Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Mitt Romney wins Ohio, barely: Early Wednesday morning, Mitt Romney was declared the winner in Ohio where, with 99% reporting, he leads by one percentage point. The former Gov. also won Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Vermont. Rick Santorum won Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. Newt Gingrich took his home state of Georgia.
- Romney continues winning streak among wealthy voters: In Ohio, as in Michigan, more wealthy voters turned out in 2012 than in 2008 and voted for Mitt Romney. According to exit polls, 30 percent of Ohio primary voters made at least $100,000. As in Michigan, Romney won handily among this income demographic but lost the rest.
- Paul doesn’t win any, but does well in VA: Ron Paul didn’t win any of the states he’d hoped to, but he did do surprisingly well in Virginia. Though polls showed he would get about 26% with just he and Romney on the ballot, Paul actually won 41% of the vote. Turnout in Virginia was extremely low.
- Kaptur bests Kucinich: Rep. Marcy Kaptur defeated Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 9th Congressional district. The two Reps. had been put in the same district because of redistricting.
- Joe the Plumber wins GOP primary: Samuel Wurzelbacher, AKA Joe the Plumber, beat his Republican rival in the GOP primary for Ohio’s 9th District’s House Seat. He will face off with Marcy Kaptur this fall.
- Jean Schmidt loses GOP primary in Ohio: In a surprise upset, outspoken Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) lost her primary Tuesday night to her Republican rival. Elected in 2005, Schmidt has been a lightning rod for Democrats after calling her colleague and Vietnam vet Rep. Jack Murtha a coward on the House floor in 2005.
- Ann Romney makes her case to women voters: Speaking in Boston Tuesday night, Ann Romney made her case for why her husband Mitt Romney is the best candidate for women. “Do you know what women care about?” she said, “Women care about jobs. Women care about the economy. They care about their children and they care about the debt.” Romney, she said, can deliver on these things.
- Berkley campaign in Nevada goes after Heller on contraception: Rep. Shelley Berkley’s campaign to unseat Sen. Dean Heller is keeping up the attacks on Heller over women’s issues. After criticizing Heller for his Blunt amendment vote yesterday, Berkley herself will hold a conference call with reporters Wednesday to discuss his Blunt Amendment vote.
- GOP brings up Dem ‘backroom deal’ in Maine Senate Race: NRSC executive director Rob Jesmer raised the theory that Democrats secretly recruited former Maine Gov. Angus King, an independent, to run for Senate in a “backroom deal,” Politico reported Tuesday. Jesmer said they did this so he would caucus with Democrats if elected.
- Gingrich and Santorum head South: Newt Gingrich will campaign in Alabama today. Rick Santorum will begin in Kansas and then hold two events in Mississippi Wednesday. The Kansas caucuses are on Saturday, March 10, and Mississippi and Alabama primaries are on March 13, next Tuesday.
