polls are closed in mississippi and alabama. sissippi the race is too early to call, and in alabama, the race there is too early to call as well. of course it's all about delegates. and mitt romney has a big lead in that category. but will any of the candidates have enough to win the nomination outright by the time the convention in tampa, florida rolls around? i watch this man every morning at 9:00, let's turn to political director chuck todd. i never go anywhere without checking out todd, i get the political base then. chuck, great to have you with us. looking at the exit polls in mississippi, you think the satisfaction with the candidates looked interesting, did it tell us anything different from what we have seen in the other states? >> no, it showed once again, you see where romney is actually the third choice, if you will. 58%, is not bad. but there would be more enthusiasm from base primary voters with either gingrich or santorum, i know in the updated polls, 65% for gingrich, 63% for santorum. it's up to 66% for santorum

gingrich would quit if he lost either alabama or mississippi. so, as we keep an eye on tonight's results, newt gingrich's fate is key tonight. even though he personally says he won't get out of the race, regardless of what happens in alabama or mississippi, he's obviously hoping that getting rained out of his planned trip to the birmingham zoo today will be the day's only alabama gingrich-related disappointment. ron paul will look ahead to much later in the evening when the other much lower profile race, the hawaii caucuses get going at midnight eastern. mr. paul is the only republican candidate to have committed any significant advertising in hawaii. >>> right now, at just after 9:06 eastern, the latest results we've got. in mississippi nbc calling this race too close to call, looks like a three-way race with 9% of the vote in in mississippi, rick santorum at 33%, mitt romney at 31, newt gingrich at 29. in alabama a race that is too close to call. a three-way race in addition in alabama. right now, rick santorum with 32% of the vote, newt gingri

rick santorum winning both alabama and mississippi tonight. d he wins with working women in alabama. i am joined again by msnbc political analysts karen finney, eugene robinson, and richard wolffe. santorum did particularly well in alabama among working women. even after sending out a mailer with a quote from rush limbaugh. karen, you were in alabama. can you explain this one? >> you know, i'm stunned. the only explanation that i can come up with is, and i think this would be a question i'd want to go back and ask these women, for these women, did race or in other words conservative values, that's the code, right, trump gender? you know, it's still a very conservative state. the racial issues are alive and well in alabama and mississippi. remember those polls that we saw where large percentages don't believe in interracial marriage and think the president is a muslim. so clearly there is some sort of racial stuff in there, and i wonder if that ultimately for white working women trumped their own gender issues. >> eugene robinson, i'd be curious

rick santorum winning both alabama and mississippi tonight. d he wins with working women in alabama. i am joined again by msnbc political analysts karen finney, eugene robinson, and richard wolffe. santorum did particularly well in alabama among working women. even after sending out a mailer with a quote from rush limbaugh. karen, you were in alabama. can you explain this one? >> you know, i'm stunned. the only explanation that i can come up with is, and i think this would be a question i'd want to go back and ask these women, for these women, did race or in other words conservative values, that's the code, right, trump gender? you know, it's still a very conservative state. the racial issues are alive and well in alabama and mississippi. remember those polls that we saw where large percentages don't believe in interracial marriage and think the president is a muslim. so clearly there is some sort of racial stuff in there, and i wonder if that ultimately for white working women trumped their own gender issues. >> eugene robinson, i'd be curious

between nam lece gingrich in alabama and mississippi. rick santorum is running third. ron paul is not really competing in those states and. mitt romney which is either alabama or mississippi, it could appealhat he to the conservative base. >> people in mississippi and alabama want a conservative nominee. >> this could come down to a between three running most aggressively. >> of four republican candidates, running as a clear path to get the delegates needed win the gop nomination. a new poll found most republicans would be satisfied romney as their nominee. you can get the latest results on our sister at 6:30news channel 8 tonight. >> president obama and the british prime minister will have about over the next couple days. the two will discuss in afghanistan, syria, and other foreign policy issues. cameron's visit begins tournament game in ohio tonight. and the president will hold a the primeer for his wife tomorrow night. >> hundreds of afghans streets.g in the militants also attacked a delegation visiting the site of the massacre. defense secretary leon says that the

