in arizona.sidered all along a very good state for mitt romney and we're clearly seeing that, so far in the exit poll numbers and he struggles with some groups in arizona and they're important to the republican base of course, for example, santorum has the edge in arizona as well among those who say that they are strongly conservative. and this has been a sort of hiccup group for mitt romney and wearing out in arizona. how about the issue of immigration? obviously a big story in the state of arizona, we're seeing a change in views, 34% of voters say that illegal immigrants should be deported and that's down from 44%, who said that back in 2008. not the surprisingly, those who support that are going for mitt romney, he has the strictest position on immigration of all of these candidates, and he's doing well with those voters. let's look at the arizona electorate, favorable toward mitt romney this evening. michigan is going to be a little tougher for him. that one is going to be the longer story of

it is arizona. today, arizona celebrating its 100th anniversary on this date. arizona shed its five-decade status as a u.s. territory. it became the last state in the contiguous united states. jan brewer who is the governor of arizona commemorating the anniversary. >> good morning to all of you on this beautiful, glorious day that we're celebrating. the day we celebrate arizona's 100th year of statehood. i would like to begin by reading from a proclamation i signed officially designating this day the 14th day of february, 2012, as arizona centennial day, which says in part, whereas, 100 years ago today, on february 14th, 1912, after nearly 49 years as a united states territory and thousands of years as a sacred home to native people, arizona became the 48th and last of the contiguous states to enter the union of the united states of america. whereas, arizona continues to be recognized for its cultural and natural beauty. a high quality of life and innovation in all fields, including agriculture, science and technology, optics, aerospace and defense, renewable a

this is our venue in beautiful downtown mesa, arizona. arizona votes on tuesday.e seeing our group putting the finishing touches on the preparations. but among the vips, governor jan brewer, the former vice president, dan quayle lives in arizona now, he'll be here as well. as you look around the hall, some of ourback backdrop looks quite familiar, you see the seal of the united states. but at all of our prior debates, the kand have said standing at podiums, but tonight they'll sit down at a desk. i'll be sitting over here at a separate table asking the questions. we'll also take questions from our studio audience, as we have in the past, questions from twitter, questions from facebook, questions from cnnpolitics.com, still a chance for you to participate at home if you have a question. please send it in online and take a look. it's a very important night tonight. these are the final four contenders. it's been nearly a month since they have had a debate together. this one comes at a critical time. it's the final debate on the books. as i noted, arizona and michigan

mitt romney will take all of arizona's 29 delegates. he's a big winner in arizona. see the michigan primary as it tense to go. >> it's still too close to call. at this hour you see some of the raw vote coming in. we aren't able to project the first place winner in michigan. at this hour the drama all along is what was behind the state of michigan. in arizona there was a presumption he would win because he was ahead in the policy. we didn't know what would happen in michigan. and unfortunately now at 9:19 in the east we still don't know. but we have some information on why people are voteth way they are. >> and martha is keeping an eye on the exit polls in michigan and arizona. >> let's take a look at the question about how we learned what voters were thinking tonight in arizona in this race. this is what romney's strength looks like, folks. it shapes up this way. his appeal is across the board in arizona. he won conservatives, moderates, tea party supporters, and catholics and elderly. one in seven is a mormon. they overwhelmingly, 91%, won't romney. let's take a lo

an arizona native.om sheller from the university of maryland, baltimore county and wrote a great book called "whistling past dixie." which is about the partisan divisions in this country. a chapter, i believe, on arizona. >> yeah. >> spent some time on that. megan, let me start with you. i find arizona's politics extremely fascinating for a few reasons. it seems in some ways a vision of what america will look like in 30 years in this respect. you have two populations migrating into the state. old white people and young brown people. and they are both getting there, and the politics seems like a death battle in some ways between those two groups for power and you see this kind of rear guard action by the people who are very skevenive, tend to be older and whiter, against what they see as this just terrifying encroachment into their state and that produces like 1070. is that an accurate way of understanding the access of the state's politics? >> i think definitely. i was just in arizona last weekend. ariz

