREN: I got the best chance at beating Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

WARREN: because I'm going to bring this party together and I run a core democratic values, and I'm going to fight hard.

DOOCY: Warren has struggled to capitalize on a possible home-field advantage. But the other senator from New England hasn't.

Bernie Sanders headlined a concert last night and 7,500 people came.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We had, by far, the largest a rally than any democratic candidate and the New Hampshire primary has had.

DOOCY: That event was all about reinforcing the senator's consistency, just ask AOC.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Now, people think that progressive ideals are involved. Who put them involved? Which candidate in this race never took a corporate PAC money ever in their life -- in their life? Senator Bernie Sanders.

DOOCY: The second biggest crowds this week have been for Pete Buttigieg.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go, Pete. We got this.

DOOCY: Now, the 38-year-old believes he is poised to win a second contest in a row.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Mayor, you're going to win here today?

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We think so, it feels fantastic. The volunteers are fired up and energy on the grounds waterfalls.

DOOCY: Buttigieg isn't the only Midwesterner opening for an upset tonight.

AMERICAN CROWD: Amy! Amy! Amy!

DOOCY: Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg were the surprise winners of tiny precincts where a few dozen ballots were cast at midnight.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The early votes, the midnight polls, and our -- any invitation we're going to have a pretty good night tonight.

DOOCY: There is so much optimism for so many of the candidates except for one.

BIDEN: We're still mildly hopeful here in New Hampshire, and we will see what happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: They're setting up right now behind us for a Sanders watch party that is expected to be big enough to fill up a field house on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

And a signal that the campaign is not just expecting the senator to give a stump speech, but instead, a victory speech. They've got something here that they don't normally have for the senator, a teleprompter. Martha and Bret.

MACCALLUM: Peter, thank you very much. So, some polls will be closing at the top of the hour and other places voting goes on until 8:00 Eastern.

BAIER: While we wait for results, let's find out what our "VOTER ANALYSIS" is telling us. "FOX NEWS @ NIGHT" anchor, Shannon Bream has that information. Good evening. Shannon.

BREAM: Good evening, Bret and Martha. Our team has been investigating what is motivating voters here in New Hampshire. Here's some of the biggest things that we've seen in our Fox News "VOTER ANALYSIS" election survey of more than 3,000 Democratic primary voters.

The big debate within the Democratic Party, should they nominate a candidate who will restore the system in Washington to the pre-Trump era, or one who will burn it down completely and change how the political system works?

Twice as many as you can see these numbers here want to change the political system. Now, among Bernie Sanders supporters, not surprisingly, nearly 90 percent want the change?

Some candidates have cried foul over the DNC debate roles, and as they've changed then, they had the mess in Iowa last week. So, we asked Democratic primary voters here, how much faith they had in the party's process for picking a nominee. Is it fair? Well, just about six and 10 think it is fair.

Now, among folks backing Bernie Sanders, though, over half of them say they're actually not confident in this system. Amongst supporters of every other candidate, voters have faith in how the party is picking their nominee this time around.

Now, so, the economy no doubt, President Trump is out there touting his economic record on the campaign trail, who do primary voters here Democrats think can do the best job handling the economy.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are the top picks, after that, it's a pair of billionaires, in Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. And as you know, Bloomberg isn't even on the ballot here in New Hampshire, although he's getting a lot of right and attention.

Now, what about foreign policy, who do they think can best handle that job here? Joe Biden is the clear choice, followed by Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, and Tulsi Gabbard.

One more, how much did Iowa make a difference in New Hampshire? What about Friday's debate? How did they weigh in? Well, one in five granite staters knew all along who they were going to support. But more than one in three, just days ago, they have just made their decision. Some of them actually as they're going into the ballot box today.

There's a whole lot more of our data coming up. So, we'll be back soon. Bret, Martha, back to you.

BAIER: All right, Shannon. Thank you. As Peter Doocy reported, former Vice President Joe Biden has already pulled up stakes moved on to the next primary calendar stop in South Carolina.

MACCALLUM: Correspondent Mark Meredith is still with us. However, he's in Nashua. Good evening, Mark.

MARK MEREDITH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Martha. If Joe Biden supporters decide to show up to this hotel ballroom, as you mentioned, you're right. They will not be seeing the former vice president take the stage behind me. Instead, there are some video monitors that have been set up. Biden is expected to deliver an address. That way and as Peter mentioned, he'll be delivering those remarks later tonight in South Carolina.

