. >> yes, of course, i think more than anything obviously the maine caucuses even a lot more for the republican candidates but this is something of course that the campaign certainly always keeps a close eye on, wolf. >> brianna keilar at the white house, thanks very, very much. >>> we're only minutes away from getting the results out of the maine caucuses. stay with cnn cnn, our special coverage continues right now. >>> the president has been done by ronald reagan. >> too close to call. >> george w. bush reelected. >> barack obama president-elect of the united states. >> this is cnn. >> special cover annual of the maine caucuses, we're standing by to learn the results this hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we're counting down to the results in maine and we could learn those results within minutes. our reporters are standing by, shannon travis is over at gop headquarters in maine, where we will see the results announced. mary snow is over at ron paul's hea

now we are talking about the winner of the iowa caucuses, a winner in the minnesota caucuses, a winnener missouri and maybe a winner tonight in colorado? >> i think -- i just think it's enormous if he takes colorado. i really do. particularly because he did it all at the same time. he came back after newt gingrich fell again. mitt romney has had a tough couple of weeks, where the establishment that supports him is beginning to get nervous. the turnout discussion that we have had a few times, it can't be understated here that the republicans nationally and in these battleground states are very worried about the turnout, going into november, to press turnout, unenthusiastic republicans blowing off the primaries and not voting. if rick santorum can change the game in just one night and we really see increased turnout in arizona and michigan, 3 weeks from tonight. and then in -- in the upcoming states, in march, it's a different game. i think that, like i said before, i think, to show up for a straw poll with no delegates in missouri, 138,000 people, knowing that it wouldn't count. i think,

now we are talking about the winner of the iowa caucuses, a winner in the minnesota caucuses, a winnener missouri and maybe a winner tonight in colorado? >> i think -- i just think it's enormous if he takes colorado. i really do. particularly because he did it all at the same time. he came back after newt gingrich fell again. mitt romney has had a tough couple of weeks, where the establishment that supports him is beginning to get nervous. the turnout discussion that we have had a few times, it can't be understated here that the republicans nationally and in these battleground states are very worried about the turnout, going into november, to press turnout, unenthusiastic republicans blowing off the primaries and not voting. if rick santorum can change the game in just one night and we really see increased turnout in arizona and michigan, 3 weeks from tonight. and then in -- in the upcoming states, in march, it's a different game. i think that, like i said before, i think, to show up for a straw poll with no delegates in missouri, 138,000 people, knowing that it wouldn't count. i think,

now we are talking about the winner of the iowa caucuses, a winner in the minnesota caucuses, a winnener missouri and maybe a winner tonight in colorado? >> i think -- i just think it's enormous if he takes colorado. i really do. particularly because he did it all at the same time. he came back after newt gingrich fell again. mitt romney has had a tough couple of weeks, where the establishment that supports him is beginning to get nervous. the turnout discussion that we have had a few times, it can't be understated here that the republicans nationally and in these battleground states are very worried about the turnout, going into november, to press turnout, unenthusiastic republicans blowing off the primaries and not voting. if rick santorum can change the game in just one night and we really see increased turnout in arizona and michigan, 3 weeks from tonight. and then in -- in the upcoming states, in march, it's a different game. i think that, like i said before, i think, to show up for a straw poll with no delegates in missouri, 138,000 people, knowing that it wouldn't count. i think,

when the caucuses conclude. ople are still voting and meeting in caucus sites around the state or getting ready to go into caucus site. so we're choosing not to show you vote totals real time, that were tweeted from caucus sites, no matter how reliable those numbers are from people inside those sites. you could potentially influence people's votes at caucus sites that haven't started yet, let alone the occasional caucus site that might have a tv on inside as people are making their choices. the nevada g.o.p. was hoping that people would wait and we will, but we have been conducting entrance polls all day. and asking nevadaens on their way into the caucuses how do they intend to vote and why. now, voters could change their minds once inside. you see, these are caucuses and an important caveat. they could be persuaded by a speech, by a neighbor or a surrogate based on what happens inside each one of those sites and you have to consider that when you take a look at the polls. keep that in mind. nearly half of nevada

