Can virginia voters help her stop a trump Super Tuesday sweep and keep her in this race . Tracking the protest vote. How the president s handling of the war in gaza could affect todays primary in minnesota. And big clues for a battleground. Why the race for governor in North Carolina could offer a preview of the president ial matchup. Our nbc News Reporters are fanned out across the country as millions head to the polls on the largest day of voting outside of the General Election. And we start in california where high stakes swing races could determine the Balance Of Power in congress. What are you hearing there . Reporter weve moved to downtown los angeles. Its a big, big day for california politics, but not so big when it comes to turnout. Something we were expecting on primary day. Its going to get very dark because this is, Black Box Theatre here, but come on in. This is where the Polling Location is. Most of the people weve seen today come in and drop off ballots. California does an incredible job of mailing those out. If you dont have one, you can come and vote the day of the primary, but for the most part, weve been here for about an hour. Only seen about three people come in. Weve got to go back outside so pardon me. But everybody in california is really talking about that senate race for Dianne Feinsteins seat. That senate race, the stakes could not be higher. We have three members of the house that have vacated their seats in order to run for Dianne Feinsteins seat. Adam schiff, katie porter, as well as barbara lee. And that has become one of the most expensive races in u. S. History. For the senate, a lot of that money coming from adam schiff, who is the frontrunner and theres a lot of speculation and a lot of accusations going around right now against adam schiff because of his attack ads against steve garvey. For those unfamiliar with how californias primary system works, this is a jungle primary. That means everybodys thrown together on a nonpartisan ballot and the top ten a lot of times in this deep blue state, its two democrats will go on to the General Election. In this case, weve seen adam schiff use a lot of that money to attack steve garvey and say he is too conservative. That he voted for donald trump. A lot of the calculus from Poll Watchers and political insiders is that hes doing that so that he turns out the Republican Party vote who are sometimes apathetic when it comes to places like here in los angeles, to get out and vote for garvey. We saw schiff a little earlier at his polling site where he cast his ballot and we asked him about that. Take a listen. Were on the same ballot. There were only four of us that qualified to make it on the debate stage including steve garvey, he is on fox all the time attacking me. Im distinguishing from my colleagues on leadership and effectiveness, but im not shying away from going after steve garvey and how he is out of step with california. Reporter not shying away from going after steve garvey. Dodger stadium is that way. Garvey has a lot of recognition in this state from his days when he played for the dodgers. As to how hes going to do with this matchup between these three power houses from the house running for the senate now is still yet to be seen. Going to be an interesting night. Thank you. Well have a lot more on that race in just a little bit but for now, lets head to virginia where nikki haley is looking to beat expectations and potentially stop a trump Super Tuesday sweep. Gary has been on the road all across the commonwealth. Ive seen you in the car talking as you go. You finally are stable. What should we be watching for tonight . Reporter so, chris, we are outside of fredericksburg, in rico county earlier and were headed up to fairfax later today. But one thing weve heard everywhere weve been is the impact this open primary here in virginia is having on the potential success of haley. Its an open primary. That means voters can walk in, pick which they want to vote for. Republican or democrat. They dont have to be registered. This is important for a few reasons. First, its because of the anger and frustration were hearing from voters about the Democratic Party and about joe biden right now. Voters we talk so say they are not having their concerns listened to. Thats what they believe. Especially as it relates to immigration and as it relates to the economy. The other thing were hearing is the idea that democrats can simply vote for haley in the republican primary. So its not even as much a throw haley vote as it is an anti trump vote. Heres what one voter had to say. Im not sure. Im not sure. I dont know what to do. Im hoping that somehow it works out that nikki gets the nomination. I dont know how that could happen, but theres a lot going on. In the court system and everything. So we just have to kind of day by day. I think its good that you know, she gets some support though. Reporter so as we are seeing, nikki haley was here in virginia over the weekend. Donald trump was here over the weekend. Theyre both making big plays for the state. The people that are are the surrogates for these candidates. We are not seeing the Get Out The Vote effort that we saw even in the 2023 off year election for the State House Races where Governor Youngkin and the virginia Republican Party put millions of dollars into a Get Out The Vote effort. I covered that race. That is interesting. Sounds like exact opposite of what were seeing today. Thank you. Lets go to minnesota now where