Now, a top Biden surrogate here in New Hampshire tells Fox News that no doubt, some of his supporters are discouraged by Biden's decision to leave the state early. It's unclear there whether or not at this point that means fewer people show up to watch the results come in.

Biden's poll numbers in New Hampshire have slipped over the last few weeks. Biden's sister, she is expected to thank those supporters later on tonight in place of the former vice president.

Thank those people that have been working on the ground for the last several months. Biden's campaign says they do envision more travel ahead past South Carolina, including stops in Nevada. Bret and Martha.

BAIER: Mark, thanks.

MACCALLUM: So, South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is looking for another strong finish after Iowa.

BAIER: His campaign team is in Nashua tonight and hoping for a big celebration there. Correspondent Matt Finn is there as well. Good evening, Matt.

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret and Martha. The doors to this election night party open in about 15 minutes. So far, we've seen a small line of supporters forming. But for right now, there is way more members of the media inside of this building.

Mayor Pete's day began at 6:00 this morning at a voting center in Manchester. And then, we caught up with him a short while later at a polling center in Nashua, where he told the crowd he was feeling fantastic.

And over the past couple of days, Mayor Pete has been greeted by his supporters chanting what has become signature cheers, President Pete and Boot-Edge-Edge, which is the campaign's humorous attempt to help support us trying to pronounce his last name.

We have seen very energized Buttigieg supporters across this state. Buttigieg clearly has momentum here in New Hampshire. His campaign claims he has held 20 events since Friday, the most of any candidate.

Buttigieg is scheduled to make a stop in Bedford, New Hampshire at any moment, and then, eventually, he will make his way here. Martha, Bret.

BAIER: All right, Matt, thank you.

MACCALLUM: Thanks, Matt. All right, let's get some thoughts on what to expect once the results start coming in. Joining us our senior political analyst Brit Hume and "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" anchor Chris Wallace.

BAIER: Gentlemen, good evening.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good evening.

BAIER: Brit, your thoughts on this day.

HUME: I'm certainly struck by this number that we're -- where the voters are telling us that two -- the two-thirds of them want major structural change in our country, only one-third want a restoration of how things were. That's a striking number.

I mean, here we are with record low unemployment -- record low unemployment among minorities, you know, times, political battles aside are good in America. And yet, you have this vote.

I think it's fair to say we have an angry Democratic Party in the state of New Hampshire and probably an angry Democratic Party around the country. And the cause of that is -- there's no doubt about what the cause of that, it's all about Mr. Trump.

BAIER: And it bodes well for Bernie Sanders.

HUME: Well, I would certainly think it does, indeed, bode well for Bernie Sanders. So, the question we're looking at tonight, is, you know, who gets to be the alternative? If Bernie Sanders wins as expected and has been widely expected. The betting odds now having people are betting 73.4 percent of the money is being bet on him. Just about 25th Buttigieg -- Biden, 0.1 percent -- 0.1 percent of the money is being bet on Joe Biden tonight.

MACCALLUM: I mean, I'm wondering who's going to show up at that party. You know, I mean, you know, the candidate has left, Chris. He's in South Carolina tonight. I mean, this is striking. It's really striking, but it's happening to Joe Biden.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: You know --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Before we know the numbers tonight.

WALLACE: Brit and -- has been talking about this earlier tonight that sometimes candidates move on to the next state because they're trying to carry the momentum from what they did in one state to another state. That's not what Joe Biden is doing, Joe Biden is getting out of dodge.

I mean, he is carrying zero momentum. And he is basically trying to avoid the carnage of what's going to happen to him tonight. I'm looking in three stories tonight. First of all, let's assume that Bernie Sanders wins. What's his march are going to be? Four years ago, he beat Hillary Clinton by 22 points, 60 percent to 38. So, let's wait and see just how he does, maybe against Buttigieg, whoever it is.

Second story, Amy Klobuchar. She really does seem to have been the hot candidate, really doesn't seem to have gotten some momentum from the debate on Friday night. Let's see how high she rises.

And then, the third is how low Joe Biden falls. I mean, is he going to be third? Is he going to be fourth? Is he going to be fifth? If this guy was the front runner for the last six months if he finishes fifth in New Hampshire? I don't know how you come back from them.

