Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Romney wins the Wyoming caucuses: Last night, after weeks of voting, the Wyoming caucuses drew to a close. Mitt Romney won them with 39% of the vote to Rick Santorum’s 33%. Ron Paul won 20% and Newt Gingrich 8%. In terms of delegate allocation, CNN estimates that Romney will likely take 10, Santorum 9, Paul 6 and Gingrich 1.
- Santorum raised $9 million in February: Rick Santorum will report that he raised $9 million in February, reports CNN. The campaign says it received donations from over 130,000 contributors during the month and that Wednesday, the day after the Michigan primary, was one of their best fundraising days of the 2012 race.
- Obama hopes to raise $4 million in New York trip: President Obama heads to New York for four fundraisers that his campaign expects will bring in between $4 million and $5 million, reports Politico.
- Democrats Attack Romney over support of Blunt Amendment: Democrats are attacking Romney for supporting the Blunt Amendment, which would undo the administration’s contraception coverage rule by allowing employers not to cover anything they object to in employees’ health care plans. The DNC has released a new video called “What Romney Will Take Away From Women.”
- DSCC uses Blunt Amendment to push its women candidates: The DSCC is using Thursday’s vote on the Blunt Amendment in the Senate to promote its women candidates. In a web video, the DSCC promotes the women running for the Senate, as well as the six female Senators running for reelection. Thursday, the DSCC will issue state-specific hits on the video in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Nevada.
- Santorum also attacks Romney over Blunt Amendment: It’s not just Democrats who are attacking Mitt Romney’s support over the Blunt Amendment. Romney told an Ohio reporter he was against the bill, then said the question had been confusing and his campaign clarified that he supported it, prompting a Santorum spokesman to write: “We all know Romney’s liberal record on this, so when he’s asked a question about a bill that would protect our religious freedom – and Romney’s gut reaction is to say he’d oppose it…” Rick Tyler, spokesman for the Red White & Blue Fund tweeted: “Par for the course – Romney Says He Opposed Blunt Contraception Bill, Then Campaign Backtracks.”
- Minnesota Senate challenger to Klobuchar announces today: Pete Hegseth will officially announce his bid against Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 11:15 a.m. in St. Paul, reports Politico. Hegseth is an Afghanistan veteran and former executive director of Vets for Freedom. Republicans struggled to find a strong challenger to the popular Klobuchar.
- Progressive groups try to draft Pingree for ME Senate: With the surprise announcement Tuesday that Sen. Olympia Snowe is retiring, progressives are pushing Democratic state Rep. Chellie Pengree to run in Maine. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee’s DraftPingree.com was featured on Rachel Maddow and received over 5,000 signatures in its first 24 hours.
- Santorum and Romney go west: Mitt Romney will head west Thursday, hitting campaign stops in North Dakota, Idaho, and Washington. Rick Santorum will hold two events in Washington, whose caucuses are this Saturday.
- Gingrich continues to campaign in Georgia: Newt Gingrich continues to campaign in Georgia, his must win state. He will be holding events there Thursday and Friday.