can you be a little bit overly contest as we head into mississippi and alabama? > this is the ball game for him. the polls that you cited a little bit earlier in the hour has some -- the rasmussen poll that came out on friday had romney up seven in mississippi. so if gingrich has made that kind of move, that's -- >> maybe a little room for improvement for romney too because pollsters are showing that it's fairly close between he, romney and santorum. it's difficult to call, isn't it? >> and if you want to watch for any kind of a tipping point, it might be santorum's win in kansas. and also the fact that in alabama, there's a state supreme court race which has drawn judge roy moore, the ten commandments judge. that might help santorum, too. >> this really is the fight about who is most conservative. alabama, mississippi, stronghold, conservative state, whoever whether it's one or more than one candidate to win those primaries, will that mean that the base will more likely kind of throw it's support behind that candidate? how important are these southern states? >>

in alabama and mississippi, former republican senator rick santorum of pennsylvania is the projected winner tonight of the alabama republican primary right now, how much percent of the vote do we have in there? sorry. 99% of the vote in there. rick santorum projected to win alabama with 35% of the vote. mississippi, rick santorum has been declared the winner tonight in the mississippi republican primary as well in terms of a vote that's in mississippi, 99% of the mississippi vote in. rick santorum projected to win with 33% of the vote. this has most of all, i think this is important to say, because i don't think it's the way it's being headlined right now, but this is most of all a bad night for newt gingrich. let's be honest. it has been a great night for rick santorum, but it's mostly been a bad night for newt gingrich. and as a courtesy to the winner tonight, i want you to hear first tonight from rick santorum, because he did win, addressing his supporters in lafayette, louisiana. this us just a short time ago. >> we did it again. i just want to say, first, to the people of alabama

this was anybody's race in alabama and in mississippi. it is not anybody's race now. nbc news has called the contest in alabama for former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. and in mississippi, nbc has called that race also for senator santorum. rick santorum takes the prize in these two neighboring deep south states tonight, and perhaps just as importantly, he takes two potential wins away from newt gingrich. yes, mitt romney may be the purported national front-runner, and in political terms mr. santorum is, frankly, making bigger gains against mr. gingrich than he is against mr. romney. mr. santorum is at least chipping away at the great personal barrier for him that is newt ggingrich. these were must-win states for gingrich though he's claiming he'll stay in the race despite losing in both places. when we get back, the latest news about the barriers republicans are building for american voters wherever they can. they played out in an interesting way in mississippi today. that's next. >>> voters in mississippi today went to the polls for the first big election since

it's decision time in alabama and mississippi. voter also go to the polls to decide who will win primary day. the race shows a three-way race between mitt romney and rick santorum. >> do you think we havei think a good chance to win both states. governor romney will get most one out of every three delegates. once again he will fall dramatically short. >> romney is hoping to pull off wins from both states. he has jeff fox worthy to help get out the vote. romney would like to win in the south to solidify his hold as a frontrunner. if he loses he is still confident he will go on to win the nomination. >> no, absolutely not. john mccain didn't win any of these states alabama or mississippi. we are delighted we are doing so well there. the polls are suggesting it's kind of a three-way tie. it's an away game for me. >> evangelical christians and conservatives the core of the gop. rick santorum is hoping those voters will propel him to a victory. >> it will be close. i think the people of alabama and mississippi are figuring out if they

the alabama/mississippi profile, 42% college graduates, 77% evangelicals. mississippi 38% college grads, 69% evangelicals. it's sort of a recipe for romney not getting to 30. let me ask you the religion question. is that a possibility that sort of holds him back from getting over 30? >> i don't think so, chuck. i think people are worried about jobs and the economy in both mississippi and alabama, like most of the rest of the country. and i think that's the issue that's driving folks. i do think that newt gingrich and rick santorum came into this week expecting to win, and they certainly are the heavy favorites. romney is the underdog. but he's got good organization on the ground. he's run a good campaign. he's focused on jobs and the economy. so we feel like we've got a shot at pulling an upset. we've got a shot. >> if you get one win and, you know, and i'll ask you in a minute which state you think is a better shot for romney, mississippi or alabama and i know delegate math is a different question, but if one win gets into the romney column tonight, does th