BAIER: And that's a huge story, Brit. I mean, he's a former vice president. He's campaigning to be a third Obama term, and if he finishes fifth.

HUME: Yes, and I think one of the things that these numbers tell us is, that there's not a lot of nostalgia among these people for the Obama-era, right? Which is only four years behind us. And he -- you know, left office, still wildly popular, great hero to Democrats. And now comes his, you know, his right-hand person, and he's not getting any traction, and it looks like he could -- this could be the -- you know, the death knell.

I mean, he's probably got enough money to keep going for a while, but if he loses that badly here, that's going to bound to bleed over into South Carolina and Nevada coming Havana -- South Carolina coming up. And it's pretty hard to imagine how you can survive.

MACCALLUM: Doesn't it also say a lot about the importance of name recognition that initially, he was really the only candidate that anybody knew in this group and he popped to the top right away, but he wasn't able to back it up with, you know, conviction and a message for the country. And what he was actually going to promise with any candidates.

WALLACE: No, and that's the thing that I think is so devastating for him with potential results tonight, because he was selling electability. He didn't have any great new ideas, he wasn't offering -- when you talk about Barack Obama hope and change.

That's why I think the idea of tying yourself to Obama, there's a lot of affection for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. But -- and I also wonder about the restoration versus structural change.

Nobody wants restoration. Everybody always wants change. And people are always going to vote over the future over the past. And he was offering electability and if he -- if it loses, where is the electability argument goes? It's out the window.

BAIER: Storyline to watch. Gentlemen, thank you. When we come back, President Trump taking aim at Mike Bloomberg.

MACCALLUM: First to road trip, up the road a bit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to a golf class, and so, we -- I think there's around 40 of us here.

MACCALLUM: Yes, so, what do you think about who you might support in the election? Do you have any idea yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I'm honestly a Trump guy, to be completely honest.

MACCALLUM: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I -- of Democratic candidates, Pete Buttigieg is my favorite.

MACCALLUM: Interesting. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which was so (INAUDIBLE) and well-spoken, and I think that goes along right.

MACCALLUM: Do you think anything could convince you not to vote for Trump at this point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. Yes, no, I'm pretty set on that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Welcome back to our DEMOCRACY 2020 special coverage of the New Hampshire primary. We're going to look at some other news stories right now.

MACCALLUM: Beginning back in Washington, where a huge controversy is developing tonight over the sentencing of one of President Trump's former confidants. Correspondent David Spunt has the details tonight. Good evening, David.

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Martha and Bret, good evening. Here is the headline within the last few hours, all four prosecutors on the Roger Stone case have withdrawn from that case. Just yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's Office here in D.C. asked for seven to nine years to sentence Roger Stone, to put Roger Stone behind bars.

Then, the Department of Justice early this morning said, wait a minute that is too harsh. They are calling for a "far less sentence" but not giving a specific number.

Roger Stone is looking at prison time for witness tampering and lying to Congress. The new U.S. Attorney overseeing the case, Tim Shea is close to eight of Attorney General Bill Barr. He actually just left his post here at DOJ just recently.

A source says once DOJ officials saw the sentencing memo yesterday, they were upset, arguing it was too stiff. Then, came the tweet from President Trump, 1:49 this morning, calling the potential Stone sentence, "a miscarriage of justice."

The attorney general's spokeswoman tells Fox News, the decision to change the sentencing guidelines came before the Trump tweet and there was no communication between DOJ and the White House to change those sentencing guidelines.

Then, President Trump mentioned a case in the Oval Office late this afternoon. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was a horrible aberration. These are the -- I guess the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell. And I think it's a disgrace. No, I have not been involved with it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPUNT: And there is already fierce blowback on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Rule of law in this grand, grand tradition in this wonderful Justice Department is just being totally perverted to Donald Trump's own personal desires and needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPUNT: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for an independent investigation here at the Department of Justice. Roger Stone will be sentenced next Thursday, February 20th.

And ultimately, at the end of the day, Bret and Martha, DOJ, the U.S. Attorney's Office, they can say whatever they want, but it's up to Judge Amy Berman Jackson. She could say, listen, I'm going to give Roger Stone 10 to 12 years behind bars. President Trump did not comment on a pardon those some believe it is possible. Bret and Martha, back to you.

MACCALLUM: Thank you, David.

President Trump is expected to cruise to victory on the Republican side tonight.

