Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Sunday Shows Line-up: Newt Gingrich, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will be on Meet the Press; Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will be on State of the Union; Rick Santorum, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal will be on Fox News Sunday; Newt Gingrich and David Axelrod will be on This Week; Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, RNC Chair Reince Priebus, and Gov. Mitch Daniels will be on Face the Nation.
- Romney wins the Washington caucuses: Mitt Romney won the Washington state caucuses Saturday with 37.6% of the vote. Ron Paul came in second with 24.8%, Rick Santorum with 23.8% and Newt Gingrich with 10.3%.
- Romney, Santorum neck-and-neck in Ohio: A new NBC/Marist Poll has Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in a close race in Ohio just two days before Super Tuesday. Santorum has 34% of voters and Mitt Romney has 32%. Newt Gingrich has 15% and Ron paul has 13%. A majority, 51%, said they are unhappy with the candidate field.
- Romney way up in Virginia: In Virginia, another Super Tuesday state, NBC/Marist has Mitt Romney way up over Ron Paul 69% to 26% — Paul and Romney are the only two candidates who qualified for the Virginia ballot. In a hypothetical match-up, however, Romney is at 36% to Santorum’s 28% with Gingrich and Paul another 12 points behind.
- Gingrich ahead in Georgia: Newt Gingrich is ahead by double digits in Georgia, his home state. A poll for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has Gingrich leading the pack with 38%, then Romney with 24% and Santorum with 22%. Ron Paul has just 3%. Gingrich has called Georgia a must-win for him and has spent a significant amount of time campaigning their. Georgia’s primary is on Tuesday.
- Gingrich looks ahead of Super Tuesday: Newt Gingrich looks ahead of Super Tuesday, planning to air his new energy ad in Alabama and Mississippi next week ahead of March 13 primary contests in those states. The ad promises $2.50 per gallon gasoline, a new centerpiece of Gingrich’s campaign, and blames President Obama for current gas prices.
- Romney racks up endorsements in Ohio: Mitt Romney won the endorsement of the Cleveland Plain Dealer Saturday, which called him “by far the best choice for Ohio Republicans.” Romney also won the endorsement of the Cincinnati Inquirer Saturday. In an editorial called “Romney Deserves Ohio’s Support,” the Cincinnati Inquirer endorsed Mitt Romney, arguing that he not only had the right experience, but also the broader appeal to be able to win in November.
- Democrats say Limbaugh’s apology not enough: Rush Limbaugh finally apologized Saturday for calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut.” But if Twitter is any indication, Democrats don’t think the apology is good enough. DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse and Obama Super PAC advisor Paul Begala are not satisfied. David Axelrod used the incident to go after Mitt Romney for not seriously condemning Limbaugh’s insults this week.
- Romney camp edits endorsements in emails: The Romney camp has continued the controversial practice of omitting portions of newspaper endorsements before they’re emailed out by the campaign. They did this yesterday, taking out bits that could be seen as unflattering to the candidate from an endorsement from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Romney, Santorum, visit multiple states ahead of Super Tuesday: Mitt Romney will campaign in Georgia and Tennessee Sunday, two days before Super Tuesday. Rick Santorum will begin in Tennessee and end in Oklahoma, Sunday. On Monday, he will address AIPAC via satellite and campaign in Ohio through Tuesday’s primaries.