both arizona and michigan hold their primaries this tuesday.n for the live results. our special coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >>> as we focus on tuesday's all important primaries in michigan and arizona, our cnn debate last week seems to be a game changer. wolf blitzer weighs in next. but, first, some political trivia. who won the very first michigan presidential -- republican presidential primary? the answer right after the break. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ new newtons fruit thins. real cranberries and cranberry citrus oat... crispy whole grain. newtons fruit thins, one unique cookie. >>> welcome back to the specia

mexico is arizona's largest trading partner. why doesn't the administration step up and do something to help mexico? we help all of these other countries. they do nothing? they don't secure our borders. they send guns down there. they sue the state of arizona and me personally for doing the job they should do. it's frustrating, david. >> and the frustration has bubbled over in your interactions with president obama, too. this picture when you met him on the tarmac and appeared to have a confrontation with him over things in the book that was not liked, and you were invited to go to dinner, and you declined to go, and are you showing disrespect for the president of the united states? >> i hope not. i have other commitments. this event was a social thing. i am a governor and have priorities and i will be there monday when we meet and discuss policy. >> governor, i want to ask you before i let you go about the economy, and the graas prices. this is an average of course over the course of the obama presidency, and now we're at febru

so what is arizona today? arizona is open skies and fair climate offer the u.s. military an ideal training environment for our soldiers and high-tech combat systems. luke air force base outside of phoenix will be home to the f-35 fighter jet, the most advanced fighter in the world. the u.s. army's intelligence center is located at fort wachuca in southern arizona war u.a.v. training take place. the air force base near tucson is the nation's premier wart hog base, hosts an array of special operations aircraft. it will hopefully continue to grow in support of our military's drone fleet. across the highway, arizonans in the air national guard fly the newest f-16's to train foreign pilots from over 20 countries and virtually every marine corps fixed-wing squadron that permitted in operations desert shield and desert storm underwent predeployment training at yuma marine corps station. arizona is also home to nearly 600,000 veterans, many of whom have returned to their families and loved ones from iraq and afghanistan. more cop certificates mined in arizona than all th

of 59 between arizona and michigan. this is how it looks in michigan, first, and then arizona. our poll has it tight in michigan, still. arizona, it's more of a going away contest for romney, and handicap what will happen? picked up jan brewer's endorsement here on the program. >> the wild card in michigan is the democratic vote. i have already seen multiple e-mail this morning from democratic folks michigan is going to ron paul. ron paul. everybody seems to believe that romney does have a small lead. by the way, as far as delegates are concerned, arizona is winner take all. romney will win more delegates tuesday because he will win arizona and all the delegates. in michigan, we could have the unique situation where romney could win by a point or two but santorum could win more of the delegates. he will win more congressional districts. what does that mean for the race? we will let these guys talk about that. >> steve schmidt, what are you hearing as you look at the debate in michigan and you just heard senator santorum, and what will this come down to? >> if you look at the la

from mesa, arizona the site of tomorrow's cnn arizona republican presidential debate. tonight the issue that won't go away. president obama's fate. mitt romney labels the obama agenda secular. and the reverend frank ln graham says islam is getting a free pass from this president. also with just a week to go before arizona's primary, brand-new polling tonight show as fluid two-way race between mitt romney and rick santorum. and why wait in line at starbucks when you can inhale your morning jolt? >> we begin tonight with presidential politics. new numbers that underscore just how important our big debate here is tomorrow night and a new twist in the campai campaign conversation. a new cnn times poll shows a statistical dead heat this arizona. 36% for mitt romney, 32% for the surging rick santorum. add in a small santorum lead in michigan which also votes next tuesday, and what you get is a tense, volatile gop race as the final four candidates prepare for their first debate in nearly a month. in a moment how the tightness of the race is playing out among the candidates. b

the latest anti-union battleground, arizona next. first king george sixth died meaning that his successor queen elizabeth has been on the thrown for 60 years. the second longest reign in british history. time marchs on. >> we begin. >> we begin as we always do with local news. here is saskatchewan lisa dutton. >> it's a sausage competition that i judge. >> like sausage eating? >> yeah, yeah. >> you can get tickets online at pick a dick-- >> oh no. >> well, you're thinking about sausage. >> pick a dick.com. >> knewnew meaning to that phrase. if you like sausage don't see how it's made. the krispy kreme challenge. started by friends in 2004. this year's challenge with over 7500 runners raised $75,000 for the children's hospital. it involved running two and a half miles to a krispy kreme store. eating a dozen donuts, and running back all under an hour. the bad news for the runners after easing the dozen you have to run another thousand miles. >>> parenting can be tough. twins do not make them easy unless you plop them in johnny jumpers

