it is primary day in maryland washington d.c. and in wisconsin voters heading to the polls in wisconsin maryland and washington d.c. mitt romney's out in force in wisconsin today three primary and in all three wisconsin maryland washington d.c. mitt romney is expected to win he looks to defect rick santorum challenge once and for all in wisconsin in a decisive win to destroy certain forms case for staying in this race rick santorum facing an uphill battle today used campaigning his home state of pennsylvania a big win in wisconsin might convince rick santorum to finally drop out of the three key races wisconsin holds the biggest prize at stake ninety two delegates mitt romney has half the delegates needed to secure the nomination others are going to the polls in wisconsin maryland and barrett in the district of columbia three contests where there romney is comfortably ahead of mitt romney if you only came to holding events in wisconsin today during a stop in milwaukee romney says he's focused on the nomination and not a vice presi

in maryland, washington, d.c., and most importantly in wisconsin are the primaries, but president obama is clearly looking to november. he hit it where it hurt today for paul ryan's budget plan. the president called the plan a trojan horse that would deepen the equality in the united states. >> instead of moderating their views even slightly, the republicans running congress right now have doubled down and proposed a budget so far to the right it makes the contract with america look like the new deal. >> this was just the latest in a series of addresses that mr. obama has made, portraying the republicans as social darwinists who favors the rich and are unconcerned with who gets left behind. when listening to president obama, we wondered, how would the republicans respond? there's no guess. we have a republican on tonight to settle the debate. also we get a look at the exit polls in what may be a make or break primary for rick santorum. and nbc news have recovered the audio tapes of george zimmerman's prior phone calls to police. do they show he is racially motivated or profiling? we'll

the former massachusetts governor has won all the latest primaries in wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c. does this mean game over for the other candidates? our correspondent reports from washington. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, and d.c. >> victory for a man who looks and acts like the nominee. mathematically, romney is not there yet, but he looked past his republican rivals to the november showdown with barack obama. >> there's a basic choice that we are going to face. the president has pledged to transform america. he has spent the last of all your years, laying the foundation for the new government-centered society. i will spend the next four years rebuilding the foundation of an opportunity society led by three people and free enterprises. >> it is extremely unlikely that any of the other candidates will reach the 1100 delegates needed to secure. the secure >> ♪ in pennsylvania, rick santorum sounded a note of defiance. >> pennsylvania and half the other people in this country have yet to be heard. we will go out and campaign here and across the nation to make sure that their

maryland, washington, d.c., and wisconsin. he moves even closer to the republican nomination. tara reports as rivals have no plans to leave. >> mitt romney continues to pull ahead but three months into the process, four candidates remain. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c. >> with three more wins and half the delegates under his belt, mitt romney is forging ahead. >> tonight i am asking the good people of pennsylvania, new york, rhode island, delaware, and connecticut, to join me -- join me in the next steps toward that destination of november 6. >> while newt gingrich and ron paul have scaled back their campaigns, a defiant rick santorum seems undaunted by a string of setbacks. his eye is on his home state of pennsylvania where he clings to the lead. >> half of the delegates in this process have been selected, and who is ready to charge out of the locker room in pennsylvania and for a strong second-half? >> of pressure is mounting for rivals to clear the way, the republican national committee chairs says the battle has benefits. >> we've got a republica

romney has won in maryland and washington, d.c. we'll be right back. >>> happy election night. nbc hauz projected mitt romney the winner in washington, d.c. and maryland. right now these are the current results. the projection on the race is that it's too early to call in wisconsin, but that mitt romney is in the lead. rick santorum is in his home state of pennsylvania speaking right now to his supporters. let gee let's go to it live. >> it's great to be here with friends and family. we have now reached the point where it's halftime. half the delegates in this process have been selected. who is ready to charge out of the locker room in pennsylvania for a strong second half. it is great to be here in south western pennsylvania where i grew up in a steel town about 20 miles northeast of here in this same county, butler, pennsylvania. this area, this area like that town and like the people in it forged steel to build this country to help win world wars and not just if we built the country and forge still to win wars, we forged people with strong values and a strong commitment to wh

