eastern edge of ohio near home state of pennsylvania. me back in ohio also believe that santorum can do very well here along the western edge toward indiana. mitt romney expects to do well in cuyahoga county. that's cleveland. franklin county, which is columbus. hamilton county which is cincinnati. and interstate 71 connects all three of these major cities in ohio. we will see whether or not the map fills in that way. we do expect these colors to change moment tearily as the information starts to trickle in from various counties here. we will restate the board here and give you a better idea right now about what we are seeing about results in other states. you made a call in vermont, shepard. you made a call in virginia. down here in the state of virginia, making a call on gingrich. it starts to trickle in now. only 2% of the vote in right now and gingrich's home state. what's coming up next? the poll closings on the board at 8:00. you are about 22 minutes away. three states will clock in then. the home state for romney in massachusetts w

the state of ohio here. re cannot be understated i want to tablet viewers that mitt romney's political director called ohio a gif fight in a phone booth and said in the romney camp, it is a must win for santorum, suggesting it will be very hard for rick santorum to get money and momentum, to continue on for much longer if he doesn't win ohio. look at the number there is. it is way too close to call. that's too close to call -- way too close to call, according to the decision desk. those are my words, but that's essentially what they were telling me. bill has been tracking the billboard. bill, why can't we come close? >> it's a browns/bengals game. this is like waaaay. 81% reporting, santorum with a 1.-point lead, 38-37%. you can look at the state based on the country of ohio, the countryside of ohio and the city and the big-city votes here. this is franklin county, capitol city, columbus located here. have you a little more than half the vote in. this is where mitt romney really wanted to run up the score. he

of super tuesday. i know you are there in ohio on the ground and you are going to give us the pulse of what's happening in ohio. >> it's so interesting to hear you talk about the final news story that the candidates want to impress upon the voters. rick santorum is very much about manufacturing. he's gotten away from sort of the social debate and instead he has been talking up and down the state about returning this par part of the midwest as the rust belt as he scribes it the steel belt suggesting he is the candidate that can revise the economy and have manufacturing. mitt romney, this was a day he went not so much at rick santorum and tried to may make the cases i can take on president obama and beat him on the following issue. there was some of the surrogates, and on friday, you mentioned the difficulty organizationwise that rick santorum had that he wasn't prepared to essentially field delegate slates. there may be as many as 18 of the 66 delegates that he won't be able to get even if he wins them because he didn't follow the proper procedures. so he still has today even from the romney surrogate s

ohio. this is very close. by our estimate, at least right now, mitt romney slightly ahead of santorum in ohio. what? it's not over with yet. much more of the coverage right after this. [ 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. ♪ >>> because you're a cnn viewer, you know this. you know that mitt romney right now is slightly ahead of rick santorum in ohio. we have the numbers no one else has these numbers. it's a knockdown, dragout fight in ohio between santorum and romney. >> still up for grabs, which candidate is going to add to his win column tonight? find out. >> romney scoring wins in vermont, virginia, massachusetts. >> we're going to take your vote and take that victory all the way to

look at the margin of victory for mitt romney in ohio. with newt gingrich of the race, they would have won ohio. looking back to michigan look at that margin of victory in michigan. they would have won michigan. they also point out look at the map in terms of their victories tonight. yes, they won in the south. in tennessee. yes, they won out west in oklahoma, but they won out in north dakota. mitt romney played very heavily for north dakota. made a stop in just the last week up there. was sending his son josh romney up there a couple of times over the last week or so. so they feel like they have mitt romney on the ropes right now. you heard rick santorum earlier in the night going after mitt romney on healthcare reform and the individual plan date. they're going after that over and over again. in the campaign stops coming up in kansas, mississippi and alabama. >> a week from today. let's go over to peter hamby. you have spent a lot of time in the south looking at these various races. does romney have a significant opportunity in either mi