new poll out of arizona.bc news poll has got romney opening up a 16-point lead against santorum in arizona. recent polling suggesting that santorum was closing the gap but that may no longer be the case. still several days until the michigan primaries votes so that could change. you want to know the poll on conservatives in arizona let's head out to phoenix j.d. hayworth. i know you're a talk show host now, thank you for being here an inside "the war room." >> it's great to go here and thank you for the bet. we've been showing the viewers the new poll, showing romney shooting ahead. why is that happening right now in arizona? >> well, i think when you take a look at the arizona electorate, i think it is less of a traditional conservative-moderate type of didivision within the republican electorate. a lot of people here, walking mesa that i used to represent a heavy concentration of lds voters. >> that's latter day saints. >> and they're interested in mitt romney's candidacy. in fact, i recall when i was first

the folks here in arizona.een some of the gas prices, it's getting close to $4, about $3.88 or so people are paying a gallon. ali, do you ever think there's going to be a time when we could actually see $2.50 gas again? >> yes, in fact, there will be, and then we'll domesticate unicorns and i'll grow hair on my head. it's not likely to happen any time soon. it's a long-term issue. sure if we do all the right things now, which we're not likely to do, we may, demand for gas will drop because people are -- this is pinching them. they're buying more fuel-efficient cars. we'd have to move closer to the cities we live in like the rest of the world, that's not the american way for the moment. i don't think that's likely. >> yeah, i don't think it's likely either. the unicorns will arrive before that happens. but one of the things that people have been debating is whether or not it was actually the gas prices that contributed to the recession or if it was the foreclosures, the homes that were going under that happened

think about the issues here in arizona, what comes to mind, immigration, and arizona is always in theimmigration going to the supreme court to argue for their law and april 25th. i talked with arizona governor jan brewer who endorsed mitt romney, earlier today she told me, neil, it goes far beyond immigration when it comes to the issues on voter's minds. >> it's an important issue to arizona and an important issue to america. i think that jobs and economy are the number one issue here in arizona and across the country. >> you know, even more interesting than the race we're seeing today, neil, what could happen in november, 600,000 hispanics have moved to the state in the last decade. an active voter registration drive put out by democrats and hoping they might be able to put this state in play in november. >> we'll watch closely, thank you very much, john roberts. if you just joined us, finally did it, dow closed above 13,000, does the the president deserve any credit for that? >> i can't think of a single piece of legislation that he authored that made it easier for our economy to co

live from phoenix, arizona. i'm suzanne malveaux. i'm here on the eve of a big republican presidential primary. more on that in just ha moment. first, want to get you up to speed. five students were shot and wounded when a lone gunman opened fire about 30 miles east of cleveland. the suspected shooter who they think is a student is in custody now. the school is in lockdown. and the students have been evacuated. students say it was chaotic when the shooting started with people basically running for their lives. parents were frantic to find their kids. i just want you to take a listen to this. >> she texted me and said there's been a shooting and i'm in a closet, but don't worry. i said, well, just keep texting me. so that's what we're doing. >> my son is over there. i have a daughter here in middle schoo school. >> more on the shootings throughout the morning as well. they are spending time in tennessee today. that's ahead of next week's big super tuesday contest. and more apparent retaliation for last week's burning of korans by nato