all of the caucuses are done. ed by one at a school, we saw a couple of precincts having their caucuses there. total of 26 precincts. a lot of enthusiasm for the one. talked a few minutes about the candidates and allowed people to come down before their own spots and talked about a secret ballot for presidential caucuses. they do it on a saturday as opposed to an evening on a tuesday. this is a secret ballot for presidential preferences as opposed to a voice vote. the economy and jobs issue number one we talked to a couple caucus goers the first a gingrich supporter the second romney supporter why they were choosing their particular candidates. here's what they said. >> i believe he always believes in the constitution. he believes in the founding fathers were christians and they are god believing. that whis what makes him a stro leader. >> i think i found my guy. i appreciate what the other candidates had to offer, but i think i stand by mitt. >> we are getting reports from the field that there may be lower turnout

few seconds. >>> welcome to our special coverage of the maine caucuses. washington. tonight, we are tracking two big events on the republican calendar and our political a-team is here. john king, gloria borger. dana bash and shannon travis is over at gop headquarters in portland, maine. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is over at cpac. the conservative political action conference that is under way here in washington. we will have the results of the maine caucuses as they come in. stand by for that. right now want to go to shannon travis over at republican headquarters in portland. set the scene for us. we are getting ready to see potentially a winner in maine tonight. >> reporter: that's right. let me first say i may have the toughest assignment of the night. i'm at a party sponsored by the maine republican party. i'll have my cameraman pan around here. some of the people are just filing in. we expect possibly a few 00 enjoying a little bit of food and drink. this is important business. they are going to be announcing the results right here.

welcome back to msnbc's continuing coverage of the nevada caucuses. sue is joining us from las vegas and has supported newt gingrich during this campaign. sue, we just had anthony terrell. what's his name? anthony terrell who is the imbed for dr. paul. is this battle for second place in your state critical? >> well, it's important, of course, to come in second in our state. we always knew it would be an up hill battle because the paul campaign has been going on here in nevada for five years. they were very well organized. we came in as a grassroots group and tried to do our best to get as many delegates as possible. >> you must know, sue, that here in the media, and i speak for the media generally, right, left, and center, newt gingrich is the most lively candidate we've come across in years, perhaps more so than president obama in terms of ideas and in terms of electricity as a candidate. sometimes he says things that make people hold their mouth in a gasp almost. other things he says are brilliant. what does this have to do with february keeping hims

the fact that caucuses don't cost the taxpayers a dime.te political fearts pay for all of it which is a pretty big deal. california, florida and texas it can cost you upwards of $100 million. and a lot of candidates like caucuses as well because they can be game changers. listen. >> if it weren't for caucuses, hillary clinton would be president today not barack obama. the democrat was going to win in 2008. but it was so close between clinton and obama, the difference in delegates was made up entirely in the caucuses. which obama swept in many states. because clinton simply didn't do the groundwork necessary to do well in the caucuses. >> so 8 caucus states remain. they all believe they can learn valuable lessons from the mistakes made in iowa and nevada. shep? >> shepard: trace gallagher live for us. thanks very much. we will keep you posted on the information in missouri throughout the evening. as we reported at the top of this newscast, today's primary pretty much meaningless. delegates on the line. why spend $7 million on an election th

alaska, pat buchanan won the alaska caucuses before. t think romney will target those, so ron paul may pick up that. >> the biggest difference between santorum winning iowa and ron paul winning maine. >> he did not win, he came in second. >> but the possibility of. yes, ron paul seven days later can actually beat them, but unfortunately, what happens is that at the end of the day, i think who cares, but santorum is very viable so that's why they're so afraid of him winning colorado and then all of a sudden mitt romney coming in second. >> it could be difficult for santorum to pick up the momentum. then there's going to be a story by the time we get around to super tuesday, santorum is not on the ballot in virginia, a gigantic state that republicans would love to have in november. and it's just going to be a ron paul/mitt romney contest again. >> should we care about overstating the viability of santorum's candidacy. >> more viable that ron paul? sure, but still really quite a ways off from mitt romney. >> the big test for -- >> it's goin

