state of florida. a busy hour this morning. hi, everybody and welcome to the florida primary day super tuesday here at msnbc. i'm thomas roberts and for the next full hour we'll look at all the factors that affect today's critical vote, and right now mitt romney is visiting his has florida campaign headquarters and voteers from 67 counties hit the polls. five of those counties especially crucial in making or breaking his chances. they are are pinellas conti, seminole county, miami-dade, duvall and escambia county. despite big wins in conservative northeast and southwest florida, we've got the best reporters on the trail for you this morning. nbc's peter alexander is live for us in tampa. also nbc's ron mott live for us in lakeland. peter, start with you. the tampa region is going to account for 26% of this primary electorate. what is the romney campaign doing today in the final hours for the big push to attract the voters they want in tampa? >> reporter: yeah, thomas. a good question. following the same strategy throughout the course of the campaign. back to campaign headquarter,

wauchg watching the time primary votes being cast in the florida primary. >> a big night in the republican race and anything could still happen. >>> governor romney has an enormous amount of money but we have an enormous amount of people. >> mitt romney needs to drag him down. >> he's gone from pillar to post. a pinball machine. >> a two-man grudge match in a four-man race. >> there's a lot of folks who talk tough. what makes you tough is at your core. >> no way going to stop the momentum that we have started. >> who will return to florida this summer? as the republican nominee? >> i will go all the way to the convention. i expect to win the nomination. >> we're going to be in this race for a long time. >> forget everything you thought you knew about the presidential field. >> this is the beginning of a long, hard slog. >> we're going to take back the white house. we're going to take back our country. >> the nomination is up for grabs. the conventional wisdom is out the window. and florida will change the game again. >>> hello from the cnn election center. i'm john king. most of

impacts the turnout numbers today. i did vote. i did work for governor romney in 2008 in florida. a very different campaign then. governor romney was not as well known as he is now after four years of being visible and campaigning for president. so the task in florida was very different four years ago. we needed to create an environment where people would be willing to listen and learn more about governor romney. we were very effective in getting early endorsements that i think it was significant for the romney campaign this time because they signed again people like speaker allen benz from panama city, former house speaker very well respected in the republican party here, john thrasher, former state party chairman and now state senator from the jacksonville area. very involved on the part of mitt romney. now president of the american conservative union was very involved with the romney campaign, particularly in recruiting hispanic leadership. the task was to get the governor known here and to make people ameanable to listening more about him. one of the challenges in 2008 is that the re

. it's 1:00. we've got a busy hour ahead. let's get straight to the news. the florida primary underway. that means for you floridians, there's only six more hours to get your votes in, unless you're in the panhandle. you guys get an extra hour. the candidates are making their last-ditch efforts to get a few more votes and meet a few more voters. we have one more late poll to show you, this from the american research group shows romneys with a double-digit lead over newt gingrich. part of his advantage comes from early voter who is went his way more than 50% of the time. here's a reaction from gingrich, just a short time ago. >> mr. speaker, do you still see a path to the nomination? >> of course. >> how? >> unify the conservatives, you win the delegates, and then you have the nomination. >> freshman florida senator marco rubio is a very popular man these days. he's been mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice for whomever comes out on top. but he says, no way. >> my answer hasn't changed on that. i've answered it repeatedly. the fact is, i'm focused on my job here in the senat

opening in the state of florida. florida you remember is a 50-delegate winner take allstate. 600,000 ballots have already been cast in the two candidates at the very toprolly have literally been ripping into each other right to the bitter end. listen. >> i don't believe the republican party is going to nominate a liberal who is pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase, pro-gay rights. the republican party base does not want to nominate somebody who represents the establishment of wall street in new york. romney refused to allow catholic hospitals to have conscience in their dealing with certain circumstances. romney cut off kosher food for elderly jews on medicare. both of them have the same lack of concern for religious liberty. >> i know the speaker's not real happy, speaker gingrich. he's not feeling very excited these days. i know. it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit trying to go after me for one thing or the other and you just watch it and shake your head. it's been kind of painfully revealing to watch. >> what truer words have ever been spoken, painful. this is cra