President Biden could be facing another protest vote over his steadfast support for israel. Jesse kirsch is reporting for us there. How big could this protest vote be . Reporter we are in a Polling Location right now in plymouth. Someone just is submitting their ballot right now. Weve got another person here. This is the 200th person whos about to vote so very exciting at this Polling Location in the suburbs of minneapolis. This is a sample ballot. Uncommitted. Were going to step outside because we have to go outside to talk about policy and the candidates directly. Thats what the team here has asked us to do. The potential that there could be a substantial number of voters who are uncommitted, voicing opposition to President Bidens stance on the war in gaza right now. We spoke with someone helping to organize that effort. He said theyve been doing outreach by phone, email. Theyve been going to friday services at mosques to talk to people. This gentleman told me hes spoken to people who are asking about voting. They have never voted but are going to do so because of the war in gaza. Weve also spoke with a woman who voted here earlier who said when she started hearing about the effort here in minnesota, she decided she was going to vote uncommitted and she did a short time ago. We dont have numbers yet on whats going to happen but one of the organizers of the uncommitted vote estimates that hundreds of thousands of people in minnesota will have been reached out to in some form by tonight. So potentially, you could see a big number off of that, but we dont have the hard numbers on that yet but theyve done a good amount of outreach. Another thing weve been watching is this is where Dean Phillips Cast his ballot for himself earlier today. He also put out a somewhat cryptic tweet that seemed to potentially be insinuating that he could be making a decision about his campaigns feature in the days ahead. Of course, he does not have delegates at this point in the president ial primary. Uncommitted has more delegates than he does. We talked to the congressman what about hes going to be doing moving forward. Heres part of what he shared with us. This was a mission of principle and winning is relative. I recognize im not winning any delegates or states but the mission is to wake people up from a delusion propagated by a lot of people with a vested interested in maintaining it. Democrats who vote in primaries have made the decision. They absolutely favor joe biden. The sad truth is joe bidens not well positioned to win the Eleconeen Sing that for a year and a half. Reporter bottom line for congressman phillips, whatever he does will be to make sure former President Trump does not become the next president of the United States. Chris . Thank you. In North Carolina meantime, a high stakes governors race is being closely watched for clues it could offer about the swing state for november. Shaquielle brewster is on the ground talking to voters in greensboro, North Carolina. Why is this governors race getting so much attention . Reporter well, chris, i know all the attention today is about the primary but this is a Gubernatorial Election that is expected to be one of the most competitive once we get to november. So today is all about each party and voters in each party deciding on who they believe the best candidate is to face off in november. On the republican side, you have former President Trump whos backing Lieutenant GovernorMark Robinson. Lieutenant governor is a very outspoken figure. Hes had to clarify antisemitic remarks. Hes made comments seen as derogatory towards the lgbt community. Hes gone up against bill graham and Dale Fallwell whos making the case hes too extreme for a General Election match up. On the democratic side, you have roy cooper who is endorsing the attorney general. I want you to listen to what voters have been telling me about how theyre viewing this matchup. For the governors race, who did you support in that primary . Was it Mark Robinson . It was. I voted for fallwell and im not a Mark Robinson fan. Again. Its kind of an odd thing. I think im voting against people. Which maybe is not a good thing, but thats whats happened. Everything Mark Robinson stands for is again, not anything i want to believe in. I dont think the three candidates are really very strong. Just really A Shot In The Dark for me. Reporter and then when you go further down the ballot, theres some competitive legislative primaries going on. Here in North Carolina, theres a new map, Republican Legislature of building in more gop friendly seats. A lot of open seats. Theres also a competitive race that can help determine control of congress once we get to november. So a lot of races here in North Carolina as of course still a lot of focus is at the president ial level, chris. Always good to see you. Thank you. In 60 seconds, hes the former baseball Star Disrupting the California Senate race. So why is the major question about steve garvey these days where is he . But first, how voters in North Carolina and utah are feeling about a likely biden trump rematch. Take a listen including this first voter who explains why he has to vote biden. Whether i agree or disagree, what he may have done, may do in his office, he brings a sense of calmness to the whole process. Biden. 