. >> a clean sweep on tuesday for mitt romney with big wins in maryland, washington, d.c., and wisconsin. >> tara mergener joins us live with that story. romney's y's -- mitt rivals have no plan to leave the race. >> four candidates still remain. >> and thank you to wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c. we win them all. [cheers] >> with three more wins and half the delegates under his belt, mitt romney is forging ahead. >> tonight i am asking the good people of pennsylvania, new york, rhode island, delaware, and connecticut to join me. join me in the next step toward that destination of november 6. >> while newt gingrich and ron paul have scaled back their campaigns -- >> thank you so much. >> a defiant rick santorum seems undaunted by a string of setbacks, his eye on his home state of pennsylvania, where he clings to the lead. >> half the delegates in this process have been selected, and who is ready to charge out of the locker room in pennsylvania for a strong second half? [cheers] >> while pressure is mounting on romney's rivals to clear the way, the republican national committee

hoy las elecciones primarias se transladaron a maryland, washington d.c. y wisconsin....a casi dos horas para que cierren las urnas, claudia uceda nos cuenta si hubo participacion hispana... es la primera vez que juana vota como ciudadana estadounidense.... con mucho entusiasmo y cierta cautela con el ingles, ella cuentapor quien voto... "rommey, mitt romney? aja..." y como no quiso equivocarse, conto con la ayuda de su pequena de 9 anos "que dice en ingles. ella no entiende nada. yo le he dicho en espanol para que entienda mas..." en washington y maryland, las elecciones primarias se vivieron con tranquilidad y se noto la ausencia de votantes latinos... analistas politicos anticipan que en ambos lugares, el candidato favorito es el ex gobernador de massachusetts mitt rommey "mromney ganador, primero porque los otros candidatos no hicieron mucha campana , no hicieron campana en esta area sino se centraron solo en wisconsin.." "y la victoria de mitt romney es casi mas que segura, tanto asi que en la boleta para votar no aparece sus contrincantes rick santorum ..." el dia d

he swept last night's republican primaries winning wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c.r romney now has more than half the number of delegates needed to clinch the republican presidential nomination. >> despite being close to 400 delegates behind, rick santorum said he's not dropping out. >> reporter: it's a sweep for mitt romney. he has won the primaries in wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. >> we won them all. >> reporter: he now has more than half the delegates needed to secure the republican presidential nomination. romney told supporters president obama is out of touch saying the president isn't taking responsibility for job losses, government debt, and rapidly rising gas prices. >> when you drive home tonight and you stop by the gas station, just take a look at the prices and then ask yourself four more years of that? >> reporter: rick santorum wasn't even on the ballot here in washington. he chose to make his stand against romney in wisconsin where even a majority of his supporters said they expect romney to be the nominee. santorum held a primary night part

they are closing in maryland and washington, d.c. as we speak.oughout the night here on msnbc starting right now on "the ed show" coming up.

they are closing in maryland and washington, d.c. as we

maryland, washington, d.c., and wisconsin. 92 delegates up for grabs. is tonight the night mitt romney consolidates this all about the nomination? he could have more than half of the delegates locked up. we begin with some breaking news. multiple severe tornadoes touch down in the dallas-ft. worth area, sending trucks flying through the air, obliterating homes. hundreds of flights canceled. live video of the tornadoes on the path of destruction, captivated television and online audiences. carl parker of the weather channel joins us with details. good evening, carl. >> good evening to you. things are looking better in the dallas area, that's for sure. drier air working in, will bring down the severe weather threat. let's take a look where watches are severe thunderstorm watch areas, extend to the east. and a tornado watch area in the northeast part of the state. you notice that it bisects dallas. still a threat in the dallas area. southeast side of town, but definitely coming down. tornado threat primarily in the northeast part of texas. farther southwar

. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, anand washington d.c. >> this week on "inside washington," romney racks up 3 more. now it is all about obama. >> we just got to get him out of office. >> the president attacks the ryan budget and mitt romne for backing it. >> he even called it marvelous. >> the president also takes on the supreme court. >> i am confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overtuing aaw that was passed by a strong majority of democratically elected congress. >> who will mitt rney choose as a running mate? >> it doesn't matter if that person has national level experience. they areoing to get clobbereded by the lamestream media who does notike the conservative message. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> it turns out aftfter all the commentary, it romney was inevitable afterer all, everything else was just noise. after this week's trifecta up in wisconsin, maryland, and washington d.c., it is all but in the back fomitt romomney. romney was never cfortable trashing fellow republicans

the victory by larger margins in maryland and washington, d.c. does this mean game over for the other candidates? our correspondent, steve kingston, reports from washington. >> wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c., we won them all. >> a hat trick of victories for a man who now looks and acts like the nominee. mathematically, hit romney is not there yet, but he looked past his republican rivals to a november showdown with barack obama. >> there is a basic choice that we're going to face. the president has pledged to transform america, and he spent the last four years laying the foundation for a new government-centered society. i will spend the next four years rebuilding the foundation of an opportunity society led by free people and free enterprises. >> it's now extremely unlikely that any of the other candidates will reach the 1,100 delegates needed to secure the nomination. but in his home state of pennsylvania, which votes next, second-placed rick santorum sounded a note of defiance. >> ladies and gentlemen, pennsylvania and half the other

he easily won tonight's primaries in maryland washington d.c. in wisconsin there really is tonight is running now has more than half of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination in fact he's hardly talking about rick santorum anymore he has another opponent in mind. >>> when you drive, it's a stop by the gas station just take a look at the prices and ask yourself or more years of that? >>> so now what precentor armies refusing to admit defeat and is counting on winning his home state of pennsylvania on april 24th it. but the news poll shows how to dallas in this process have been selected and his ready to charge up the locker room in pennsylvania for a strong second half. >>> but for santa art center are not just doesn't look that good idea shines when romney is well ahead in the race against 1144 delegates. for his part tonight president obama's tried to shame republicans are using one of their icons against them. he said with a republican party so far to the right these days not even ronald reagan to win this nomination. and about that. >>

can he seal the deal on wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c., tonight?r us. >>> will rick santorum push on to p.a.? >>> and game change in the morning? how did sarah palin do as a "today" show co-host? we'll have that. kris? >> thank you so much, thomas. >>> we want you to know we just got this statement. it came from the office of the former vice president dick cheney and says that he has been released from the hospital ten days after having heart transplant surgery. he thanked his doctors. he thanked his staff, and he thanked the unknown donor who gave him that heart. again, former vice president dick cheney has been released from the hospital with a new heart. that's going to do it for me. i'm kris jansing. tomorrow on jansing and company, the dnc chair. rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male annou

he easily won tonight's primaries in maryland washington d.c.in but the real this tonight is from the now has more than half of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination in fact he is talking it hard to top the record santorum anymore. we drive homan avenue stock by a gas station just take a look at the prices in the pastures of former years of that? >>> is refusing to admit says she's counting on hoping on winning his home state of pennsylvania but the newest polls show and this is supported in their. >>> did not reach support for tough time have the delegates in this process have been its is ready to charge of the locker room? >>> after tonight when romney is well ahead in the race to get the 1144 delegates. for his part tonight president though, he said with a republican party so far to the right these days that even ronald reagan did win this nomination. think about that, ronald reagan who i recall is not accused of being a tax then socialist understood it repeatedly that's when the deficit started to get out of control he would have to

where mitt romney pretty much ran the table last night, winning primaries in wisconsin, maryland, washington, d.c., and effectively, effectively wrapping up the gop nomination in the process. and romney wasted no time in going into general election mode and going after the president today, accusing him of hiding his real agenda. >> the president came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making. and criticized policies no one is proposing. it's one of his favorite strategies, setting up strawmen to distract us from his record. >> mitt romney, which brings us to our political director, chuck todd, with us from our d.c. newsroom. what to make of all this? >> there's going to be no pause in the campaign. we know the obama campaign again today came out with a web video attacking romney. they already had a tv ad up earlier this week doing it. we heard the president yesterday. that's their strategy. they're trying to tie mitt romney to the negatives of the republican party as a whole. what we heard from romney, he wants to make it a referendum on president obama the person. that's the c