BAIER: He's focusing on touting his first-term success, record, and to build momentum toward reelection in the fall. His team is he's also taking some swings at a potential November opponent.

Chief White House correspondent John Roberts has that story tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In the Oval Office today, citing a new measure to support STEM education for America's veterans, President Trump suggesting, while Joe Biden is down from Iowa and New Hampshire, he may not be out.

TRUMP: It's doubling, it's mumbling not pretty. I think he can turn around. Yes, I think he has a shot. He's going to have to work. He's going to have to work very hard, much harder than they thought.

ROBERTS: The president's main concern at the moment, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. And a newly unearthed recording from a 2015 Aspen Institute forum where Bloomberg talked about so-called stop and frisk policies.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 95 percent of murders, and murderers, and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take a description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops. They are male minorities, 16 to 25. Put those cops where the crime is, which means in minority neighborhoods.

ROBERTS: In a tweet that was later deleted, President Trump sharing the video, tweeting, "Wow, Bloomberg, is a total racist!" In the Oval Office, the president explaining why he deleted that tweet.

TRUMP: When I put something out and it was so -- it was pretty nasty. And I said, you know, I'm looking to bring the country together not divide the country further.

ROBERTS: But he did not back down on his criticism of an apology Bloomberg made in November of last year for continuing stop and frisk.

TRUMP: I watched him pander at a church and practically beg for forgiveness. I wouldn't have begged for forgiveness. I mean, he was doing his job at the time and then he -- when he went up to the church, I thought it was disgraceful.

ROBERTS: In 2016, and again in 2018, President Trump supported the stop and frisk policies that Bloomberg was describing. Praising Rudy Giuliani for implementing the program and bringing crime down.

TRUMP: So, it works, got to be properly applied, but stop and frisk works.

ROBERTS: In a statement today, Bloomberg, again, apologized for not eliminating stop and frisk earlier and took square aim at President Trump, saying, "The President's attack on me clearly reflects his fear over the growing strength of my campaign. Make no mistake, Mr. President, I am not afraid of you and I will not let you bully me or anyone else in America."

President Trump today also talked for the first time about the firing of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a key figure in the impeachment inquiry. The president suggesting the military may seek to discipline Vindman.

TRUMP: Now, that's going to be up to the military. We'll have to see. But if you look at what happened, I mean, they're going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that. But no, I think what he did was just reported a false call.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Despite President Trump deleting his tweet about Bloomberg, his campaign kept up the drumbeat that what Bloomberg said back in 2015 was racist. The president also asked by Fox News, if he knows who anonymous is? The president saying, he doesn't want to say, but there is a lot of chatter here at the White House that they have zeroed in on a very strong suspect. Bret, Martha.

BAIER: John Roberts, live in the North Lawn. John, thank you.

Actor Jussie Smollett is facing new legal trouble tonight. A grand jury has returned a six-count indictment, accusing him of lying to Chicago police. The charges stem from Smollett's assertion that he was the target of a racist and homophobic act attack by Trump supporters in January of last year.

Initial charges against Smollett were dropped, prompting an investigation into why that happened.

MACCALLUM: And the Dow finished off a half a point today after hitting an all-time high. The S&P 500 gained six, NASDAQ up 11, both of those are new record closes.

BAIER: China reported 108 more deaths today from the coronavirus that takes the total past 1,000 deaths in China. There were 2,500 new confirmed cases on the mainland. The total infections are now at almost 43,000.

Here in the U.S., about 200 evacuees flown out of China are being released from quarantine at a Southern California military base after two weeks in isolation.

MACCALLUM: Still ahead tonight, Bret gets reacquainted with some New Hampshire primary voters that he first spoke to four years ago.

BAIER: And as we head to break, from our drone view, an appreciation for this unique event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: one of the best parts about covering the New Hampshire primary are the iconic stops. The cities, the towns, the history. Think about how many campaigns have come through all these places.

This is the Nashua City Hall. In this plaza, in January of 1960, John F. Kennedy had his first campaign stop.

JOHN F. KENNEDY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States today is a great defender of freedom. If we fail, that cause fails all over the world. If we succeed, the cause of freedom succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Our special DEMOCRACY 2020 coverage continues after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: -- in Bedford. We will be here all night for coverage in the first in the nation primary.