ohio. what are you seeing? >> ravening, a lot of interesting information and you were talking with chris about ohio will matter tonight t is interesting how many people made their minds up in the last few days. we have talked a lot about momentum this year, we have seen momentum regarding mitt romney. let's look at the numbers. more than a quarter of ohio voters, take a look, rachel, 27%, made their minds up in the last few days. i want you to look when we break the numbers down, people that made their minds up in the last few days, mitt romney has an 11-point advantage over rick santorum. santorum there at 34%. that is an interesting dynamic there we want to take a look at some other numbers there perhaps give us more insight into what you were talking about. who understands the average american? santorum, 32%. i told you earlier in the day, the average or median income in ohio is around $40,000. that is below the national average or median that we are talking about here. they feel that santorum feels their pain when it comes to re

in this part of ohio it's rural. it's farm country. evangelical voters. t locked into santorum's message throughout the campaign. if you went down further here this, is the ohio river. these are river counties. just pick one here, this is add wrams county down here against the river and with kentucky. you don't find a lot of votes in adams county but this area is extremely poor, issue was educational system for decades. these voters you find, are checking in for rick santorum, 14 point edge in adams county. if you take that number spread it apart to southern, eastern part of the state, you can find why santorum is doing well throughout the night here. and coming back here in just a moment, to ohio. another thing i wanted to point out here, former senator he has supported romney about a month ago changing his vote, changed his support to rick santorum in the last few weeks. and what they've been telling people throughout the evening is that he expected santorum to do really west in western ohio. take a look what happened. santorum doing exceptionally well.

this all in the state of ohio. relidgeth, an important factor in tennessee's primaries where 43% said it mattered a great deal that the candidate shared their beliefs. those voters went to rick santorum by a margin of 3-1. santorum's win in tennessee was critical, helping to offset romney's charge. it was a convincing win by santorum in tennessee, a state that romney thought he might be able to win. santorum winning tennessee by nine points. joining us on the phone, msnbc and "time" magazine senior political analyst mark halperin. he's the co-author of the book "game change." good morning. >> only reason i've agreed to join you, you share my beliefs and that's important to me. >> there you go. 68% of ohio voters said the same thing. mitt romney gets more than delegates and yet most analysts, pundits are saying you hear a lot of asterisks. of course he won massachusetts and vermont, that's his territory. he was one of only two people on the ballot in virginia, idaho, the second most mormons in all of the country. can

what about the state of ohio? is is a little better for governor romney. 47% of republicans in ohio say his positions are just about right. but still, more than a third, 37%, say not conservative enough. let's move on to the state of tennessee, another big battle ground tonight. we know here a dead heat with senator santorum in the final days, nearly half of those voting in the republican presidential primary today says mitt romney's position on the issues not conservative enough. we'll continue to look at this data throughout the night not only to see who's winning in the key states and why but what it might tell us about the race going forward. another candidate we haven't mentioned much yet ron paul. he's in north dakota tonight channelling much of his energy into the caucus state. i spoke with him earlier during a stop in idaho. >> congressman, good to see you on this important day. ten states voting today. yet to have a ron paul victory. we thought it might come in maine, close but not a victory. we thought it

you look at ohio, some of the best to worse for the ohio economy. unemployment rate at 10.6% at the peak. it is now only 7.9%, one of the best improved and a big part of the story. >> john king, as we count down to the next poll closings, also keeping close watch on the battle for ohio. john. >> let's look at what we're waiting for the next hour. two very important states. the state of tennessee. one thing we're looking for, senator santorum needs to win the state of tennessee tonight. yes, 71% are you a white evangelical born again christian and hthat has been a source of strength. with 10 states voting across the country, different states have different electorates, evangelicals in times square, 72% in oklahoma say they're born again evangelical, 72% in tennessee and oklahoma and watch if they go for senator santorum. battleground ohio. interesting question. your opinion of the tea party. nearly 6 in 10 say they supported the tea party as they voted in ohio. how did they break down with the candidates? she doesn't want to work at the moment. i want

quite a champion of the ohio state university. pplause] i am excited by the response by the number of people here by your enthusiasm and passion. before i offer my remarks, i want to think about those that are hurting today. with tornadoes that have touched down across this great land, we have had people lose everything they own. we have had people lose their lives and their loved ones. so in respect for those who have great sorrow today, i wonder if we might take a moment to collect our thoughts, a moment of silence, and offer a word of prayer in our own ways to ask our father in heaven to bless those that are troubled and sorrowful today. thank you so much. i am it proud to be in this place. i do not know if i can pronounced it right. [unintelligible] is the owner and operator. did i get close enough? the great thrill i have of going around the country meeting americans who have done extraordinary and ordinary things. it makes you come away with a greater confidence in the future of this country. he came to this country as a youn