. >> and thank you to wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. >> reporter: it's a clean sweep for mitt romney, clear victorieses in all three primaries, including wisconsin, where he beat rick santorum by seven points. but romney's no longer focused on his p republican k3e it tigs. >> years of flying around in air force one surrounded by adoring staff of true believers telling you that you're great, it's enough to make you think that you might become a little out of touch. >> with a 16 point lead in the latest gallup poll, today he courts news pain erd it tors. connecticut, delaware, new york, rhode island and pennsylvania. >> the clock starts tonight. we've got three weeks to go out here in pennsylvania. and win this state and after winning this state, the field looks a little different in may. >> reporter: santorum who goes bowling again today isn't so sure this is over. but romney's delegates are mounting. he has 561, 203 for santorum and 137 for gingrich. gingrich released a statement last night despite the delegate count, he still says he's in this all the way to the republican co

. >> romney hocked up victories in maryland, washington, d.c.nd took the largest prize of the evening, heavily-contested wisconsin. he scheduled to speak tomorrow before he campaigns in rick santorum's turf of pennsylvania. >>> a move of layoffs could come tomorrow. sources close to the website says that yahoo! plans to lay off as many as 2,000 employees some time in the next two days. most likely it will happen tomorrow. the layoffs are just the tip of the iceberg for yahoo! leadership is looking for other places that it cut costs, as well. >>> good evening. i'm jeff ranieri. this system starts to roll across san francisco. we're tracking showers. also sierra snow. we'll let you know how low the numbers will go in the seven-day forecast. >>> what's with the delay. new details on when a hot spot in the south bay will open its doors. >>> get in shape by popping a bill? a new kiss discovery. >>> she went to the store to buy a lottery ticket. she has no idea how lucky she really was. ♪ beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you no

washington, d.c. when they begin. we've got one day, three big primaries here to tell you what is on the line cnn political director mark preston. great to see you. wisconsin, marylandc., so my old stomping ground there. what is the big -- it's a big night for romney. >> it is a big night. you know something, every one of these primaries has been a big night because it's the inevitability factor. will mitt romney lock up the nomination. he doesn't have the delegates to do so but he has the momentum, he has the republican party standing behind him. and in some ways he has the news media who seem to want to wrap up this race for the republican presidential nomination. >> some. not us of course. >> we get to see this go on and on. there have been upsets before. >> let's lay it out. rick santorum is not on the ballot in d.c. mitt romney is going to win that. in maryland, where a lot of republicans tend to be more centrist, they work for the government, for contractors, surrounding the metropolitan d.c. area, mitt romney is going to get a bulk of those. rick santorum is putting his eggs in the basket in wisconsin hoping his blue collar values will trump the fact that mit

. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, washington, d.c. >> it is a clean sweep for mitt romney, clear victories in all three primaries including wisconsin where he beat santorum by seven points. romney is no longer focused on his republican competition. >> years of flying around an air force one, surrounded by an adoring staff, telling you you are great and you are doing a great job, it is enough to make you think you might become a little out of touch. >> with a 16-point lead in the latest poll today romney courts newspaper editors preparing for the next round of primaries, connecticut, delaware, new york, rhode island, and santorum's home state, pennsylvania. >> the clock starts tonight. we have three weeks to go out here in pennsylvania. and win this state and after win thing state, the field looks a little different in may. >> santorum who goes bowling again today is not so sure this is over. but romney's delegates are mounting. 561. gingrich released a statement last night despite the delegate count he still says he's in this all the way to the republican convention in tampa. wha