the winner of the nevada caucuses. rnor has a decisive win in the caucuses in nevada. mitt romney going ahead, capitalizing only his dramatic win in florida, now capturing nevada, as well. we do not -- we do not yet know who's going to come in second or third. but there is a dramatic race under way for second and third place. but now you can see romney headquarters in las vegas. the crowd hearing the news that mitt romney has won the nevada caucuses. very, very excited. jim acosta is our man over at mitt romney headquarters in las vegas. jim, the crowd pretty excited there, as they should be. >> that's right, wolf. this is a very pumped up crowd and also a very big crowd. we talked over the last couple of weeks that mitt romney has, at times, had trouble drawing large crowds. that's not the case tonight. it's a very big crowd for the former massachusetts governor. we are expecting to see mitt romney address this crowd within the hour. it was thought he might come on in about an hour from now, but they might move it up a

the caucuses started there. we have initial results coming in. k and paul is in aurora. you're first. what's happening where you are? >> reporter: they just handed out the ballots and we had pretty quick counts. in arapaho county, a bellwether, evenly divided between republicans, democrats and independents. here are early results. to table 421. they went 5 for mitt romney, and 2 for rick santorum. another precinct, number 423, all arapaho county, 4 for gingrich and we also had 15 for romney, 1 for paul and 1 for santorum. a third precinct, 419, arapaho county, 6 for gingrich, 8 for romney, and 10 for santorum. so all the candidates being represented to a degree here so far. 22 precincts in all here in ar r -- aurora, colorado, independents very important in colorado. they make up 1 million 200,000 voters in colorado. many independents say not only do we need to hold our ground and come out enforce in november we have to convince independents to come our way. let's talk to a santorum supporter. you voted for santorum. what do you like about him? >>

. >>> the results of the nevada caucuses are beginning to come in. only about 2% of precincts have announced results. and mitt romney is in the lead. kcbs radio political reporter dog sovereign is in las vegas where he has been watching the caucuses all day today. hi, doug. >> reporter: hi, ann. that's right. in a little while, this hotel ballroom will fill in with enthusiastic romney supporters who assume they will be celebrating a blowout win for the former massachusetts governor. certainly every caucus we went to, romney won big. the numbers we were compiling, he had about 60% and newt gingrich and ron paul fighting it out for second, 35 to 40 points governor romney. the numbers are still strickling for the state g.o.p. as they compile the counties. all signs point to another big run for romney. the latest step on a quickening path to the republican nomination. the day began with people going to the neighborhood caucuses and selecting precinct delegate, thousands of people telling neighbors why they should vote for a candidate and cast their ballot

remember what happened in iowa was that on the night of the caucuses we stayed up until what felt like dawn, waiting for the iowa republican party to report its results and then at 2:30 eastern time the chairman of the party said there was finally a result. >> i can report with 1770 precincting reporting, mitt romney received 30,015 votes, rick santorum received 30,007 votes. congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. >> so on caucus night, in iowa the iowa republican chairman says mitt romney won by 8 votes. 8 votes out of 120,000 cast. no provision for a recount with a result that choice, the republican party of iowa said that was the result and they said they would certify it and make it official within two weeks. two weeks later the party said they still didn't have an official certified result, then once they had gone past the deadline the state chairman said actually turns out iowa was a tie, or maybe nobody knows who won iowa this year. then the chairman went on a radio show and said rick santorum won. and then the state republican party came out

the maine caucuses, and nobody expected. the only real competition was kron paul.elections is not about a statement. this was an opportunity for mitt romney to have a better day a better couple of days than he did last tuesday, when rick santorum won the caucuses. >> you have michigan and arizona coming up next. rick santorum was appearing on" meet the press" today. he said he is ahead in michigan. mitt romney was born in michigan. >> we will see what the case is. people expect that mitt romney would do well in michigan. his father was the governor of that state. it has been a long time since he was the governor of that state. mitt romney has said some things on the campaign showed that may not sit with some of the blue collar workers in michigan. some of those reagan republicans, you know, who work union jobs,. >> has it turned into a two-man race? >> for the moment. newt gingrich has made comebacks before. the republican party made some changes to the way it does its primary nominating system in between the last election and this one. they have more states that h