all in florida today. mitt romney so confident, he's literally singing on the campaign trail. but even with polls showing a big lead, the attacks on gingrich haven't let up. can he score a double-digit win? gingrich has been outspent 4-1, but he's unleashed new attacks and rolled out a series of new backers to try and catch romney again, or at least beat the spread. but will this new crew of supporters stick with him after florida? >>> and the rapidly changing hispanic demographic in florida isn't just impacting the republicans. we'll hear how democrats are also rethinking how they will target this critical swing state. it's tuesday, january 31st, 2012. this is a special edition of "the daily rundown" coming to you from nbc's election headquarters here in new york city. i'm chuck todd. let's get right to my "first reads" of the morning. polls are open in the sunshine state. if mitt romney wins tonight, is it the beginning of the end of the republican primary or more of the end of the beginning? monday in a five-city rush through the state, gingrich claimed he'll be in the race thr

disadvantaged enterprises. >> we take you live now to west palm beach florida where the republican party is holding its lincoln dinner. newt gingrich is one of the featured speakers at tonight's dinner. we also expect to hear from congressman alan west who represents west palm beach. the event will be getting underway in earnest at about 8:30 p.m. we will be bringing that to you live. right now, here is a preview of tuesday's florida primary results, what we can expect, from today's washington journal. host: the florida primary our topic for the next 45 minutes. joining us now is susan macmanus political science professor from the university of south florida. in the days leading up to next week's primary what particularly are you looking at as far as signs about who will win and who will be victorious? guest: a lot of people do not like to talk about polls as being meaningful, but we are. and we have seen a shift in momentum since the campaign came to florida. romney is on the up right now. newt gingrich lost a little bit of ground. this week will be critical for the undecided voters, and o

fox all night for the coverage. >> bye everybody. >> ♪ >> we have the first look at florida primary exit poll data. live from america's election headquarters in new york, this is special report. >> good evening, i'm bret baier coming to you from fox news headquarters in new york and actually standing in the decision desk room where our experts and analysts will look over the exit poll data and the count to make a call tonight. florida is the biggest test to date for the republican presidential candidates and winner take all candidate could take momentum for mitt romney or give newt gingrich's a second campaign in a row. and we're tacking at what voters are telling us on the way out of the poll. my colleague is here with the commit results. >> let's take a look at what we've got. everybody is still voting and we're starting to see the trends in the exit polls that are quite interesting. this nomination process has really been a tug-of-war between two questions, and that is electability, and who is the true conservative in this race. and so, for those who say that winning in november

ice looking at the stars going "why aren't i in florida"? tuesday we'll make up for it. >> have a great one. >> thanks to you at home for staying with us for the next hour. i got to tell you, florida is tomorrow night, florida is tuesday, but in my mind, honestly in politics, it's nevada week. it is florida week, too, right? but really, it's sort of nevada week. we're getting blanket political coverage about what is happening in the florida primary. this is a good argument to be made nevada ought to be as important as florida is. this is a week with two tent poles, florida and nevada both. even though florida will have as many republicans voting in their primary as the number who voted in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina combined and then some, a win in florida this year is worth precisely half as much as a win in florida has been worth in previous years. because florida wanted to be seen as really important in this year's presidential race, they intentionally broke the republican party's rules, when they moved up their primary date to make it early, to make it happen in