you look at ohio, some of the best to worse for the ohio economy. unemployment rate at 10.6% at the peak. it is now only 7.9%, one of the best improved and a big part of the story. >> john king, as we count down to the next poll closings, also keeping close watch on the battle for ohio. john. >> let's look at what we're waiting for the next hour. two very important states. the state of tennessee. one thing we're looking for, senator santorum needs to win the state of tennessee tonight. yes, 71% are you a white evangelical born again christian and hthat has been a source of strength. with 10 states voting across the country, different states have different electorates, evangelicals in times square, 72% in oklahoma say they're born again evangelical, 72% in tennessee and oklahoma and watch if they go for senator santorum. battleground ohio. interesting question. your opinion of the tea party. nearly 6 in 10 say they supported the tea party as they voted in ohio. how did they break down with the candidates? she doesn't want to work at the moment. i want

edge at 6 rolls on  >> campaign trail now, super tuesday contest, ohio represents a microcosm of america. >> it is often said that for a glimpse into the way the political winds are blowing you don't need to look much further than ohio with its demographic make up of small towns, big cities, subwe shalls, ohio is a microcosm of america, not to mention a key presidential battleground state. >>> you think of almost every group in the republican party, they are represented well here, tea party, kind of a tradition of moderate republicanism, so forth and so on. >> with its 66 delegates ohio, considered the biggest prize of super tuesday, though they don't readily admit it for romney and santorum, locked in a fierce battle the outcome of ohio could make or break their campaign. >> people of ohio you all know this is the biggest prize on super tuesday >> i need your vote get out and vote as many times as they let you. >> romney has spent the past few days playing up his business experience in ohio where unemployment is lower than the national average but still significant. he is also h

of jackson. population about 6,000. this is south central ohio. blished in 1817, named for andrew jackson. a hero of the 1812 war and eventually the president. when you go through ohio, you get a midwestern feel for much of the state. here in the southern part, you definitely have an appalachian spirit. no surprise on the stump, gingrich refers to andrew jackson frequentenly. not because he is the namesake of the city, but because he is remembered throughout the south and appalachia as a president with a defiant spirit and hos stillty to central -- hostility to centralized power in washington. for many in this area, many evangelical protestants, gingrich's pitch may be selling. as you look at city hall, the memorial building, jaricson is in the mid -- jackson is in the middle of three congressional districts. this may be where newt gingrich has the best chance to pick up delegates out of ohio on tuesday. we'll be right back. well, online dating services can get kind of expensive. so to save money, i've found a new way to get my profile out there. c

a lot of people are working in ohio today because of what the president did in toledo, cleveland, andngstown. also, keith, as you know, we had this anti-worker legislation introduced in ohio which romney supported, and ohioans turned it back by massive numbers, and we're not going to forget that. we may not have had a permanent realignment in ohio, but i can tell you that ohio is a very different state than it was a year and a haling a and we've got teachers and police officers and firefighters fired up because they know who's on their side and neither romney nor santorum are on the side of working people and ohioans know that. >> do you think that the idea that the sort of establishment republican candidate, room any, in a vote in ohio in which 40% of the republicans voted today said electability in the presidential election came first in terms of their priorities and the issue that met the most of them was by a margin of 50% was the economy and 30% said the budget deficit. these are people who would presumably looking for a solution that would be represented by the guy who was the m

still defined by the parishes of the church. and ohio is swing voters, lots of them. and that means ohio is a bad place to pander and pivot because once the primaries are over, you still have to come back to ohio. you can't pivot too sharply. this tuesday mitt romney has to win. if he is going to retain the last shred of inevitability he has lests. for romney, ohio is the superest of all super tuesday states. and ohio is pretty much up for grabs with only four points separating romney and rick santorum in the quinnipiac poll released on friday. so if you were a candidate like romney, what do you do with a problem like ohio? do you talk about the economy and try to argue that the recovery isn't really much of a recovery, that, yeah, things are better but not as good as they should be? or maybe you try to revive a culture war, one that just might have worked eight years ago. remember in 2004 had when ballot initiatives to boon same-sex marriage in states including ohio were supposed to drive up conservative turnout. the former manager of g

