Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Sunday shows line-up: Rick Santorum and Sen. Chuck Schumer will be on NBC’s Meet the Press; Rick Santorum and former Govs. Howard Dean and Haley Barbour will be on Fox News Sunday; Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Paul Ryan will be on CNN’s State of the Union; Reps. Paul Ryan and Chris Van Hollen will be on ABC’s This Week; Joe Biden, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul will be on CBS’s Face the Nation.
- Romney predicts a win in Wisconsin: Mitt Romney said in Wisconsin Saturday, “We’re looking like we’re going to win this thing on Tuesday.” Romney described Wisconsin as key to clinching the nomination, saying: “I got a good boost from the folks in Illinois, and if I can get that boost also from Wisconsin, I think we’ll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention. Sure hope so.”
- Wisconsin paper gives Romney lukewarm endorsement: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorsed Mitt Romney Saturday, but warned that it was Romney’s past moderate positions and “moderate impulses” that made him the best candidate. The editors called Romney the “clear choice” but hoped that, as rivals call him, the Etch-A-Sketch candidate would “shake up his positions — and move gracefully to the center on a range of issues.”
- Santorum says he’s not ‘unrealistic’ about the race: Rick Santorum swore on Saturday that the primary is far from over. But he did tell Reuters that if the time came for him to drop out, and it was clear that he could not win, he would not be “unrealistic” about it.
- Romney camp gearing up for the general: The Romney campaign is getting ready to transition into a general election campaign, including fundraising for the general election, “drastically” expanding its Boston headquarters, and building state operations around the country, reports the New York Times. The campaign is also looking to bring on more advisers and getting serious about selecting a running mate for Romney.
- GOP voter turnout is down: Experts and analyses seem to go back and forth on this, but GOP turnout as a percentage of eligible voters is down. Moreover, states where turnout is up overall also hold open primaries where Democrats and Independents have been allowed to vote as well. The news is particularly bad for Romney, who’s had a hard time energizing urban and suburban voters, where the independents live.
- Romney and Obama camps battle over transparency issue: The Obama campaign called on Mitt Romney to release around 30 years of tax returns, which prompted a comeback from Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul, challenging President Obama to release all the transcripts from his meetings with foreign leaders to prove there were no other “hot mic” incidents. Democrats returned fire Saturday, pointing out that releasing confidential information would be a foreign policy disaster, and saying the request revealed Romney’s foreign policy “naiveté.”
- Giffords’ holds on to campaign war-chest: Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is holding onto almost $1 million from her campaign account, leaving the door open to a potential run in the next election cycle, reports the New York Times. In a goodbye video when Giffords resigned, she did say she would return as well. Still, Giffords remains in intensive rehabilitation for the time being.
- Palin watch: Sarah Palin will give an in studio interview to NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday morning, the day Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. hold their primaries.
- Santorum campaigns in Wisconsin: Always with the busiest campaign schedule, Rick Santorum has several stops planned in Wisconsin today, where he’ll hit up West Bend, Chilton, Mishicot, and finally Green Bay.
