Today are the Alabama and Mississippi primaries. TPM will have live results, updates, and analysis. Until then, here are ten things you need to know today.
- Obama losing ground in new poll: A new CBS/NYT poll shows President Obama’s approval rating slipping from a positive 50 – 43 split in February to a 41 – 47 negative one in the new poll. Though the poll still shows Obama beating Mitt Romney in a head-to-head match-up, the TPM Poll Average now puts Romney ahead.
- Americans think the president can control gas prices: The latest CBS/NYT poll found that 54% of Americans believe the president can do a lot to control gas prices, which have gone up 12 cents in the last 2 weeks. This could be one reason Obama’s poll numbers have apparently sunk as gas prices rise, even though overall faith in the economy has not dampened. It certainly doesn’t help that the GOP field says it can cure rising energy costs.
- Majority of Americans think Super PACs should be illegal: An ABC News/Washington Post poll Tuesday shows 7 in 10 Americans believe Super PACs should be illegal, 52% strongly believe this. The poll found dislike of Super PACs to be bipartisan, with 69% of Tea Party supporters thinking they should be illegal.
- Blitzer interviews Romney: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will interview Mitt Romney at 5pm Tuesday. Romney stays further away from the press than the other candidates.
- Romney steps in it with talk of billionaire friends: After campaigning with blue collar comedian Jeff Foxworthy, Mitt Romney had another out-of-touch moment when he talked up his billionaire friends on Paul Finebaum’s syndicated radio show Monday: “I got a lot of good friends – the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, both owners are friends of mine.”
- Romney says a brokered convention is not going to happen: Mitt Romney attacked Rick Santorum’s latest position that he can overtake Romney in a brokered convention, saying on Fox News Monday, “Can you imagine anything a bigger gift to President Obama? That will not happen.”
- EMILY’s List endorses 4 more House candidates: EMILY’s List will endorse 4 additional women running for Congress Tuesday: Julia Brownley of California, Jessica Ehrlich in Florida, Joyce Healy-Abrams in Ohio, and Shelley Adler in New Jersey. This brings the total House races the PAC has endorsed to 26 — as well as 11 more in the Senate.
- Berkley campaigns on Keystone Pipeline: Democratic Nevada Rep. and Senate candidate Shelley Berkley is holding a press conference Tuesday to attack her opponent Sen. Dean Heller over the Keystone Pipeline. Berkley supports the pipeline “if the oil is kept here in the United States.” Conversely, she says Heller wants to ship the oil overseas, which would make gas prices worse.
- Newt Gingrich campaigns in Alabama, then heads to Illinois: Newt Gingrich will hold several events in Alabama on election day, as well as a watch party in Birmingham. He will then head to Illinois for a few days, which holds its primary on March 20.
- Santorum to watch election returns in Louisiana: Rick Santorum will watch the Alabama and Mississippi returns from Lafayette, Louisiana. Louisiana holds its primary on March 24.