in the state of ohio and is now running for a seat in the ohio house of representatives. i love the story. congressman, you first. great to have you with us tonight. is this going to connect with ohio voters, how much of an impact do you think vice president biden had today? >> well, it's huge. it just reminds everybody of how huge the auto rescue package was, it reminds everybody where we were and where we are now when one of every eight jobs in the state of ohio is related to the auto industry, the supply chain, the local tax base, huge cuts all across the state. can you imagine what communities would be like if they didn't have the auto workers and their supply chains paying taxes in ohio, and biden reminds everybody of that. >> and tim, what do you think of the guy across the aisle, rick crawford, are the republicans changing their policies a little bit? >> well, i think he's a dead man walking in a republican primary is what i think. they just can't get away with that over there. i have republican friends here in ohio who say, hey, why wouldn't you tax somebody that's

both of them from ohio. long time cleveland congressman dennis kucinich lost a democratic showdown made necessary by a newly redrawn district map. he lost to 15 turn congresswoman marcy kaptur of toledo. she will face the man known as joe, the plumber. samuel joe wurzelbacher claimed his victory in 2008 after his working class concerns to taxes to then candidate barack obama. >>> here is a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. >>> a dramatic end to a police chase in dallas. state troopers used so-called pit maneuver to bump the car of a driver who had led them on a pursuit for more than half an hour. the car spun around on a bridge along interstate 30 before finally coming to a stop. the suspect had no warrants and wouldn't say why he refused to pull over. >>> a pair of police officers in oregon have been honored as heroes after saving a man from a burning car. they not only battled extreme heat and flames, they also had trouble convincing the victims to allow them to help. the

ohio. no republican candidate in the history of our nation has ever won the presidency without winning ohio. in the back of my mind, what it was unusual, i thought he was may be moving to the center knowing that republicans are struggling with women voters, trying to make a distinction between himself and rick santorum. we moved on and finished the interview. my immediate take on that was we have a pivot here. we have governor romney looking ahead to november rather than the primary, trying to distance himself on this issue. that is how i interpreted it. as it turned out, the governor said when the information got out that he did not understand the question. of course, he supported the -- supported the blunt a minute. i take the question was clear. bells should have been going off. the governor said he misunderstood it. we take him at his word and we move on. ultimately the voters in ohio what to make a determination. >host: our goal is to talk to our guest about what happens on super tuesday. here is your chance to ask questions about the battleground state of ohio. as it stands, which can

>> i hope that i get the support of people here in ohio tomorrow. and the other states across the country. i believe if i do i can get the nomination. >> if the conservative base of the republican party is still longing for someone other than mitt romney to get the nomination, tonight is their chance to say so. >> governor romney gets out there and four, five, six to one you know, it is going to take a toll and that's what's happened in pretty much all the states. that's why you know, i keep looking at this as a game of survival. >> rick santorum staking his hopes on ohio and tennessee. newt gingrich saying it is do or die time in his home state of georgia. >> we have really worked very hard to make sure we can carry georgia and all the polls now indicate we will carry georgia. >> the front runner, mitt romney, trying to close the deal tonight against his rival bus he is picking up baggage along wait that could hurt him long term. >> what does it say about the college coed, susan fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says t

that's your 5@5:00. >>> back in super tuesday in the state of ohio. fox news exit polls showing romney's biggest group of supporters women. bau western kind -- but a certa kind of woman. >> in the race to the white house all women are important. that was made evident in 2008. women have 10 million more votes than men. in a key state of ohio it seemed women flocked to mitt romney the massachusetts governor about 39 percent of the overall women's vote. 42 percent of the working women vote. that's according to the fox news exit polls. also appesantorum appeared to married women. while women are concerned about political and economic issues the social issue took on increasing importance against the backdrop of controversial comments by radio talk show host rush limbaugh. those comments hurt santorum a devout catholic a stern conservative. he's looking to praichange that praising the strong women in his life. it comes down to obama verses romney. polls show obama winning 55 percent of the women's vote verses romney 37. >>> 12 minutes after the hour now. it