. >> mitt romney pretty much ran the table winning primaries in wisconsin, maryland, washington d.c.nd effectively wrapping up the g.o.p. nomination in the process. fresh off that three-state primary victory, republican front runner mitt romney seems unstoppable. talking less about his republican opponents and more about the president. and might say the president is returning the favor, jim. he's referring to mitt romney directly by name in what, well, kind of an unusual tact for a president at this point in the campaign. >> unless you remember the 1996 clinton campaign, bombing bob dole about the same time 16 years ago. again, what, obama administration doesn't really plan on running on a government record of accomplishment. and friday's washington post headline, media playing, what, romney uses cloak to hide wealth. and a long complicated story about romney's money and this is going to be the theme for the next seven months is not only is romney out of touch, but hiding his assets. >> are the media helping that narrative that the president is trying to paint? >> well, i think that

wisconsin, washington, d.c., and maryland. we continue in the studio tonight with governor palin who is with us. what do you think about people that suggest that all right, this candidate should get out at this time? or senator santorum, it appears inevitable, it's mitt romney? what do you say to that? >> i will not be one of those people that says any of them needs to get out. they know what their resources are. they know what they have to offer. and you know, more power to them for being in that arena, be willing to duke it out in the arena of ideas. and as i said all along, competition makes all of them better. so it's good. it's fine. i do understand e, though, why people are starting to say at this point the fiscal and human resources that can be conserved most efficiently, we need to start considering how we will start using those to stay focused on the main thing. what is the main thing? it's replacing barack obama. so i understand kind of both sides of the issue. >> sean: okay. do you feel it's pretty inevitable at thi

. >> today's other primaries, maryland, washington, d.c., likely mark the beginning of what will be a tough month for senator santorum. it moves to less conservative territory. that makes wisconsin all the more important for santorum who is up with a new ad attacking two rivals at the same time. >> what if i told you this man's big government mandate in health care included $50 abortions and killed thousands of jobs. would you ever vote for him? what if i told you he supported radical environmental job-killing cap and trade. and dramatically raised taxes and stuck taxpayers with a $1 billion shortfall. one more thing. what if i told you the man i'm talking about isn't him. it's him. >> that's an ad paid for by santorum for president as the race pushes forward. mitt romney's wife ann is becoming a leading voice in the campaign. yesterday she responded to criticism surrounding some of the candidates' more awkward moments on the trail. >> sometimes he appears stiff. do you have to fight back some -- like my husband isn't stiff, okay? >> well, you know, i guess we better unzip him and let

maryland. washington, d.c. because santorum is not even on the ballot there. then basically the republic party shifts into anti-obama mode. real quick on scott walker. does he survive? >> i think he has a good chance to survive. russ feingold declined to jump in this race quite a while ago because it's tough ground to fight on. property taxes taxes in wisconsn have stayed level or gone down in some cases because of the package he put through. democrats have got to get through a primary and they are going to nominate folks one who lost to walker by five points last time around and walker has got plenty of money. going to be up against the unions who have plenty of money. famous wisconsinites may be sick of this whole thing. silent majority who says listen -- >> bill: you are going to predict that walker is going to make it and you are going to predict that walker is going to -- >> -- i'm not sure. >> bill: you are wishy washy. >> you know what? i don't think the field is set yet. >> it's going to be tight. >> it's going to be very tight. >> i can't mock william

mitt romney is expected to do well here in washington d.c. and maryland. rick santorum did not campaign hard in either contest and his name is not even in the ballot in washington d.c.. the former senator is trailing in the delegate count and has less money in the bank. but he is brushing aside calls for him to drop out of the race. >> i think it would be an energizing thing for a party, attended it emerges coupon is not the blessed candidate of the republican establishment. >> he will watch the returns from his home state of pennsylvania. new poll numbers there have some six. ahead of mitt romney. he will need to hold onto them for three more weeks to capture the must win state. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. >> we will be following the results on an on-line, stay with cbs 5 and cbssf.com for continuing campaign 2012 coverage. >> california schools chief calling on csu to freeze compensations for their top administrators. the superintendent of public instruction sent a letter out yesterday to the csu chancellor of the board of trustees criticiz