BAIER: All of us here took time this week to talk to voters, about what's driving them, what they care about? And we even managed to reconnect with some New Hampshire voters we talked with four years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAIER: Last election cycle, firefighter John Bollhardt, backed Bernie Sanders. But now, he's supporting Joe Biden.

JOHN BOLLHARDT, RESIDENT, NEW HAMPSHIRE: The International endorsed Biden. So, you know, I'm going to support Biden all the way.

BAIER: The most important issue for John is funding for the opioid crisis.

BOLLHARDT: That was a big thing. Knowing Trump took office, he came here to talk to us. Shook our hands, you know, it's still going on.

BAIER: New Hampshire is among the top four states with the highest numbers of opioid-related deaths. Numbers that tripled from 2013 to 2016.

BOLLHARDT: They are actual people, and they need places to go. They are homeless. They have low income. They need the resources to get better. The treatment, that's what needs to change, and I think the political people are starting to realize that.

DONNA MORIN: I was researching him a little bit online.

BAIER: We first spoke to a social studies teacher Donna Morin four years ago when she supported Jeb Bush in the Republican primary.

MORIN: I have made a decision in the primary. I even staged this for you. Are you ready? OK, ready? Go Jeb!

BAIER: Really?

MORIN: Yes. I'm for Jeb, and I vote for Jeb in the primary. He knows how to get things done. He's moderate. He doesn't seem to have these grandiose stands. He seems to just treat people with a lot of respect.

BAIER: We were in this very kitchen.

MORIN: We were.

BAIER: You at the time were supporting Jeb Bush.

MORIN: You don't have to rub it in, but yes, I was.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: Yes, you were.

This time around, Morin, who says climate change is very important to her, is backing Pete Buttigieg.

MORIN: I'm very excited about him. I'm excited about him. I'm excited about Amy, but I'm leaning more towards Pete. I just feel, I think at this time in our country and we need something that's going to unite us as a nation.

BAIER: And you see that in Mayor Pete?

MORIN: I do. I see just the way he seems to work with people and he seems to be able -- he has some progressive ideas, although he doesn't have the pendulum swinging all the way over to the left. Plus, he's been in the military, and that's very important for foreign policy.

BAIER: Mike Boucher owns a family tire shop in Manchester. When we talked in 2016, he was concerned about the future of the business and the economy in the region.

BAIER: Is this area hurting?

MIKE BOUCHER, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: I don't know if we are hurting as much as other people, but they are hurting. And I think people are just discouraged. You have that one person that worked all their life, lost their job, can't find another job because things have changed.

BAIER: Mike was undecided when we last spoke before the 2016 primary.

BOUCHER: When I get there, I'm definitely going to vote, and I think I'm going to decide at the last minute. I did vote for Trump.

BAIER: A decision that he says has pluses and some minuses.

BOUCHER: Calling them names is not the greatest thing, but I believe that a lot of his policies I'm in agreement with.

BAIER: The president's handling of the economy is a big winner for Mike. All he has to do is look back to 2016.

You were hurting at the time?

BOUCHER: Yes. The economy was down, and we were just questioning how things are going to go in the future.

BAIER: So since that time, what does it look for you?

BOUCHER: We've been extremely busy. Business has been good. Our sales have gone up. As a family business we are all very happy where we are right now.

BAIER: Boucher says he will vote was President Trump again, especially after he hears some candidates talking about raising taxes.

BOUCHER: You know what is going to happen to the rich. They are going to do what they did before. They are going to take all their money overseas and then there is no money to tax. So it inevitably falls on the middle class, who is the biggest class to pay those taxes. That's my fear.

ALYSSA ROSS, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: Are you going to do some homework before we go to your appointment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BAIER: Alyssa Ross is a hockey mom of three. She voted for President Trump in the last presidential election, a choice she finds hard to defend at times.

Four years ago you voted for Donald Trump?

ROSS: I did. I did.

BAIER: And you're kind of smirking when you say that.

ROSS: Yes. It's tough to admit. It was tough to admit then, and I really felt like that it was the right decision at that time. I felt he was going to bring the country in a new direction and certainly something different than what Hillary Clinton could have done at the time.

BAIER: Now, though she likes some of those policies, she says President Trump is too divisive.

ROSS: I don't like Trump personally at all. I think that his approach to things is just wrong. It's terrible example for children the way that he gets on Twitter and puts things out there. I would be horrified if my children did that.