it is a tight three-way race in alabama and mississippi. alabama governor robert bentley is here. good evening, sir. >> hello, greta. >> what do you make of tonight's vote -- what do you make of the sloat in your state, sir? >> well, you know, it's -- it's -- it's playing out exactly the way i thought it would. i really felt like that senator santorum would win. but i knew it was going to be a very close race. >> now, you voted for senator santorum, is that right, sir? >> i did. i voted for him. i told him last night when iic spoke to him that i was going to vote for him and my wife was going to vote for him. i did not officially endorse because i think that that can hurt candidates. people in alabama make up their own mind. i don't try to tell people how the to vote. >> that was the curious aspect of t. have you ever endorsed anybody? >> you know -- i really have not. i just don't endorse other candidates because i think eye just don't think that's right. i don't think that people in public office should endorse other candidates. >> all right. i know why you voted for senator san

in alabama and mississippi, former republican senator rick santorum, of pennsylvania, the is the projected winner of the alabama republican prooichl. right now in terms 06, how much percentage of the vote do we have in? >> 99% of the vote. rick santorum projected to wix with 35% of the vote. the same story in the gate state of mississippi. rick santorum has been declared the winner the mississippi republican primary in terms of the vote in mississippi. this is important to say. >>> this is, most of all, a bad night for newt gingrich. let's be honest. its within a great night for risks but mostly, a bad night for newt gingrich. i want you to hear from rick santorum addressing his supporters in lafayette, louisiana, a short time ago. >> we did it again! i just want to say first to the people of alabama, you made a great difference tonight, thank you very, very much for your support. we'll compete everywhere. the time is now for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure, to make sure that we have the best chance to win this election and the best chance to win this election

would go home, because it would be ridiculous the suggest it. >> and keep in mind this is mississippi and alabamay voters in mississippi believe that the president of the united states is a muslim, so they are either -- >> e o, here we go. let's stereotype something else. >> they are self-identifying. >> what do you have to have it in arabic? come on. >> you are working into the ppb polling which was designed by a democratic firm for democratic polling firms to elicit from people who don't like barack obama and generally attack it. >> and double it and say it is off by 50%, and say one quarter of all republicans in mississippi and alabama think that the president of the united states is a muslim. >> this is why they won't vote for a democrat, because they call them stupid -- >> well, they are prejudice. >> you hear that mississippi? >> well, the issue here is -- >> final word hilary sdwrchlt well shg -- >> well, the issue is not mississippi or alabama, but we have 14 battleground states, and women make up what they want to hear from the economy and that is not what they are hearing from the repub

republican voters white evangelicals, not a surprise, 81% in mississippi. 73% in alabama. tennessee, 73. so here we have in mississippi, a state with very few sort of cosmopolitan errands. >> a little more rural, jackson area, we expect romney to do well, four years ago, mccain, he lost the jackson area but only very narrow ly, he lost the birmingham area narrowly, expect the cosmopolitan areas to go well for romney. looks like a state that mitt romney shouldn't win, the big difference between tennessee, oklahoma, by the romney folks to make conservative, split vote, curious how it fully plays out you get a sense romney had more sustained time to make his case to voters will in previous states, highs like this, rejected him. >> looks like rick santorum, home state -- city of pittsburgh is up against three hammers here, one, up against romney himself, which is not so shattering an opponent to have. two, he is up against, against the fact that mitt -- that newt gingrich won't quilt and basically, he is running as an alliance factor, an ally of mitt reend store our future, sp

his campaign says he has to win alabama and mississippi to justify staying in this race. betty, the problem there is polling in alabama right now shows gingrich trailing both rick santorum and mitt romney. >> all right. tyler suiters in washington. thank you, tyler. >>> in this year's election, super pacs are playing a bigger role than ever. on super tuesday, the super pacs spent $3 million in ohio alone. supporting mitt romney. candidates are relying more and more on these mega fundraising operations. nancy cordes reports on the growing influence. >> santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times. in the weeks leading up to super tuesday, ohio voters alone endured nearly 8,000 ads about the presidential candidates. >> mitt created romney care. the blueprint for obama care. >> according to the media analysis group, three quarter of the ads were not aired by the candidates but by unaffiliated outside groups known as super pacs that didn't exist four years ago. in only a few months' time, they've changed politics. stewart roy works for a super pac backing rick santorum. >