. >> brett: good evening, i'm brett baier coming live from central florida. we're on harbor island just across the water from the site of the 2012 republican convention here in tampa. the beautiful bright sunshine of this state has been a stark contrast to the increasingly dark tone of the presidential campaign and it's taken in the last week. tonight the two main combatants are wrapping up what has been a very negative campaign. carl cameron begins our coverage. >> reporter: trailing in florida polls on the eve of the primary, gingrich attacked romney from all angles. >> pro-abortion, pro-gun control pro gay rights, why would they think he is going to be able to debate barack obama? >> he has been pro-gun and pro-abortion for 12 years and he thinks he is self-destructive. >> gingrich. >> governor romney is extraordinarily insensitive to religion freedom in america. i didn't know about the kosher food being cut out by governor romney until the "new york post" reported it yesterday. every time we peel the onion back. >> he said she voted the bill because he would have increased the taxpa

from the florida primaries. will it help? will we will ask the man running newt's campaign. the senate tackles a bill that would stop members of congress from making money off of insider information. we will take a closer look at the debates. inspecting iran. u.n. inspectors inside iran looking at the controversial nuclear program. we will talk to the chair of the house intelligence committee. all of that plus a pastor fired up about a viral video seen by more than 17 million people. what is it all about? i am sharon brie. >> looks like mitt romney is getting his florida mojo back in time for the winner take all primary on tuesday night. after a distant second place finish in south carolina new polls show romney in the field with a growing lead over newt gingrich. the latest maris poll has 15 points ahead of gingrich. the clear politics average has it closer about 7 percentage points separating them. regardless the other two candidates are falling way hand. we begin this hour with campaign karl cameron live at a romney event in naples, florida. hi, karl. >> it's a big gop bass b

of the campaign commercials flooding the air waves, according to cmac, 92% of 9 ads here in florida have been negative attack ads, kyra? >> so far everybody i talked to whether americans want them or not, they work. suzanne is back. >> i am back. >> d.c. was good? >> it was. >>> the adsds, the attacks, finally decision day voting under way in the biggest contest so far. gingrich has watched his momentum fade. he's not giving up, though polls show him trailing. gingrich is hoping to drum up last-minute support this horng in lakeland, florida. he visited a l pos precinct near orlando on the eve of the primary. he pledged to stay in the race. >> we'll beat a big lie campaign with a big truth campaign, beat money power with people power. we are going to go all the way to the convention and we are going to win in tampa, and we are going to be the nominee with your help of the republican party soinchts but if the polls are right mitt romney is likely to be the big winner, his healthy lead hasn't topped him from taking a few final shots. romney and his supporters have pounded gingrich the

florida. thank you for your help with that. i think we will send a strong message when we tell president obama that floridians do not want what he is selling. we fight back against the individual mandates both state and federal. i first became aware of rick santorum 10 years ago. i saw a speech on the senate floor. it was on the life issue. flipping through c-span and i saw it. i stopped to listen. i was captivated by the elegance of this man articulating the issue. a lot of politicians do not want to speak boldly about that because the ruffles some others. this is a band that spoke boldly about something he believed in regardless of the political peril. i watched his career since then and i have watched him make decisions that were sometimes politically unpopular. he made them recently, including friday when i was talking to him about an issue. i said, that might not go over so well in our state. he said, that is what i believe and that is what i will say. do you know how rare that is in tallahassee and washington? we need a man who will stand up and do the right thing regardl

florida primary, the nominee will have been crowned. not the case. now it means many more states will matter, doesn't it? >> that was one of those analysts because -- i think we were all looking at that. mitt romney had the most money, the best organization, he had the momentum. he won iowa. until he didn't win iowa. we knew he was going to win new hampshire handily. he was up double digits on newt gingrich coming into this week. it was inevitable. he had the momentum. all of a sudden, the wheels came off the cart. mitt romney's campaign has imploded at least at this moment. newt gingrich is on the rise. >> why did the wheels come off? are we talking about the -- going back and forth with whether he was going to release the tax information? >> it was because i think what people were taking away from that is that he was trying to hide something. and, you know, american people don't want that. they want some kind of openness. they want to get to know you. they want to connect with you. mitt romney had a difficult time connecting with people as. with he's a very nice man, a very smart ma