maryland, washington d.c. and wisconsin, he won them all. romney kept the same strategy, spending a lot of money on television ads and then second rolling out high profile endorsements. rick santorum isn't ready to concede just yet. he is taking his campaign on his home state of pennsylvania. their primary, by the way, is in three weeks. >>> used to protect the president and now he wants to serve the people as a senator and he's going to run against senator ben carden. gino won the primary race last night and he won pretty big against richard douglas. it was a big field of republicans, 10 in all wanted the chance to square off against senator ben carden in november. >> i'm a real guy. i'm a normal middle class guy from saverna park who got fed up with the system and gave a few key speeches that attracted some really loyal followers. >> he said he's tired of all the speeches, now he's ready for action. be sure to stay tuned to abc 2 news and "good morning maryland," we'll have democracy 2012 coverage. >>> in other news, students in kent count

polls about to close in both maryland and in washington, d.c.news we're following, we're following developments after a string of tornados cut through the dallas area. yes, look at this. those are tractor-trailers being tossed around like little toys. there's extensive damage in the dallas-ft. worth metro flex area tonight. we'll go to ed lavandera shortly who's on the ground in one of the hardest-hit locations. we begin, though, with primary coverage. just seconds to go until the polls go in both maryland and washington, d.c. we're watching closely both of

tracie potts has the latest in the report from washington. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.clip for mitt romney. but rabin is no longer focused on his republican competition -- but romney is no longer focused. >> telling you you're doing a great job. it is enough to make it think you are becoming out of touch. >> mitt romney is preparing for its next round of primaries. >> the clock starts tonight. we have three weeks in pennsylvania. and when the state -- and win this state. after winning the state, the field looks different in may. >> rick santorum is not so sure this is over. mitt romney's delegates are mounting. newt gingrich released a statement last night. he still says he is in this until the republican convention in tampa. ron paul is still campaigning. he has 16 events scheduled over the next month and a half. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> maryland voters also cast voters for local primary elections on tuesday. ben cardin won. john dulaney won. he will face roscoe bartlett for the sixth district house seat in november. >> there were enough local primaries to fill

maryland. washington, d.c. because santorum is not even on the ballot there. then basically the republic party shifts into anti-obama mode. real quick on scott walker. does he survive? >> i think he has a good chance to survive. russ feingold declined to jump in this race quite a while ago because it's tough ground to fight on. property taxes taxes in wisconsn have stayed level or gone down in some cases because of the package he put through. democrats have got to get through a primary and they are going to nominate folks one who lost to walker by five points last time around and walker has got plenty of money. going to be up against the unions who have plenty of money. famous wisconsinites may be sick of this whole thing. silent majority who says listen -- >> bill: you are going to predict that walker is going to make it and you are going to predict that walker is going to -- >> -- i'm not sure. >> bill: you are wishy washy. >> you know what? i don't think the field is set yet. >> it's going to be tight. >> it's going to be very tight. >> i can't mock william

mitt romney is looking to pull off a sweep in today's primaries in wisconsin, maryland and here in washington, d.c gop front rupper is ahead in the polls in both maryland and the district and he's looking to extend his delegate lead. >> rick santorum says it's possible he could pull off an upset in ww but he insists -- wisconsin but he insists no matter what he's not dropping out of the race for the republican nomination. it shows mitt romney leading rick santorum by eight points in wisconsin. yesterday the former massachusetts governor enlisted the help of former congressman paul ryan. >> if we can get a good vote out of wisconsin and we can go into this race and win this. >> romney is counting on a clean sweep today to help bring him closer to clinching the nomination. newt gingrich spent his monday campaigning in frederick, maryland. polls show beginning vip a distant -- gingrich is a distant third. >>> voters should clean house on the city council and start with today's democratic primary. the newspaper says incumbents berry, orange and alexander should be defeated. >> bruce johnson has been t