a look at alabama and mississippi. the official numbers are in. alabama first.ojected santorum as the winner with more than half of the vote already in. 53%, santorum is ahead by 12,443 votes. 35%, to gingrich, so far, in second place with 30%. romney in third place with 28%. ron paul way behind with only 5%. santorum, we project the winner in alabama. look at this, though, in mississippi, 79% of the vote is in. and santorum is also ahead. in mississippi right now, 2,416 votes to be precise, ahead of newt gingrich. 33% for santorum, 32% right now for gingrich. right now, mitt romney in third place with 30%. only 4% for ron paul. take a look at this, dramatic development. if santorum goes ahead, and we have not made a projection in mississippi, but if he were to win in miss mis, he would win both of the southern states r it would be a dramatic might and it would certainly shake up this race for the white house. >> there's no doubt about it. let's go to the senior adviser to the obama campaign, former white house press secretary robert gibbs is joining us now. as

are mississippi and alabama a writeoff? or is there disappointment in terms of his viability for this? >> there has to be disappointment, rachel. front runners aren't supposed to finish third. you can loose to primary but in the final analysis, he finished third in both states. and so, i think the republican establishment figures have that same sort of unease that they've had all along about romney as the eventual nominee. look, the republican candidate is going to carry alabama and mississippi. that's not the issue. but there is something of an issue in that it's the heartland of the republican party. and once again, he's been told, you know, we're just not that into you. >> nbc news political director chuck todd is pointing out tonight that despite finishing third place, mr. romney could ultimately win the night in terms of delegates. if he sweeps hawaii and he sweeps american samoa tonight. is it possible looking at the delegate problem with which the mitt romney campaign is now saying over and over again it's delegates,

thank you. >>> alabama and mississippi are two of the most conservative states in the country. and mitt romney continues to have trouble connecting with conservative voters. exit polls found 50% of alabama voters believed romney's position on issues was not conservative enough. meanwhile, half of mississippi voters who cast a ballot for santorum said they'd be dissatisfied if romney was the republican nominee. and more than half of mississippi voters said rick santorum's conservative credentials were just about right. >>> in other political news, as expected, the afl-cio says it is endorsing president obama for a second term. the union says it will mount a huge door to door campaign. union leader says the labor department or labor movement doesn't agree with the president on every issue but doesn't doubt his commitment to america's workers. >>> overseas, dozens were killed when a bus slammed into a tunnel wall in the swiss alps. the bus was headed back to belgium last night. 52 people were on board returning from a ski trip. at least 28 were killed. 22 of them children. all just

in the south the rest of us aren't exactly proud of alabama and mississippi and their political past. it's often said alabama and mississippi are too small to be nations and too large to be mental institutions. >> once said of every state in the south just before the civil war, as i recall. santorum has been the gop leader when voters have been asked who best understands average american's problems. if he hasn't already will he poke a hole in that with that statement that unemployment, sort of implying that unemployment is not the most important thing even for those who are unemployed. >> i think another reason he's having trouble in illinois and probably future states, they're seeing the gaffe machine that he is. he takes one step back and back flips another three or four and is always explaining himself. on the substance of this one the argument he was trying to make and it's a pretty good one if he'd beenar particular let about it, romney is a one note candidate, all about the economy. his whole resume is about being the candidate in the fall with a bad economy. santorum is trying

alabama and mississippi big wins for rick santorum, those are surprises. king a look at alabama there, you can see the spread 35%, 29%, 29%. there is a battle for second place there in alabama. 84% of the expected votes in currently. as you go to mississippi you can see that it is also a win from rick santorum but a battle for second place, we can't call second or third yet. ron paul finishing fourth in both states. let's bring in our panel. steve hays and amy stod yard, and keersten powers and charles krauthammer, charles, thoughts? >> santorum had a big night. and there is a lukewarm accept stance speech. i think he needs to work on that. gingrich had a terrible night. i thought his speech was worse. the mocking tone, mocking romney. and gingrich had a worse night, that was his home court. it had tone of i man who knows it's out of his reach now but he wants to settle stories. romney had a bad night but doesn't, he said it's an way game. he showed he can't play in the south among republicans. and ron paul is much less of a factor now than he was a few mon

primary races in mississippi and alabama are too close to call.ave result, we will bring them to you right here on the fox nume. president obama's new line, when it comes to how his administration can suppress the skyrocketing gas prices. there is no quick fix. >> while there are no silver bullets, short term, when it comes to gas prices and anybody who says otherwise is not telling the truth. we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. there are no quick fixes or silver bullets. what i have also said about gas prices is that there is no silver bullet and the only way we are going to solve this problem over the medium and long term is with an all of the above strategy. >> sean: really reassuring. but not surprising coming from a man whose only solutions solutir solving the crisis have been recommendations like this brilliant one. >> there are things that you can do individually, though, to save energy, making sure your tires are properly inflated, several thing. but we could save all the oil that they are talking about getting off drilling, i