is hoping to find it in florida. we'll get voter reactions from the next big campaign contest about what happened in south carolina. >>> despite some immediate ra reports to the contrary, joe paterno is alive but in serious condition this morning. we'll get an update from state college, pennsylvania. >>> we start with what was a runaway victory for newt gingrich in the south carolina republican presidential primary. look at these numbers. it was a double digit win. 12 percentage points for the former house speaker. easily beating mitt romney. rick santorum came in third place. ron paul in fourth. now, check out this cnn exit poll. there were many that thought newt gingrich's past would hurt him with women voters. especially after his second wife came out last week talking about newt. but that wasn't the case in south carolina. let's bring in cnn political editor paul steinhauser who's live in the state capital of south carolina, columbia. paul, what does the south carolina vote tell us about the future of this race? >> reporter: it tells us, gary, that this race is far from over. it

republican primary in florida. the clock counts down, and of course the gloves come off. >> if you've ever tried to hire someone for a job, you look at not just what they say, but also what they have done. and what their record is. and his record was one of failed leadership. we don't need someone who can speak well, perhaps, or who can say the things we agree with but does not have the experience of being an effective leader. >> i am in fact the legitimate heir of the reagan movement. not some liberal from massachusetts. >> well, mitt romney has surged ahead in the race. and a win in florida could be pretty critical. cnn political editor paul stein haweshaus hauser is in tampa. >> we have four polls out over the past 36 hours, and they all indicate the same thing, that mitt romney is up by double digits over newt gingrich along people likely to vote in that primary tomorrow. take a look at the most recent out about two hours ago. you can see right there mitt romney with about a 14-point lead. 43% are backing him. 29% say they are backing gingrich. you see santorum and paul both furth

generation. but first, a florida primary just three days away. gop candidates have been raining money in florida and the super pac supporting them make it a deluge. that's a met for, really, since almost half of floridans are under water on their home loans, that is. mark preston, john avalon i want to start first with this field. mitt romney, you say he defined himself, mark, in florida at the cnn debate. and he's turned the page. i want to listen real quickly to what he said that you think is a turning point. >> is he still the most ant anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead, governor. >> that's simply inexcusable. senator mark arubio came to my defense and said that ad was inexcusable and inappropriate. mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in whales. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant was repulsive. >> was that the moment for him to take the upper hand again? >> the republican candidates have been distracted by issues such as immigration, legal immigration and mitt romney had taken heat from that.

curry is the florida republican chairman joining us on this "newsmakers." that you begin by asking you about the timing of the florida primary. they moved it up to influence the process. are you having the influence you wanted? >> let me talk about how that happened. the legal authority about the primary date rests with the florida legislature. the republican party of florida has no authority in that. all throughout the process, we said we agreed that florida should be early and should be by itself. our voice would represent what we are in the states, large, diverse. we should be heard loud and clear. when the committee made the decision to move our primary to january 31, they were acting in what they believe is in the best interests of the republicans in the state del florida. given the way things have played out, it looks like it has worked out. florida is it. it is competitive. whatever happens on tuesday will send a clear message to the country. >> you got penalized. you lose half of your delegates. they will have the same number of delegates at the convention, but they will wo

gingrich defiant as florida republicans cast ballots in today's winner take all primary. good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the battle for 50 delegates in the sunshine state, and we talk with its junior senator, marco rubio. >> ifill: then ray suarez interviews susan rice, u.s. ambassador to the united nations, about the security council resolution calling for syria's leader to step down. >> woodruff: from germany, margaret warner reports on reaction to the european union's fiscal discipline deal. >> ifill: as florida votes, jeffrey brown examines the foreclosure crisis that has depressed housing prices there and around the country. >> woodruff: and we close with more on the political campaign from mark shields and david brooks. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance a