>> okay, first thank you, thank you, arizona. great victory in arizona tonight., it was just a week ago that the pundits and the pollsters, they were ready to count us out, but across michigan and arizona, i kept on meeting moms and dads and students and grandparents, and they were concerned about what is happening to this great country of ours. and i was confident we could come together today and take a giant step toward a brighter future. so tonight, their efforts have brought our cause a great victory, and we celebrate with people across these states. thank you. now tonight is also particularly special for me because this is a place where i was born. this is the place where i was raised. my mom and dad lived many years here and loved this great state, and i know that michiganders in this room, we consider your all family. thank you for your help. and in this room are the people who knocked on the doors and made the calls and went to the polls, and it made an enormous difference. we didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough, and that's all that counts. and by t

the candidates all there in michigan, not arizona. how come, slam dunk in arizona? >> reporter: to a degree. the polls there are not as close. remember, michigan, 30 delegates at stake. it's proportional. you don't have to win here to grab delegates. that's why you see a lot more traffic from the candidates, romney, santorum, even ron paul cam page here. newt gingrich hasn't made many visits to michigan. deb? >> paul steinhauser for us. thanks so much. we'll be following you. now we'll go to arizona. suzanne malveaux at the state capitol in phoenix. how is the race shaping up there? >> reporter: actually, the voting centers just opened about an hour ago. the winner takes all here, 29 delegates. now romney so far a slight edge in the lead here. not surprising. last go around 2008 he came in second place to senator john mccain but back then, deb, that is when he had the endorsement of one tough sheriff. it's that sheriff here that essentially has made immigration a hot button issue this go round. >> so very nice to meet you. >> thank you. >> reporter: sheriff joe ar p

en arizona.gados en su cuenta para tener un total de 156, logrÓ con adelante la contienda. era el favorito y ahora realmente lo que estamos recorriendo en michigan el estado natal, pero sin embargo pudiera perderlo y eso lo que estamos esperando. >> no vamos a venezuela donde la atenciÓn estÁ puesta en los resultados de chÁvez. se confirmÓ que ya e operado y se encontrarÍa buenas condiciones fÍsicas. >> una explosiÓn de jÚbilo reaccionaron los diputados oficialistas ante el anuncio del vicepresidente sobre la buena condiciÓn del presidente hugo chÁvez tras ser sometido en una operaciÓn de la habana donde se le extrajo el nuevo tumor detectado. se deberÁ someterse de aÚn planos post operatorio. el gobierno no ha ofrecido dato suficiente para saberse la lesiÓn es maligna o benigna. >> puede ser que requiera a radioterapia. eso no lo puedo definir hoy. por cÓmo puede ser tambiÉn que hace que la quimioterapia. >> afirmÓ que habÍa sido operado el dÍa viernes. >> es un cÁncer... >> sigue siendo un mist

como se predecÍa en arizona.odrÍguez reportando de phoenix arizona y para hablar sobre lo que significa esta noche, concretamente la victoria de romney en arizona y lo que pasa en michigan nos vamos directamente con nuestro analista polÍtico, carlos rajo. muy buenas tardes. >>> que tal josÉ, muy buenas noches. >>> hablaremos sobre la importancia de arizona, para comenzar, para romney. >>> josÉ, se ha menospreciado un tanto arizona y mÁs alla de que ganÓ y le da cierto impulso y cobertura mediÁtica. no hay que perder de vista, que son 29 delegados, casi con seguridad. van a ser mÁs delegados que los que va a ganar en michigan, aÚn si gana michigan. por la razÓn que en arizona, el que gana, se lleva a todos los delegados en michigan se reparten. y repito, aÚn cuando es el segundo lugar. tiene mucha importancia para mitt romney ganar arizona. >>> hablaremos de ahora michigan estado donde su padre fue gobernador. naciÓ ahÍ quÉ pasa en michigan. es un problema grande para el futuro de romney. >>> es un problema josÉ,

host: in arizona we -- guest: in arizona we have a closed primary. you have to be a republican to vote in a republican primary. with regard to michigan, i think tactics like that typically the a meager 9 -- typically backfire. sometimes they work. if romney were to lose michigan, i do not think it is over, and partly it is because of tactics like this. they tend to backfire. if mitt romney survives michigan by winning it, or goes on to super tuesday, i think people will recognize he is the best candidate. host: if the primary those on and on, are you concerned about your senate race this year, running to replace john kyl? guest: i think those of us running, most of us, and you can see that in endorsements for mitt romney by members of congress, that we fare best if he is at the top of the ticket. i think we will fare well anyway. in terms of my own race, i did not think it matters. people are focused on arizona issues and issues we have been talking about for a long time. host: are you surprised that president obama has taken an interest in your sena