stakes are high in the south, the polls open in alabama and mississippi. to pull off a southern sweep. he may have to knock out newt gingrich in order to do it, though, the new american research poll shows in alabama gingrich leads romney 34% to 31%. that's within the margin of error. meantime in mississippi, romney leads groi s gingrich, 34% to 3. a statistical dead heat. the gop needs a nominee and they need a nominee now, warns romney. let's talk to our political panel, matt keelan, from gardendale, alabama, cnn political editor, paul stein hauser and also linda moore-forbes. it's all about the numbers. this is supposed to be gingrich's home advantage. we say what happened to mitt romney with his home court advantage. now romney has it all tied up in the south, a is it test cal tie there. who are some of the key voting blocs that could sway the vote for either gingrich or romney? >> social conservative voters very important in alabama and in mississippi. that could be a problem for mitt romney. let's be honest. because you know, his religion, his mormon

alabama and mississippi big wins for rick santorum, those are surprises. k at alabama there, you can see the spread 35%, 29%, 29%. there is a battle for second place there in alabama. 84% of the expected votes in currently. as you go to mississippi you can see that it is also a win from rick santorum but a battle for second place, we can't call second or third yet. ron paul finishing fourth in both states. let's bring in our panel. steve hays and amy stod yard, and keersten powers and charles krauthammer, charles, thoughts? >> santorum had a big night. and there is a lukewarm accept stance speech. i think he needs to work on that. gingrich had a terrible night. i thought his speech was worse. the mocking tone, mocking romney. and gingrich had a worse night, that was his home court. it had tone of i man who knows it's out of his reach now but he wants to settle stories. romney had a bad night but doesn't, he said it's an way game. he showed he can't play in the south among republicans. and ron paul is much less of a factor now than he was a few months ago. i

rick santorum the winner in alabama and mississippi.t polls show which issues are around are not on the mind of voters. peter doocy is live with us with more on the polls. good morning peter. >> good morning heather. newt gingrich was banking on wins in alabama and mississippi to jolt his candidacy. santorum says he is the only one with a shot against governor romney. >> the time is now to make sure, to make sure we have the best chance to win this election and the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative to go up against barack obama whoshg take h can n on every issue. >> looking at those issues very interesting. santorum has been telling himself as the one with the best shot to win because of his conservative position on social issues. in alabama the most important issue to voters that isn't related to the economy is abortion and it's in third place with 9 percent. in mississippi abortion was only the most important issue to 11 percent of voters. speaker gingrich congratulated santorum on his big wins down there

of course he wants to newt to get out of the race because newt is currently ahead in alabama and mississippi. >> so you're saying your guy is going to win in alabama and mississippi? if so, you win the argument. let me go over to chip. how do you see those two hot races in dixie going next tuesday? newt has been able to win contiguously. he won in panhandle. he won in his home state of georgia. based upon his geographic strength in the southeast, he could win alabama. i guess he could win potentially another one. who do you see winning of those three? >> it's really tight. i think mitt romney's going very well down in alabama from the polling i've seen and from the people i've talked to. newt gingrich and santorum -- it's a three-way race in those states right now. i think it's going to be very, very close next week. when i've run if contested primaries, i would have loved in 2008 if everybody would have dropped out and mike huckabee would have been the nominee. >> that's a stupid comment. anybody can say that. santorum said that. >> why should newt get out so somebody else can have a one-on

we're going straight to the big board to get the latest results from mississippi and alabama. not a whole lot in yet, only 2%. mississippi, newt gingrich trailing with just 2%, santorum and romney, romney looking pretty good with 34%. we head over, oops, excuse me, we're heading over to alabama, we've got just a couple little counties in as you can see. there only 1% in, romney with 36%, santorum 30% and newt gingrich 25%. cnn exit polls might give you a better view of what height happen tonight. in mississippi, the expectation among overall is that romney would win based upon cnn exit poll little at 33%, second would be santorum and third would be gingrich in alabama overall, santorum would win the exit poll, according to the exit polls, romney second, and gingrich third. so, now for the view on the ground, is michael shure, the political correspondent for the young turks, he's epic politics man and that spent the last week talking to alabama volares. he joins us from montgomery. michael, welcome inside the war room. >> governor, it's nice to finally be on your air. it's reall