1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,966 JUDY WOODRUFF: Six Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination are set to 2 00:00:04,966 --> 00:00:07,900 face off tonight in Las Vegas. 3 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:12,900 Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will make his debate stage debut after qualifying 4 00:00:14,300 --> 00:00:18,633 as a result of the latest "PBS NewsHour"/NPR/Marist poll. 5 00:00:18,633 --> 00:00:23,633 With just three days to go before the Nevada caucuses, Amna Nawaz joins me now from Las 6 00:00:24,366 --> 00:00:25,966 Vegas for a preview. 7 00:00:25,966 --> 00:00:27,966 Hello to you, Amna. 8 00:00:27,966 --> 00:00:32,433 So this is the third contest in the season. This is the most diverse group of voters yet 9 00:00:33,866 --> 00:00:36,333 to be weighing in. What are they saying on the ground there? 10 00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:40,433 AMNA NAWAZ: Well, Judy, you know, the candidates so far have been disproportionally focused 11 00:00:40,433 --> 00:00:43,833 on Iowa and New Hampshire, which are two small, white states. 12 00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:48,233 For the first time, they have to address a state and voters in a state that looks more 13 00:00:48,233 --> 00:00:53,166 like the rest of America and what America is becoming. When you look at the Democratic 14 00:00:53,166 --> 00:00:58,133 Caucus electorate from 2016, it was 19 percent Latino, 13 percent black, 4 percent Asian. 15 00:01:00,633 --> 00:01:04,066 Non-whites made up 41 percent of that electorate. 16 00:01:04,066 --> 00:01:07,033 So, you're hearing from the candidates that they have to tailor their message a little 17 00:01:07,033 --> 00:01:12,033 bit more and to broaden the message at the same time. Gone are the days of the retail 18 00:01:13,933 --> 00:01:16,800 handshake, room-by-room politicking. They have to deliver a much bigger message now 19 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:18,766 specific to some of these communities. 20 00:01:18,766 --> 00:01:22,500 And what we saw -- my colleagues Kate Grumke and Saher Khan have been following some of 21 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:27,066 the candidates on the ground. And they're having voter events that target some of these 22 00:01:27,066 --> 00:01:31,366 communities. For example, Mayor Buttigieg spoke specifically to a black student group 23 00:01:31,366 --> 00:01:36,300 yesterday. Former Vice President Biden spoke to an Asian-American Pacific Islander group 24 00:01:36,300 --> 00:01:38,333 as well. 25 00:01:38,333 --> 00:01:41,000 And there's early voting going on in these communities too. So you see some of these 26 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,966 events set up next to often these early voting locations, trying to get some of those diverse 27 00:01:47,466 --> 00:01:49,566 voters out early. 28 00:01:49,566 --> 00:01:53,033 But, right now, Judy, what you're hearing from these candidates is a much bigger message, 29 00:01:53,033 --> 00:01:57,466 because they know, to show and to prove that they can compete in other places in America, 30 00:01:57,466 --> 00:01:59,833 they have to show that they can do it here in Nevada first. 31 00:01:59,833 --> 00:02:04,800 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, about the caucuses this weekend, in that national poll that we mentioned 32 00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:10,366 earlier, the "NewsHour"/NPR/Marist, we see 72 percent of the people who responded say 33 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:16,466 they think the caucus process is going to be a fair one, it's going to be accurate. 34 00:02:16,466 --> 00:02:21,466 But there were the problems with the Iowa caucuses just days ago. What are Democrats 35 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,566 in Nevada saying is their level of confidence about what's going to happen this Saturday? 36 00:02:26,566 --> 00:02:29,200 AMNA NAWAZ: Well, they say that confidence is high, Judy. 37 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,900 But, again, the proof is going to be in the actual caucus tally results. Look, there are 38 00:02:33,900 --> 00:02:37,933 a lot of firsts that are unfolding in this caucus process. It's the first time they're 39 00:02:37,933 --> 00:02:42,766 trying to incorporate early voting into the process. That early voting wrapped yesterday. 40 00:02:42,766 --> 00:02:47,633 It's also the first time that they're using this one specific tool, which is a pre-loaded 41 00:02:47,633 --> 00:02:52,600 secure form on iPads that's handed out to all the precinct chairs. They developed that, 42 00:02:54,633 --> 00:02:57,133 we should say, in response to what happened in Iowa, because they were supposed to use 43 00:02:57,133 --> 00:03:00,166 the exact same app that the Iowa caucuses used. 44 00:03:00,166 --> 00:03:04,266 Obviously, they scrapped that plan after they saw what chaos unfolded there. But they have 45 00:03:04,266 --> 00:03:08,066 high confidence, they say, that they're running enough trainings, that there are more trainings 46 00:03:08,066 --> 00:03:12,400 available for people who feel they're not comfortable with that tool that they're using 47 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,466 right now. 48 00:03:14,466 --> 00:03:17,100 And I actually had a chance to speak earlier with DNC chair Tom Perez. I asked him about 49 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:21,400 his message to voters who might feel uneasy about the process. And he said, look, we took 50 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,933 lessons learned from Iowa. We applied them here. We have every confidence that the process 51 00:03:25,933 --> 00:03:27,966 is going to go smoothly. 52 00:03:27,966 --> 00:03:31,733 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Amna, tonight's debate, it's the ninth Democratic presidential 53 00:03:31,733 --> 00:03:36,233 debate. You got six candidates on the stage, including, as we mentioned, for the first 54 00:03:36,233 --> 00:03:39,200 time former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 55 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:44,100 What is his team saying is their expectation tonight? And what do we think the other candidates 56 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:46,133 may do because he's there? 57 00:03:46,133 --> 00:03:49,200 AMNA NAWAZ: Well, we know that an official from the Bloomberg camp has basically said 58 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,866 they're preparing him to connect more with the audience. It's something he hasn't had 59 00:03:53,866 --> 00:03:58,466 to do before. Right now, he's sort of messaging through his ad buys and surrogates across 60 00:03:58,466 --> 00:04:00,500 the country. 61 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:03,833 But I think he should also be prepared for a number of attacks. The presence of former 62 00:04:03,833 --> 00:04:08,133 Mayor Bloomberg on that stage means that he's an easy foil for Senator Sanders, who has 63 00:04:08,133 --> 00:04:13,133 long railed against the power, the disproportionate power that billionaires in America have. 64 00:04:15,633 --> 00:04:18,666 But he could also take some fire from moderates, people like Biden and Buttigieg and Klobuchar, 65 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,800 because he's basically fighting for supremacy in that same moderate lane that they all currently 66 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,333 occupy. 67 00:04:25,333 --> 00:04:27,433 So, a lot to watch for on the debate stage tonight. 68 00:04:27,433 --> 00:04:31,400 JUDY WOODRUFF: A lot to watch for. And, Amna, you and the team are going to be there. We 69 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:32,866 will be talking to you later in the week. 70 00:04:32,866 --> 00:04:33,900 Thank you, Amna Nawaz. 71 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:34,866 AMNA NAWAZ: Thanks, Judy.