. and that's "hardball." thanks for being with us. stay with msnbc now for full coverage of the florida primary. >>> it's never happened before, the first three races for the republican nomination, three different winners. but tonight, it's number four and this volatile contest is swinging back toward mitt romney. >> i'm beginning to feel we might win tomorrow what do you think? >> the romney campaign's key florida advantage, money, lots of money. >> he has a basic policy of carpet bombing his opponent. he doesn't try to build up mitt romney, he just tries to tear down whoever he is running against. >> but anyone expecting newt gingrich to go quietly does not know newt gingrich. >> we will go all the way to the convention. i believe republican party will not nominate a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from massachusetts. >> ron paul and rick santorum already moving on, looking long term, looking north and west. >> understand there's a business around here, i think ll bean, been around 100 years. obviously, we are near missouri because we believe we can win missou

finally endorsing a candidate. is it going to make a difference in florida, is what people are asking at this point. let's get back to the volley of rocks, bottles, tear gas and gunfire we just showed you. here's more. what you're looking at is what happened in oakland, california, last night as occupy oakland protesters faced off with police. we know as many as 200 people were arrested. we'll get more on the classes and controversy now from patty lee of cnn affiliate ktvu there in oakland. >> reporter: tear gas and flash bombs filled this plaza where occupiers faced off with police. one of multiple clashes in oakland. >> they tear gassed us multiple times all day today. all we were doing was marching. nothing. we didn't throw anything. >> reporter: occupiers claimed innocence. but our cameras caught protesters hurling rocks, bottles and bleach bombs. at least two officers were hurt. >> their intent is to commit acts of violence and vandalism and break into something that doesn't belong to them. so their intent is clear. we give disbursal orders. they don't disburse. >> reporter: police

. >>> 24 hours to go. mitt romney has a commanding lead in florida thanks to big money and aggressive tactics. does a big win tomorrow seal the deal or will a romney victory just make the pendulum swing back to the tea party? no matter what the result is tomorrow, newt gingrich says he's not going anywhere. it will be a long month before the primary calendar gives gingrich some home field advantage. can he go the distance and how much will a prolonged fight damage the republicans for november? >>> just who is making the call tomorrow? we'll look at the many faces of the florida electorate and the big money that it takes to win votes in the fourth largest state. >> we're close to being the third. it's monday, january 3rd, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." 24 hours to go. there's no sedation. let's get to my first read of the morning. the florida fight coming to a very bitter end with just 24 hours to go before the florida polls close. mitt romney has pulled away in many of the polls and is leading newt gingrich by double digits. romney is not letting up. the make newt mad and mitt mea

the race for the white house. >> newt gingrich seizes the lead as the campaign heads for florida. >> newt gingrich is south carolina's choice. it's a major blow to mitt romney's campaign. >> this is a hard fight because there's so much worth fighting for. >> four republicans went into this southern brawl. who will be left standing as the contest moves to florida? the votes are in. south carolina has spoken. and the biggest battleground yet is still ahead. rick santorum at 17%. ron paul at 13%. all the candidates say they are moving forward to florida. we have reporters stationed throughout south carolina as we have for the last several weeks. let's start off with gingrich headquarters. there are still a lot of folks there, romney headquarters looks like a ghostown. does the candidate move to florida tomorrow? >> reporter: you know, we're still waiting to hear about his travel plans. it's been on interesting day watching the gingrich campaign. this is a candidate who tends to shoot from the hip. i did catch up with somebody a few moments ago and they were watching the returns come

the race for the white house. >> newt gingrich seizes the lead as the campaign heads for florida. >> newt gingrich is south carolina's choice. it's a major blow to mitt romney's campaign. >> this is a hard fight because there's so much worth fighting for. >> four republicans went into this southern brawl. who will be left standing as the contest moves to florida? the votes are in. south carolina has spoken. and the biggest battleground yet is still ahead. rick santorum at 17%. ron paul at 13%. all the candidates say they are moving forward to florida. we have reporters stationed throughout south carolina as we have for the last several weeks. let's start off with gingrich headquarters. there are still a lot of folks there, romney headquarters looks like a ghostown. does the candidate move to florida tomorrow? >> reporter: you know, we're still waiting to hear about his travel plans. it's been on interesting day watching the gingrich campaign. this is a candidate who tends to shoot from the hip. i did catch up with somebody a few moments ago and they were watching the returns come

