Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Sunday shows line-up: Rick Santorum, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will be on Meet the Press; Newt Gingrich and John McCain will be on Fox News Sunday; Sens. Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham will be on This Week; Newt Gingrich and Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs will be on Face the Nation; Harry Reid will be on State of the Union.
- Santorum wins Kansas: Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucuses handily Saturday, bringing in 51.2% of the vote. Mitt Romney followed with 20.9%, Newt Gingrich took 14.4% and Ron Paul 12.6%.
- Romney wins Wyoming: Mitt Romney emerged Saturday defeated in Kansas, but taking Wyoming with 44% of the vote to Santorum’s 27.5%. Romney also won contests in U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Romney up slightly in Illinois: The next primary contest in Romney-friendly territory — and with a large number of delegates — is Illinois on March 20. A new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll as Romney slightly ahead there, with 35% to Santorum’s 31%.
- Gingrich raises expectations in the South: On Saturday, the Gingrich campaign seemingly raised expectations about Tuesday’s contests in Alabama and Mississippi by touting internal polling showing Gingrich is on a “path to victory” in those two states.
- Gingrich releases 16-minute film about his life: Sunday morning, the Gingrich campaign released a biographical film about Gingrich’s life. Called, “Newt Gingrich: Rebuilding the America We Love,” the campaign says it “tells the story of Gingrich’s small town beginnings all the way to his campaign for the 2012 presidential nomination.”
- Gingrich goes after Romney on health care reform: In a new video, Newt Gingrich attacks Mitt Romney over Romneycare as the blueprint for health care reform. In recent weeks, Rick Santorum has also brought health care back into the spotlight as the prime reason Romney is a weak candidate.
- Santorum talks up foreign policy: In a jab at the central message of the Romney campaign — and maybe a reaction to the newest jobs numbers — Rick Santorum suggested Saturday that Iran, not the economy, might be the biggest issue in the election. “People say, ‘Well what’s gonna be the most important, oh jobs, jobs, jobs.’ Well maybe not,” Santorum said. “We’ve got a country in the Middle East that’s about, potentially about to explode a nuclear weapon, which would change the face of our Earth.”
- EMILY’s List cries foul over New York redistricting: New York, one of the last states to tackle redistricting, has put out a proposed map that critics say favor incumbents and hurts minorities. EMILY’s List called the map “completely unacceptable” because “male incumbents have a strong path to reelection while women incumbents have been dealt a terrible hand.”
- Santorum, Romney campaign in the South: Rick Santorum heads south Sunday to campaign in Mississippi. He’s scheduled move over to Alabama Monday afternoon. Mitt Romney has one campaign event scheduled Monday evening in Alabama.