the next two states to vote are michigan and arizona. tory dunnan is in phoenix, arizona.ell us why arizona is so important in this election cycle. >> reporter: for now, mitt romney hams the lead in arizona but it's a really close race, so we decided to take an in-depth look at why this state matters. traditionally arizona has been a state as red as its famed red rocks. only once in the past 60 years has the state gone to a demic presidential candidate. 2008 barack obama fell eight points shy of arizona senator john mccain. take away the home state advantage and there could be an opening this time around. that's why this now critical swing state is so important for the republican candidate. whoever wins appears that much more electable come november. a loss would be especially disappointing for mitt romney. >> i think you she model in arizona. >> reporter: here's the backing of a strong mormon population as well as as a victory in nearby nevada. if he wants to say he has the best shot of beating barack obama, he has to win over the latino. they have walked a fine line on i

yeah, that's right, arizona, arizona state, northern arizona. they are dealing with half the money they used to deal with. this is another case of the republican agenda being carried out by a radical governor and radical leaders. arizona republicans are trying to put the final nail in the coffin of unions. my question, did they campaign on this? the answer is no. democrats are virtually in this situation sad to report to you tonight, powerless to stop it. they have the smallest democratic caucus in arizona state history. this isn't what they campaigned on, but this is the popular thing. for radical governors and radical ledge i have bodies to go after the middle class because now that citizens united has passed, heck, they can do anything they want. they'll get the money to keep them in office to cut all these state budgets, cut the elderly, cut the public service, cut the law enforcement, cut the firefighters, go to public education, go to higher education and let the people dangle in the wind. let's turn to arizona state minority leader david

pregunta las personas si no los analistas que estÁ pasando con mitt romney nos vamos a la ciudad de arizona sandoval con los Últimos detalles, angie adelante. >> ¿quÉ tal jose? muy buenas noches, los 4 aspirantes a la nominaciÓn republicana acaban de decir que deben de llegar a a presidentes van agregar mÁs agentes en la frontera van a reforzar el programa y van deportar a los indocumentados en este paÍs. por supuesto son palabras muy fuertes y un grupo de manifestantes que estuvieron hoy dÍa y estarÁn hoy dÍa en la noche en el debate. >> >> parecÍa una competencia de quiÉn gritaba mÁs. >> pero entre los carteles: >> es una expresiÓn de donde estamos en la comunidad ahorita. >> encontramos a la legendaria por los derechos humanos unida a un grupo de ellos con este mensaje para los aspirantes republicanos. >> bueno, queremos que nos escuchen lo de la justicia en esta campaÑa que tienen los del dream act y compren ddan que la comunidad estÁn un-enojados por ellos. 4 mostrÓ la importancia de este evento. >> que sucede 6 dÍas antes de las primarias en arizona y en michigan y antes del "sÚper ma

mitt romney has lead in arizona right now. if you believe the curse, maybe gentleman brew brewer endorsing him might turn it around. having the establishment on your side has not been a good omen in that state's republican politics. the biggest thing that happened in the last year in arizona is the recall of the most powerful republican in the state. now the most powerful republican politician in arizona has not been the governor, the head of the state senate, russ sell pierce, he's no longer in the senate because he was recalled from office by his district voters in november. that is after he championed the state p state's anti-i am grant law. he was the first lawmaker ever recalled from office. he was the powerful guy in the state. he wasn't replaced by granola eating sympathizer, he was replace bid a normal republican. his district was disgusted by russell pierce but they are a republican-leaning district. the guy they put in it's slins s an average conservative. after that pretty stunning rebuke from the voters, how did th

, with the arizona sheriff.at forced him to resign admits co-chair man amid shocking allegations by a former boyfriend. stand by. the interview in the next hour. ♪ [ male announcer ] offering four distinct driving modes and lexus' dynamic handling, the next generation of lexus will not be contained. the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. ♪ sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. [ grocery store pa ] clean up in aisle eight. found her! [ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. it is so good. >>> lisa is monitoring some other top stories, what's going on? >> hi, wolf, if you're one of the 21 million people is have that have been iphone 4. when it came out apple was blasted for reception problems. now the company has settled a class-action lawsuit and you may be eligible for a free case or $15. >>> a mountain of