ohio. it's the biggest surprise, kind of. really the biggest psychological prize in the super tuesday conte contest. even before mitt romney won ohio, smiling, glad handing, this guy had already set his sights down the road to the nomination. >> i'm not going to let you down. i'm going to get this nomination. tonight we're doing some counting. we're counting up the delegates for the convention, and it looks good. and we're counting down the days until november, and that looks better. >> as for rick santorum, win or lose ohio, he didn't change his pitch as the outspent underdog overcoming the odds. >> i'm excited to win the race. i'm outspent 12-to-1, and it's great to be in the race. >> the question now becomes where do romney and santorum go from here? and the other two guys way, way back in line. mark preston is live in atlanta. mark preston, the fact you are in atlanta this morning is a problem because i brewed a triple espresso for you because of your very long night, and i'm holding it here for you in new york. so we'll j

before we get the results from that of ohio race. it is still very close between mitt romney and his rival rick santorum. we have had a bunch of other results coming in. i am joined in the studio -- are we closer? we are, aren't we? >> we have gotten a little bit closer. mitt romney fortunes have improved in ohio. we have talked a lot about who has won each state. it is important to step back and remind viewers that is about winning delegates. mitt romney will end the night the delegates leader. he will probably win a majority of the delegates. delicate matter is very complicated in these races. -- math is very complicated in these races. it is impossible for santorum or gingrich to get a majority of the delegates after tonight. they could stay in the race and they could win delegates here and there and they could prevent mitt romney from getting a majority, but as of tomorrow, but he will start seeing is a lot of angst from republicans who are asking why mitt romney could not win over this group or not. >> republican leaders say list

by our estimate, romney slightly ahead of santorum in ohio, but still, plenty of time for stuff to happen. we're watching ohio very, very closely. you can see how close it is right there, by our estimate, once again, mitt romney slightly ahead of rick santorum. let's take a look at idaho right now. we have not projected a winner in idaho even though romney is way ahead of everybody else with 12% of the vote in. romney with 78%, 11% for ron paul, 8% for rick santorum, 3% for newt gingrich. let's go to john king and talk ability ohio. the numbers show santorum slightly ahead, but for viewers just tuning in, we say this, and we say it boldly, and we say it exclusively. romney is really slightly ahead of rick santorum. >> by about 3,000 votes by our count because we're going to show you the numbers here. this is the official count, 78% from hamilton county shows romney with a big lead. we have from dana bash more updated numbers that get us overrateover a 80% where romney got a huge jump. you see a 10,000 edge in the county. we all know that he has a bigger edge by our hamilton county numbers

since one nine hundred ninety seven congressman dennis kucinich has represented the tenth district of ohio in the united states house of representatives so why then did he have to compete in a democratic primary in the ninth district of ohio this last tuesday it's because ohio lost two congressional seats the last census was taken in with the republicans in charge of redistricting they got rid of congressman because that is tenth district forcing him to run against another democrat congresswoman marcy kaptur and what was mostly heard ninth district unfortunately congressman because something has to stay in congress came up short on tuesday that means for the first time in fifteen years the people of ohio will not be represented by caught by dennis kucinich a true champion for the middle class and one of the strongest voices for peace around the world so what does losing one of its most progressive members mean for the democratic party and for america and where does congress and senate go next here to share some insights on those questions congressman dennis kucinich himself the representat

of the vote. romney leads in that county. another county. this is canton ohio and you have about 11% of the vote and there is rom neat leader there at five points. two of the three counties romney has the lead which may help some decide romney's lead is going to hold up. there is brown county east of cincinnati not a lot of votes down here, santorum winning that county by 20 points but there is 60% of the vote so those are the counties, over all, i just want to point this out here there is romney winning in this state. traditionally ohio is concerned down here in the southwest, and generally broad speaking here. and tends to be more democratic and here in the northeast. romney and there is franklin county romney winning there, again. and we pointed out romney's strategy rivals these numbers where there are big cities. and you did that. and dayton ohio as well, as a matter of fact in montgomery county leading romney to 12,000 votes and there is 96%. >> and coming back to ohio. >> and where is that map? >> where is sne. >> down at the reach. >> and north carolina