the results coming from the nevada caucuses. we have complete coverage. plus... >> talk from michelle bachmann. are we headed into war with iran? will the tea party take on president obama? more fury over operation fast and furious. >> an agent was murdered and your action is to move people around. >> eyes were on capitol hill for holder's drilling. what was going on at the department of justice? >> didn't fire anybody. >> nobody has been fired. >> the women of the funny ranch announce their endorsement. we will reveal their candidates coming up tonight on "justice k"justice ." >> welcome to "justice." i am jeanine pirro. bret baier anchor of "special report" will be on hand starting at 10:00 p.m. eastern with complete results of the caucuses. he's stop i by justice first. good moaning, bre -- good evening, bret. thanks forking being with us. we are waiting for clark county could tomorrow in. >> this is a caucus state. they had caucuses through out the day and into the evening. all of the caucus sites are closed except for one, and that one will start at 1

the winner of the nevada caucuses. cnn projects that the former massachusetts governor has a decisive win in the caucuses in nevada. mitt romney going ahead, capitalizing only his dramatic win in florida, now capturing nevada, as well. we do not -- we do not yet know who's going to come in second or third. but there is a dramatic race under way for second and third place. but now you can see romney headquarters in las vegas. the crowd hearing the news that mitt romney has won the nevada caucuses. very, very excited. jim acosta is our man over at mitt romney headquarters in las vegas. jim, the crowd pretty excited there, as they should be. >> that's right, wolf. this is a very pumped up crowd and also a very big crowd. we talked over the last couple of weeks that mitt romney has, at times, had trouble drawing large crowds. that's not the case tonight. it's a very big crowd for the former massachusetts governor. we are expecting to see mitt romney address this crowd within the hour. it was thought he might come on in abou

the nevada caucuses right now. mitt romney is the winner of the nevada caucuses. n impressive win on the heels of an impressive win in florida. now on to the next three contests this coming tuesday in colorado and missouri and minnesota. we're waiting also to hear from newt gingrich. he's not going to give a speech tonight. he's going to have a news conference, very unusual. not a traditional event, but then again the former speaker of the house not always a traditional presidential candidate. he's getting ready to outline, we believe, a new strategy going forward as a result of the set backs he suffered in florida and also in nevada right now. we're expecting to hear from newt gingrich very soon, and he'll open up with a statement and take reporters' questions. we watch to see what newt gingrich has to say as we get ready for the next three big contests on tuesday that are coming up. right now you just heard mitt romney didn't speak very much about newt gingrich or rick santorum or ron paul. didn't even mention their names. certainly didn't even refer to nem in a

we saw what happened in iowa and the caucuses were under fire as well. lly switched to the winner, it was actually santorum and not romney. i think the republican party has to look at how the caucuses are administered, how they're executed. they're raising some real question marks this year. >> thanks. see you in the morning. with politics and the economy top of mind, paul ryan and ranking member chris van hollen will be among david's guests on "meet the press." >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues, some health news about an academy award winning actress. >>> and after years of decline, why are so many teenagers dying behind the wheel? >>> and she zips around faster than folks half her age. what we can all learn from her. >>> tonight, gas prices across the country higher for this time of year than ever before. the average price of a gallon of gas in america is $3.54. that's an increase of 16 cents a gallon in just the past month. experts say we could hit $4.25 a gallon by late april. >>> now, to some startling new numbers for parents concerned about thei

here in clarke county, most of the caucuses are in the morning. some are going to be in the and and there's one evening caucus as well. the first results will begin at 8:00 eastern, 5:00 local, susan. >> could there be any surprises here? we're seeing in the polls mitt romney is going to come out ahead. what about ron paul? are we counting him out? >> reporter: ron paul came out ahead here and there's a strong libertarian front in the street. listen. it's almost like home field advantage. you mentioned the mormon vote. he is a mormon and he swept that vote four years ago. take a look at this. this is the most recent poll. there's mitt romney up top, 20 points ahead of newt gingrich. you can see paul and santorum further down. gun gric gingrich, nothing at all like romney. as for paul and santorum, paul spent some time here, but they've both moved on. paul in minnesota and santorum in colorado. more activity, more volunteers getting ready. guess what? there's also a rummage sale outside of the school. so you cannot only vote in the caucus but check

