Rick Santorum: ‘We’re winning’
Rick Santorum says he’s winning no matter what, another poll shows an Ohio tie, some unearthed video clips could hurt Romney and President Obama is holding a press conference.
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Independent ex-governor Angus King could throw wrench in Maine Senate race
Former independent Maine governor Angus King will announce Monday night whether he will run for the state’s open Senate seat, potentially adding a major variable in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).
Multiple media reports, citing anonymous sources, have said King will indeed run for Snowe’s seat. King himself has not confirmed it, and his former campaign manager, Kay Rand, told The Fix: “This is his announcement to make, not mine.”
Why Super Tuesday could be the beginning of the end — in one chart
Rick Santorum’s momentum has almost completely stopped in the GOP presidential race while Mitt Romney’s support has reached a new high.
The latest Gallup national tracking poll shows Romney extending his lead to 16 points nationally. Just more than two weeks ago, he trailed Santorum by double digits.
The best Super Tuesday Tweeps: A Fix List
There are ten primaries going on Tuesday night. Don’t even know where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are the people to follow on Twitter from the four most-watched states — Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Here’s our list (yes, it’s a little Ohio-heavy, but everyone knows Ohio is the most crucial of the most crucial states to watch tomorrow night. Sorry, every other state.)
Rick Santorum’s Ohio problem — in one chart
The Ohio Republican presidential primary is less than 24 hours away. Widely considered the crown jewel of Super Tuesday, Ohio appears to be a toss-up between former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
But, one look at the chart below shows you why Santorum and his forces are starting to downplay the importance of the Buckeye State. (“It’s a tough state for us, only because of the fact of the money disadvantage,” Santorum said on “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend.)
Can a candidate win with a trend line that has turned that sharply downward? Sure. (And there is a new Suffolk University poll out today that shows Santorum leading Romney by four points.) But, Santorum’s sharp drop in Ohio polling has to be unsettling to his allies.
Rick Santorum’s delegate math doesn’t add up
In responding to its popular-vote loss in the Michigan primary last Tuesday, Rick Santorum’s campaign argued that the result amounted to a tie since the former Pennsylvania senator and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney were both slated to win 15 delegates.
(Later, one delegate was controversially shifted to Romney, who wound up edging Santorum 16 to 14.)
That argument could pretty easily backfire on Super Tuesday tomorrow.
As Romney’s campaign pointed out this weekend, Santorum’s campaign is not on the ballot in Virginia and failed to file for as many as 18 of the available delegates in Ohio.
It all adds up to a situation in which Santorum could have a very good day in terms of raw vote but still come away with significantly fewer delegates than Romney.
2012: The Republican party’s Gotham election?
The Fix is something of a nerd. (This should come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog for more than a day or two.) As such, we dig sci-fi (“Battlestar Galactica” rules!), fantasy novels (“Wheel of Time” series anyone?) and, yes, superheroes.
To that last point, we always been captivated by the political implications of an argument made in the 2005 movie “Batman Begins” by Ra’s al Ghul — played by Liam Neeson — that the only way that the city of Gotham could be returned to its former greatness was for it first to be destroyed.
New ad: Newt Gingrich ‘will stick it to the bums in D.C.’
A new ad from a super PAC supporting former House speaker Newt Gingrich makes its case with New Jersey accents.
The Winning Our Future ad is another animated spot, featuring a burly talk radio host who wants listeners to tell him who can beat President Obama.
“It ain’t nobody named Mitt, that’s for sure,” a caller named “Joey” responds. “Something about him, he’s not one of us. He’s not tough enough. And Rick? He ain’t my guy either. What’s he ever done?”
Asked who he would support, Joey responds: “If you really want to stick it to the bums in D.C., it’s Newt. The guy’s a fighter. And he ain’t afraid to hurt nobody’s feelings. ... Can you imagine what he’ll do to Obama in a debate? He’ll take him and all his crazy liberal ideas apart. Heck, I’d pay to see that on pay-per-view.”
Joey signs off with a “Fuggedaboutit,” as he’s revealed to be a skinny office-worker in a suit.
The ad is airing in Georgia, where polls may or may not show an enduring affection for “The Sopranos.”
Scott Brown pulling ahead in polls
Two polls out this past weekend show Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) pulling ahead of challenger Elizabeth Warren (D) in the Massachusetts Senate race.
A Western New England Polling Institute survey taken Feb. 23 to March 1 has Brown beating Warren 49 percent to 41 percent if the election was held today.
Mitt Romney has momentum in new Ohio poll
A new poll from Quinnipiac University gives former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney the momentum in the critical Ohio primary going to Super Tuesday.
Romney takes 34 percent in the survey while former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum takes 31 percent — within the margin of error. But that’s a 10-point shift in Romney’s favor since a week ago, when Santorum led 36 percent to 29 percent.
Latest Tweets
A terrific story about an NYC hoops protege who was vanquished in a single shot by LeBron James. http://t.co/SYA2pmm5
RT @rickklein: worth a watch - RT @andreamsaul WATCH FULL clip of Ann Romney discussing battle w/ MS: http://t.co/jA1n00wz
Angus King is officially in for #MESEN. http://t.co/fOC3WKvj
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Campaign 2012