same time people in florida were being hurt by millions of dollars. >> this is a good example. as a businessman, you know that the gross revenue wasn't your personal income. we had three offices, the company was being paid. my share annually was about $35,000 a year, and the fact is i offered strategic advice largely based on history, including my history in washington. >> just one of the many exchanges we'll bring in tonight. let's bring in pulitzer prize-winning columnist for the "washington post," and also richard wolf. richard, did romney lay any hands on gingrich tonight? i think that was ms. mission, to try to regain the momentum, establish himself as a good conservative to florida voters. was that accomplished tonight from romney's perspective? >> yes, i think he did. he did that in what we just saw. he chased him down the line on freddie mac. weirdly, he managed to land some punches on himself, and that's what's weird about his candidacy. he tied himself in knots on taxes again, he came up with this weird phrase of self-deportation on immigration. how he manages to snatch de

" for tuesday, january 31, 2012. it is primary day in florida and the polls are opening right now. the republican candidates for president are fighting for delegates in the sunshine state. c-span will air coverage of the results tonight on c-span2. you can find out more on c- span.org. the latest poll of likely florida voters shows mitt romney leading newt gingrich, followed by rick santorum and ron paul. here are the numbers to call. if you are a florida voter, you can join the conversation. you can also e-mail us at journal@c-span.org, or bonds witton twitter. we are on facebook. let's look at the "tampa bay times." it says, "today, florida decides." host: taking a look at how "the new york times" is covering the story on the front page, giving images of both mitt romney and newt gingrich out on the campaign trail. it says -- host: looking at how newt gingrich is seeing his campaign, how his supporters are dealing with their concerns about his decline in the polls. it says -- "newt gingrich and his aides insist they see a path to the republican presidential nomination." what do you t

battle. looks like mitt romney is pulling ahead in florida, pretty significantly. but again, this raises turned conventional wisdom on its head. newt gingrich made it clearest not going anywhere. the latest quinnipiac poll shows mitt romney with a commanding 14 point lead. will he continue his strategy of beating up on newt gingrich? >> i anticipate doing well. we've got a number of states coming up, i think i'm going to do well in them. my expectation is to become the nominee. however long it takes, i'm going to keep on battling. >> "the new york times" columnist charles glow and salon.com editor steve core neck ee join me. good to see you. i would make the argument newt gingrich almost looked comfortable when he was on the attack this week. let me play it for you, see if you agree. >> i am afraid instead of looking about, blaming other people, he should look in the mirror and say okay, as people had a chance to watch us each perform in those debates, they decided they liked him less in part because he was paid $1.6 million by freddie mac. he stood up and supported freddie mac. t

politicians up there. >> only the last week or so. rye out in in florida people are voting. looks like mitt romney's new strategy worked. poll after poll shows he's going to win today after turning up his attacks. the question is, how much will he win by? and newt gingrich isn't letting up on attacks of his own. >> you cannot get to the president if you don't have the courage to tell the truth to the american people. >> i know the speaker's not real happy. speaker gingrich. not excited these days. it's sad. flailing around trying to go after me for one thing or the other. >> let me bring in msnbc political analyst michael steele who's down in florida. good morning. >> hey. how you doing? >> maybe the bigger question is, every day these guys go after each other with all the negative ads, all the attacks. is it hurting you guys in the big picture? republicans? >> i believe it is. i think it's beginning to form an armed camp with the gop at the grass roots level. my concern is coming out of this, certainly going into future contests, most especially getting to the convention, whether or n

more than an hour away from the big debate here in florida. here to get you warmed up, erin burnett "outfront" starts right burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> thanks so much. we're just one hour away from the last debate before the crucial florida primary. candidates are arriving now. what do they need to do to win tonight? mitt romney and newt gingrich in a virtual dead heat. no love lost between those two if you haven't been watching, the question is, will one get the knockout punch tonight? and one of the big issues in this state. housing. some bad news today. we've got the ceo of one of the largest homebuilders here tonight. let's go "outfront." good evening. tonight, we are live from jacqu jacksonville, florida. site of the cnn republican debate, which is just an hour away. the race between mitt romney and newt gingrich is really tied here. it's a big night. and issue number one for voters here, the housing crisis. no doubt florida residents felt the sting of this headline today. sales down 2.2% in december. may surprise you. no, and