BAIER: Ross, who has education on her mind the cycle, isn't sure which candidate to support in the primary or general election, but she does know one thing.

If it's Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, you are voting for Donald Trump?

ROSS: I'm going to vote to Donald Trump. Nothing to progressive. I think, as troubled as I am with some of the direction that Trump is bringing things from a more conservative perspective, I absolutely do not think this country needs to go in a progressive direction.

BAIER: She is still listening to ideas from more moderate candidates like Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar.

Joe Biden didn't make the cut?

ROSS: No. I saw Joe Biden over the summer, and everything that he said sounded very old-school and an approach that was very been there, done that, but not in a way that's going to bring us forward.

BAIER: All the voters we talked to insist their state of New Hampshire takes this vote very seriously.

ROSS: New Hampshire does not look like a lot of other states, nor does Iowa, so you can only draw so many conclusions for what come out of here. But certainly it should and it will give someone the momentum.

MORIN: This is our jam. We get to meet everybody. We get to meet people who would be president. We get to meet congresspeople, senators, governors. They come in and they tell us what they think and they listen to us, or they pretend to listen to us. It's great.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Interesting to look back four years.

MACCALLUM: Really interesting. Very interesting voters with different perspectives, and good to seem them after four years.

BAIER: Yes, exactly.

We will check in with the Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar campaigns when we come back.

MACCALLUM: First, what some other voters are saying about the New Hampshire primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie is the same person he was all along. And I think he's going to have to really work hard to sell it, to tell people. I think people confuse socialism with communism.

MACCALLUM: Are you 100 percent for Pete?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Not 100 percent, but I'm very much leaning towards that. He did a great job in the debate the other night, and he seems to be really gaining great momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: The voting is almost complete, the results are going to be coming in. Welcome back to Bedford, New Hampshire, and FOX News Democracy 2020 coverage of the New Hampshire primary.

MACCALLUM: So we have team FOX coverage for you from campaign headquarters. First up is correspondent Kristin Fisher who is with the Elizabeth Warren team tonight in Manchester. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening Martha. Senator Elizabeth Warren supporters are fired up and fairly optimistic even though the Massachusetts senator has really struggled in this state despite almost having the homefield advantage here. She's been on par with Joe Biden in most of the polls, though the two have really employed some different tactics in the final days leading up to tonight.

When Joe Biden went on the attack, Warren talked of party unity. When Joe Biden skipped ahead to South Carolina, Warren stayed here fighting for every last vote. And as you can see she has a huge army of volunteers on the ground across New Hampshire, perhaps the strongest ground game of any candidate in this race, which is why a disappointing finish here tonight would be all the more devastating for the future of her campaign.

We have seen an 11th hour shift and strategy. Over the last few hours both Warren and her campaign has really started finally going on the offensive, criticizing Biden and Buttigieg and really drawing some distinctions between her and Bernie Sanders. But it may be too little, too late, especially with someone like Senator Amy Klobuchar nipping at her heels. And that is where we find my colleague Ellison Barber live in Concord.

ELLISON BARBER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kristin. Senator Klobuchar's staff has been making some of their final touches at the headquarters here. We've seen them hanging up some last-minute Amy signs. At some point we expect the senator to come out here and address her supporters. You can see some of the chairs still being set up. We are told her staff will be in a room nearby watching the results. Klobuchar supporters are excited. They think that she could hit her stride in this state, especially with New Hampshire's independent voters. A key part of Klobuchar's pitch is that she believe she can pull in all kinds of voters, Republicans, Democrats, independents, people from big cities, the suburbs as well as rural communities.

Klobuchar likes to say that she has the receipts to prove it. In 2016 President Trump's came within two percent of caring Minnesota. Two years later Senator Klobuchar won reelection to the United States Senate with 60 percent of the vote.

At a Manchester polling location earlier today I spoke to a number of voters who said they were undecided or at least deciding between someone more moderate like Biden or Buttigieg, and then they saw Senator Klobuchar at the debate this week, and they said that is what made them move over and to support Klobuchar. The people here tonight are hoping that she has enough of those people to carry her through in this state. Bret, Martha?

BAIER: Ellison, Kristin, thank you both.

MACCALLUM: So as we told you earlier, some towns will be closing the voting precincts at 7:00 tonight.