from the jaws of victory. ohio, tennessee, georgia, three states to watch today, but the pressure's on santorum tonight to prove he's still viable. romney may have a perception problem, but santorum has a math problem. we'll break it down. >>> and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu makes it clear to an american audience he's through with waiting on iran. president obama affirms he's got israel's back as we move a step closer to an armed conflict. it's super tuesday, march 6, 2012, this is "the daily rundown," i'm chuck todd. packed show. let's get to it. >>> ten states, five time zones stretching more than 4,500 miles cast ballots today. the closest americans get to a national primary. an 11th state, wyoming, elects delegates at county conventions. two battles tonight. a perception and delegate battle. we know who wins the delegate fight. mitt romney poised to walkway from tonight one step closer to the 1144 mark he needs to secure the nomination. the question, though, who will walkway from tonight's contest

conservatives and tea partyism, kind of a tradition of moderate republicanism, business republicanism, so forth, it's all here. >> reporter: with its 66 delegates ohio is considered the biggest prize of super tuesday. though they don't readily admit it, for mitt romney and rick santorum locked in a fierce battle here, the outcome of ohio could make or break their campaigns. >> the people of ohio, you all know this is the biggest prize on super tuesday. >> i need your vote, get out and vote as many times as they let you. [ laughter ] >> reporter: romney spent the past few days playing up his business experience in ohio where unemployment is lower than the national average but still significant. he's also hoping to convince voters that he's the most electable against president barack obama in the fall, an argument that resonates with republicans like melody sours. >> i've been going back and forth quite a bit. i was looking at rick santorum, but i think mitt romney has a better chance to win the presidency. >> reporter: still other ohio voters are not convinced, as in much of the country romney has struggled to win over conservatives who make up the p

mitt romney, these are his targets. 35-plus out of ohio. et that, win or lose. 20-plus out of georgia. 10-plus out of oklahoma. third place finish, could still get ten. close third. tennessee 15shgs-plus. wins it, close to 20. look at santorum's goals. 30-plus. losing still -- wins the state has to figure out, hope he can get 30. 20-plus out of georgia. the guy that finishes second in georgia, he'd like to be over romney. oklahoma's gat to be a big win. 25 or more. tennessee needs to be a win. 25 or more out of there. as for newt, three states where he's competitive. i told you, likely the goose egg in ohio. one delegate out of there, he could say it was a good night for him. he wants to be the second place guy in tennessee. wants to be the second place guy in oklahoma. he wants a decisive win in georgia. and those are the tart numbers for him. as i told you, ron paul, his focus, likely to get delegates. a county convention out of wyoming. idaho, alaska, who knows? that could be the type of state he could win and, of course, vermont, he's li

for the people of ohio and of america. >> can romney still build an enthusiastic following with this message? most americans believe the worst is over. republicans begged to differ. >> we have almost gotten used to this stagnation. we should not be. our country can do better. of course we think republican can do better in that role. >> workers here say they are less interested in the voting outcome. these people do not expect much help regardless of who is in washington. >> more on super tuesday later in "the journal peak of the debt crisis in europe has hit the german central bank. the newspaper report says bundesbank has fallen to levels under 1 billion euro. sources say the bank had put aside bond -- funding to cover risks. let's check in with our correspondent at the german stock exchange. what is disinformation -- what does this information say? >> if you look at all of these rescue programs, the bond buyback programs, whatever measures the ecb will take, of course the bundesbank bears risk. this is reminding investors because of the risks of the debt crisis. >> steffen, vw shar

of this week. but married women split between the two in ohio right now. our attention for a moment now massachusetts. this one is very interesting to take a look at as well. mitt romney of course won 73% of the vote. you just showed that number, megyn. won it very easily. how about this? when the voters tonight were asked about romney care in the home state of romney care, a huge topic of debate, some say that it's too close, of course to president obama's health care plan, 69% of the folks that voted for mitt romney in his home state believe that romney care went too far. overall 38% of the massachusetts voters said romney care was just about right as far as they were concerned. we have a lot more coming up. there we are. and we will. [ laughter ] lights come on we have an epiphany. >> bret: always exciting. back to washington now where "fox news sunday" anchor chris wallace is with his guest. people know who those guests are, chris. >> chris: they do, indeed. we are with our political insiders carl rove and joe trippi. we don't just sit here passively a