she's been covering the caucuses. ng out for fund raise tore help hundreds of children who lost a parent serving our nation. fox news had exclusive access to the special showdown. don't miss it. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tel

cpac or the mein caucuses? 're talking to her expert political panel in three minutes. >>> and a troubling trend making headlines. moms drunk behind the wheel with their children strapped in the backseat. we're taking a closer look. for a limited time, passages malibu will be giving away free copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. >>> if you have been watching cnn you know it is a good day for mitt romney. in a span of two hours romney won the straw poll at cpac and the maine caucuses as well. both victories come at the right time for the front runner who once again found his status challenged over the past week. going to bring in now our chief political analyst gloria borger and ms. donna brazil. and i have to say this mr. david -- we don't want to be sexist here. so gloria what is the bigger victory? cpac or maine? >> i think it's probably maine but he is happy he won cpac. with maine he will pick up delegates. it would have been really, really embarrassing for him

we saw what happened in iowa and the caucuses were under fire as well. lly switched to the winner in, it was santorum and not romney. i think the republican party has to look at how the caucuses are administered, how they're executed. they're raising some real question marks this year. >> thanks. see you in the morning. with politics and the economy top of mind, paul ryan and ranking member chris van hollen will be among david's guests on "meet the press." >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues, some health news about an academy award winning actress. >>> and why are so many teenagers dying behind the wheel? >>> and she's more active than people half her age, what we can learn from her. that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life, matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn, and i'm a cancer survivor. [ mimi ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now.

first in the west caucuses in nevada and it is all about western issues. the candidates are talking water and immigration. but they're also talking about issues we know in california, but that are even deeper here in nevada. the highest unemployment rate in the nation in nevada. the highest home foreclosure rate. this is stuff that is absolutely a theme on the campaign trail. but i have to say when you're talking about the nevada caucuses, you're talking about some campaign events you would never see in california. i just came from ron paul touring a gun store with assault weapons. i just came from newt gingrich in a country western bar. and yesterday, it was mitt romney with donald trump in his glittery hotel about the only thing that was missing was the showgirls there. you get a little of everything in nevada but the fact is this is be a important stage for the west, and i think an important stage for mitt romney. he's expected to come in ahead, but right now, it is very interesting that many of the volunteers in these caucuses are coming from california

is the day, the first in the west presidential contests is underway and voters gathering for the nevada caucusesnd welcome to a brand new hour of america's news headquarters, i'm jamie colby. >> kelly: i'm kelly wright, everyone, mitt romney hoping to keep his momentum rolling after a convincing win in the florida primary and with a strong history in the silver state, well, he's expected to do quite well. some of his republican rivals are not even in the same state. and texas congressman ron paul holding a rally. and rick santorum in colorado and john roberts is covering the main action live in las vegas where the action is happening today. john is where the action is, what's happening there, john? >> we try to be the best of our ability, kell lip. at the palo verde high school, 20 precincts gathered and they're collecting the ballots for the secret votes and this is the poll for president and it will allocate delegates, based on the percentages that every candidate gets. for every 3.5% the candidate gets of the vote they get one delegate. and he's collecting these votes and this process has gon

. >> mitt romney wins the nevada caucuses. the front runner is celebrating back to back victories in the race for the republican nomination. >> i'm also in recovery now and i used to bartend. >> getting their lives back on track and in the work force. the job skills workshop for those down on their luck. and good evening. extra police patrols in one east bay city known for its upscale restaurants and high end stores. they are responding to escalating violence. don knapp is in walnut creek to explain what's going on. don. >> that's right, a surge in that alcohol fueled weekend violence has police very concerned and taking some steps to do something about it. how do you get to bad eggs without harming legitimate businesses? >> nordstrom, and neiman marcus, the attractive downtown continues to go up scale. >> walnut creek is the gem of the east bay as far as i'm concerned. >> also drawing interest are some of the town's bars and what happens when some patrons hit the streets. later, a fight of a nearby restaurant used pepper spray