BAIER: So let's get some ideas now about what we can expect once we see those numbers. Bill Hemmer of "Bill Hemmer Reports."

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: About time.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: Nice to see you guys, good evening. Back on the board here we have a grand total of 16 votes now tabulated already. These came in from overnight. It means absolutely nothing, by the way. Klobuchar at eight, Sanders, four, and Elizabeth Warren, four down here. So we will see it populate, and the colors will start to fill in throughout the night.

If you are watching trying to figure out New Hampshire and understand where the votes are going to coming from, I would divide the state into the three different parts. Number one, the southern tier, that's down here in Rockingham County, a lot of votes down here, bordered with Massachusetts over here and Hillsborough County where we are as well. A lot of votes as you can see based on four years ago. That is one section of the state, southern tier here.

The other section you call maybe the liberal left, where Bernie Sanders did very well in 2016 and may do very well again today. This is the border with Vermont over here and Cheshire County, ran up the numbers four years ago. Up here in Grafton County, very similar for Bernie Sanders. So I'd look at those two areas. And the third area I would point to is what Stirewalt likes to call the capital corridor. This is the county of Merrimack. It has the capital city of Concord, and you could see strength there for maybe a Klobuchar, maybe a Buttigieg, maybe for a Warren. So we will see how that unfolds tonight.

And again, first polls close at 7:00, then you get another batch at 7:30, then all the polls officially are done at 8:00 eastern time, about an hour and 15 minutes from now. But on the calendar, here's where we need to go. Here's where we are right now in February, right. It's Tuesday on the 11th, New Hampshire, 24 delegates at state. Between, you need to get to 2,000 to get the nomination. We got a long way to go, guys, that's coming up here tonight.

BAIER: Yes, we do. Bill, thank you very much.

MACCALLUM: So when we come back the panel on what's going to happen tonight and how that will affect the presidential race potentially in the coming weeks.

BAIER: And as we head to break, my conversation with candidate Andrew Yang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: How are you feeling?

ANDREW YANG, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel great. You can see the crowds are bigger, the energy is higher. We think we have a ton of momentum.

BAIER: What do you have to finish here, do you know? It's all about math, but what's the number here?

YANG: We need to have a really positive result here. We're saying top four to get delegates out of New Hampshire, that's a goal.

BAIER: You've made a difference just by what you're talking about. You've been on the debate stage. You've kind of changed the conversation. Are you happy with that so far?

YANG: Bret, I'm someone who understands the difference between talking about a problem and solving the problem. That's why I'm running is to actually solve the problem. I'm not going to feel content until we are actually starting to distribute the gains from this economy into more people's hands.

BAIER: The thing you said a couple times, is it a wakeup call for Democrats in that you have to get together to beat Donald Trump. That seems like an important closing message for you.

YANG: We have to not act like Donald Trump is the source of all the country's problems. Many of the country's problems have been with us for years and building up over those years. And to me Democrats acting like if we can get Donald Trump out of office then all will be well, to me isn't accurate. And I hope that people understand that part of my message.

Let's fight for a future we will actually be proud to leave to our kids. We can do it. Thank you all so much.

BAIER: Still having fun?

YANG: Yes, I am. My wife was in town yesterday. My boys love the bus in Iowa. So things are good. And you can see all these tremendous people around us. It's hard not to have a good time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here. I plan on trying to win in New Hampshire. I'm not here to come in second.

New Hampshire and Iowa are important, and I plan on winning New Hampshire.

I'm going to head to South Carolina tonight. We are still mildly hopeful here in New Hampshire.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it says he's not here to fight for the votes New Hampshire.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You'll have to ask Joe. I don't know. All I can say is we will be here tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Joe Biden will not, on his way to South Carolina. Mildly hopeful, not the closing pitch most candidates want to be talking about. Let's bring in our panel, Chris Stirewalt is politics editor here at FOX News, Mary Anne Marsh, former senior advisor to Senator John Kerry, and Byron York, chief political correspondent of the "Washington Examiner." OK, Mary Anne, it looks like there are a couple of people that are positioned to have a pretty bad night.

MARY ANNE MARSH, FORMER SEN. JOHN KERRY SENIOR ADVISER: Yes, and Joe Biden is at the top of that list. The bookends for Joe Biden in this New Hampshire primary started on Friday night at the debate where he declared he would lose the New Hampshire primary, and ends before the polls close tonight on a chartered jet to South Carolina. It doesn't get much worse that than. And he's trying to make the best of a bad situation, but no one is going to have a worse night than Joe Biden tonight.

CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS POLITICAL EDITOR: I think somebody is going to have a worse night. The person who is going to have the worst night, if we think back to the to the fall when it was Biden and Warren and Warren and Biden, this is where it was going to be always a showdown between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and she's not even on the front page. She's not even in the discussion. She represents the neighboring state, the Boston media market. This was supposed to be the place where she could really show her strength, and she has been -- it will be hard to knock Joe Biden out of this race because he's going to run out of money pretty soon, but this will be a terminal event for Elizabeth Warren if she does not do something impressive.

MARSH: So my point to that is Elizabeth Warren, unlike Joe Biden, has a grassroots organization and grassroots money. She can survive forth and go the long haul and stay in it. Joe Biden, on the other hand, as you know, is totally dependent on establishment money, no organization, and no one is more fickle than establishment many people when they see you're losing.

SCHUMER: You ain't lying.

(LAUGHTER)

MARSH: So they are faint of heart when it comes to writing checks.

MACCALLUM: Byron, what's on your mind?

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": The person in the middle of all that is Amy Klobuchar. And if you look at the polls, for a long time they've shown Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg up at the top, and then everybody else pretty far down. And the shock, of course, was that Joe Biden fell into that group, but he did.

The question is, will Amy Klobuchar really over perform that much? If she finishes third, that's better than fourth in Iowa or fifth in Iowa. But is that really enough strength to just go on? Hey, I finished fifth in Iowa and I improved to third in New Hampshire. I'm not sure it.

MACCALLUM: I think it depends on how many alternatives people are looking for. And it feels to me if we are not going to come out of this New Hampshire primary this evening with a real feel for who's in charge of how this whole thing plays out, if feels like there's a lot of storylines including Mike Bloomberg.

BAIER: It feels muddles.

MACCALLUM: It really does.

MARSH: And historically New Hampshire does winnow the field. And tonight we have four candidates, maybe five, who are in double digit somewhere, right, and no one is going to have a huge lead in delegates coming out of this. And then looming on the horizon is the big foot Mike Bloomberg coming in on Super Tuesday, and nobody knows how that's going to end up.

BAIER: So we on SPECIAL REPORT do the old Candidate Casino, but we adjust it for primaries, which is New Hampshire, New Hampshire Candidate Casino. And you have $100 in chips. You have to bet them. Chris Stirewalt?

STIREWALT: Well, if things go as expected, this is good territory for Bernie Sanders, so you have to put your heaviest stock on Sanders. But Pete Buttigieg has impressed. Even a close second could be really good for him and clarify some of the moderate lane. Amy Klobuchar definitely impresses. But don't count out Warren. Don't count her out because what she could really do would be stick it to Sanders down here on the southern tier of the state and over in the seacoast and do some harm to her frenemy.

MACCALLUM: Mary Anne?

MARSH: I should have taken Chris's bet.

(LAUGHTER)

MARSH: I've $40 on Sanders, $40 on Buttigieg, $20 on Klobuchar. And I put the extra on Klobuchar because the fact is if she does come in third, no one had to make up more real estate than Amy Klobuchar, and she's done it in about a week.

MACCALLUM: She sure has.

YORK: I'm sorry, this is really fairly simple. So $100 on Bernie Sanders.

STIREWALT: Byron.

YORK: If he wins by a little bit, he wins.

BAIER: We rarely see the black chip.

YORK: There it is.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: That's good stuff. But you think, Chris, that if Biden finishes fifth or even sixth?

STIREWALT: Or even fourth. This is becoming an unserious candidacy, and it happening fast. He's got a high burn rate. He's too expensive. He's like a broken-down old Ferrari that you can't keep on the road, and everybody knows it. And if he can't get into the top three, he can't beat the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is one of the most popular politicians in America today, he well-liked, and can't get passed the mayor.

MACCALLUM: One of the most telling things between Biden and Buttigieg this week was both of them pointing fingers at each other one and saying, you are not Barack Obama. The truth is neither one of them are.

BAIER: Thank you, panel.

MACCALLUM: Thanks, panel.

BAIER: We will see. We're going to take a short break.

MACCALLUM: Then hour two of Democracy 2020, and some numbers after this.

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