24 . I want neither. Biden. Why . Its kind of the lesser of two evils in my opinion. Not that i would rather vote for either of them. Not that i would rather vote for either of them you know, when i take the bike out like this, all my stresses just melt away. I hear that. This bad boy can fix anything. Yep, tough day at work, nice cruise will sort you right out. When im riding, im not even thinking about my painful cavity. Well, you shouldnt ignore that. And every time i get stressed about having to pay my bills, i just hop on the bike, man. Oh, come on, man, you got to pay your bills. You dont have to worry about anything when youre protected by americas numberone motorcycle insurer. Well, you definitely do. Those things arent related, so. Ah, yee oh, that is a vibrating pain. The ladies have been doing a lot of talking recently. She looks great what they dont know is i got inspire, a Sleep Apnea Treatment that works inside my body. I feel refreshed because im not struggling with cpap anymore. 100 bucks she got work done. Great sleep, at the click of a button. Did she get implants . Yeah, i got an implant, sheila relax, its inspire. Inspire. Sleep apnea innovation. Learn more and view Important Safety Information at inspiresleep. Com where is steve garvey . At 75 years old, the rookie politician running as a republican for California Senate has barely been seen. Almost no events, no discernible strategy, not a single tv ad and yet hes leading in a recent poll in a race where the two top finishers regardless of party will be on novembers ballot. How has he done it . He has Name Recognition. Something he talked about in a brief interview last night in the friendly territory of fox news. Built teams, championship teams. Were going to do this again because at one time, california was the heart beat of america and its not that now. Heres the Problem Garvey Presents for democrats. Even though california hasnt elected a republican to statewide office in decades, the secretary of States Office says gop registration is now up. He could energize turnout enough to help in some down ballot races. Im joined by former Obama Deputy White house press secretary, bill burton, and david jolly is here with me. Great to have you here, guys. Bill, as im trying to figure out how you run a campaign in california successfully with no paid tv ads, i have to ask whats the power of Name Recognition . I mean, look, former President Trump sure had a lot of it and he wasnt taken that seriously at first but look where we are now. Hes the beneficiary of what has been a smart strategy by adam schiff to elevate his name with millions in tv advertising. Katie porter is doing the same thing with eric hurley, spending millions from our super pac to crowd out garvey from getting the top spot. Schiff ran a strategy and steve garvey is certainly benefitting from it but theres no chance he wins in november. Porter, as you know, is not happy about the schiff strategy, but there are other people who are concerned. Theyre looking at the secretary of states website, which is showing republican registration is up. Can it be a problem down ballot for democrats . Look, a high profile republican will help enthusiasm among california republicans. No question about that. I think if you turn those numbers upside down though, schiff, porter, and three, have 70 of the vote so democrats have every reason to feel theyre in a good spot. Garvey, what i like in him, too, when you see that interview and see somebody who brings a lot of profile, a lot of background, a little substance. I was a steve garvey baseball fan in the 70s and 80s. So many people were. It reminds me of the tom suozzi Special Election where republicans nominated someone with an incredible profile on paper but kept her out of the press. Out of the media and just relied on the negative partisanship to rule the day. Schiff is relying on negative partisanship to have garvey be one of the top two tonight. If its schiff and garvey, adam schiff ends up in the United States senate. You know, bill, last nights interview on fox with garvey was three questions. He spoke for less than two minutes. Lets just say it wasnt a wide ranging conversation. In january when asked what the government is doing wrong, he said hell find that out in the senate. Does he really not know anything or is that a strategy . Stick to the generalities, win support beyond the base. Hope voters are looking for someone new and different. I mean, look. Former congressman jolly calling steve garvey a man of little substance with the most generous way to describe what garvey looked like in that interview. Hes not particularly sophisticated politician and never really had a chance in this race. Hasnt run much in the campaign. I dont think its a strategy. I think thats how steve garvey is showing up. But i would not take away from the strength of the schiff campaign. Schiff was very smart in how he ran his campaign, a strategy, and its worked. Looks like its going to help make him United States senator from california. Do you think he could hurt down ballot . As a partisan democrat, dont love seeing the republican registration grow, but those numbers are pretty small if you take a look inside. So i dont know that it will be all that meaningful in those congressional races. So, the little that garvey is out there, he is on topic, i think. Hes talking about immigration. The economy. Heres a little more of that interview. People of california who have been sprezed by one party are mad. I said to them, let me fight Crime In The Streets for you. Get the homeless off the streets and get care for them. Let me help fight the border. Do you have to, david, in this day and age, get sp