you're watching "politicsnation" from dothan, alabama on msnbc. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. >>> break news in the trayvon martin case. new reports that lead investigator wanted manslaughter charges again

ron is in dothan, alabama, with more. >> reporter: mitt romney and rick santorum added to their victory totals on saturday but for newt gingrich he's hoping for surge. mississippi and alabama no longer must win states saying he's in the race until the republic races. before the big primaries, rick santorum got another run for his victory speech after winning saturday kansas. >> we're heading today to mississippi and balabama. >> reporter: as he returns south, he's set to challenge newt gingrich. >> this has been the wildest roller coaster. you don't know where you've been, you're not sure where you're going, where you've beb or where you are uction but it's exciting. >> reporter: with two primary wins in the south he called on the southern roots to zing mitt romney. >> i got started with cheesy and grits. >> reporter: >> they're all looking at that little guy. got him. it wasn't really a cockroarch. >> reporter: he picked up a few more by winning republican republican, guam and spending the week off the trail in florida. rick santorum he's easy victory in kansas is not expected to be du

. >> with a 55-minute van ride to the bus depot and a five-hour bus ride to dothan, donald calls his aunt to confirm she will pick him up at the bus station. >> i'm calling to tell you i'm out and i'll be there around 6:00 tonight. sorry you can't pick up the phone. hopefully i'll call you soon. see you later. bye. love you. i guess she ain't home. voice mail or answering machine or something. that's pretty cool. >> what's the last time you saw a cell phone? >> i ain't ever seen one this small. i ain't never seen one like this at all. six years is a long time, i think. i hope -- i hope i can still be able to go on a -- i don't know how to say it. i'm choked up. in a way i am, in a way i ain't, you know. i just hope i can do the right thing, you know. it's hard to say it and do it. >> you know what not to do. >> i know what not to do. it's going to be hard. it ain't going to be easy. this is the easy part, going home today. >> yeah, it is. you know, just being real about it. >> right. >> never said anything wrong to me, kevin. >> 20 minutes change buses in montgomery. >> montgomery? >

nbc's ron mott is in dothan, alabama with more. >> good morning to you. rick santorum and mitt romney added to their victory totals on saturday. meantime, for newt gingrich, he is hoping for that surge, as you mentioned. mississippi and alabama apparently no longer must-win states for him with the former speaker saying once again he's in the race all the way to the republican convention. >> we're in it to win it here in kansas. >> reporter: before tuesday's big southern primaries in mississippi and alabama, rick santorum got another run from his victory speech after winning kansas saturday. >> we're heading today to mississippi and alabama. and we're going to have a sweep this week. >> reporter: as he returns south, santorum is set to challenge newt gingrich on what the former speaker hopes is essentially home turf, as the pace of the race begins to quicken. >> this has been the wildest roller coaster. you don't know where you've been. you don't know where you're going. you're not sure where you are. but it's real exciting. >> reporter: with two primary w

. >> ed, i was in alabama last week, i was -- i'm with a creator syndicate, i'm in the dothan eagle,king to students at jacksonville state university, people showed up for a big lecture, most of them you can't argue, it was a very civil audience, very friendly, i did not hear any of this stuff that this supposed poll is saying about alabamans thinking the president -- questioning his religion, what they were saying is they are unhappy with mitt romney but if they want to beat president obama that is probably who they will go for. the candidates are making fools for themselves. i talk to two editors, bill perkins with the eagle, and then bob davis, with the other paper and they said romney is not connecting with voters down there because it's not talking like them. newt gingrich showed up at an event and said to several hundred people when he greeted them enthusiastic initially audience looked like everybody was all the shoppers were out of walmart showed up for his event. that is a stunning insult to people in an audience. i don't know what they are thinking. >> thhe can't even get t

. >> clayton: a shirt in dothan and popped by the wal-mart.nd the rasmussen poll, one thing mentioned was the 80% in the poll, mentioning potential republican voters voting for him. >> and be the nominee and that's the reluctance in the south and how well romney is playing in alabama and mississippi, they may want to vote for rick santorum, but in the back of their heads, mitt romney is going to be the nominee, so, maybe i go and pull the lever for the guy that's probably going to get the nomination and therefore be the most likely to beat president obama. >> alisyn: that's the challenge, do you vote your heart and convention or who you think has the best chance and that's the challenge and what the candidates are saying, it's time to vote your heart, and all of them think they stand a chance if the voters do that. let's talk about the economy, dave. >> dave: let's do that. >> alisyn: the president says it's improving, but there are tell tale signs it's not today. >> dave: here is how the president prefers to spin it it. >> the key now, our jo