, florida. just a day away from the florida prima primary. my how things have changed in the nine days since newt gingrich's overwhelming victory in south carolina. mitt romney's money and organization combined with a strong debate performance last week put him in the driver's seat. new polls show romney pulling away from speaker gingrich and the rest of the field. according to an nbc/maris poll released yesterday, romney leads newt by 15 points in miami, florida. romney's lead is deep and wide, a breakdown shows romney cleaning up in just about every subgroup of voters. he beat speaker gingrich by 21 points among women, 9 points among men, 6 points among christians and he's within the margin of error also among tea partiers. romney holds a commanding lead among hispanics, a large florida voting bloc. 72% of registered republicans in miami-dade county are hispanic. romney leads gingrich by 24 points vong those voters. between campaign spending and superpac, romney is outspending gingrich by a ratio of four to one. romney spent $15.7 million overall. >>> rick santorum's daubl was hospit

. >> hoy en el "noticiero telemundo" hora cero los votantes en la florida deciden el prÓximo paso de los candidatos. >> en la cuerda floja el peligro el alcalde de un ciudad de connecticut serÁ suficiente la renuncia de su jefe de policÍa. >> reclamos a y gritos el escÁndalo choque de un empresario y el presidente de mÉxico. >> anticonceptivos de la discordia, iglesias y gobierno se atacan por causa de los anticonceptivos. >> en la ediciÓn martes del "noticiero telemundo", comienza ya. >> (♪). >> "noticiero telemundo" con josÉ dÍaz-balart. >> (♪). >> hola que tal, muy buenas tardes. estamos a hora y media del cierre de urnas en las primarias en el estado de la florida que le pone fin a uno de los capÍtulos mÁs agresivos, intensos y costosos de la contienda republicana por la nominaciÓn a la presidencia. >> en que hoy, hoy se espera participaciÓn de unos 2 millones de votantes, tenemos una amplia cobertura, vanessa h estÁ en tampa con mitt romney y el bombardeo de ataques. >> angie sandoval val con la campaÑa de newt gingrich y el pulso de una primera contienda don

primary in florida. mitt romney is getting some serious good news in the way of the polls. talk about breathing room. we'll get you those numbers a moment. all the while his number one opponent, not ron paul, not rick santorum, it's gingrich calling him a bunch of "l" words. not the ones you see on tv. it's the liberal and liar. >> the pakistani doctor who helped track osama bin laden down. he could be tried for high treason. he's talking about bin laden saying someone in the government in pakistan must have known where he was hiding out. >>> look out iran. a couple of guests are arriving in your fine country today. they are weapons inspectors of the iaea sort. they are looking for what you are up to. all of this while leon panetta has been warning that, you know what, iran might just have the bomb within a year. >>> and it is occupy d.c.d day. the protesters are facing a deadline to get out today. very tense moments just blocks away from the white house. they do have a little something up their sleeve, the protesters do. >>> all of it will unravel live. in the meantime we're still on

, including "state of the union" with candy crowley. newt gingrich could do very well down in florida. he's already cultivating ties with the cuban-american community and mitt romney will have a tough time explaining his opposition to the dream act, which is a bill that would lead to a path to citizenship for young latinos in this country. newt gingrich said he's in favor of portions of that bill. mitt romney said he would veto that act and newt gingrich would be very popular in the central part of the state. that's sarah palin country and sarah palin, she sort of endorsed newt gingrich here in south carolina. so buckle your seat belts. >> candy crowley is at romney headquarters. it was interesting to hear governor romney's speech tonight, talking a lot about obama, but he did throw a few references towards newt gingrich, though not using the candidate by name. we anticipate that is going to change in the next couple of days. he's squarely got to go after newt gingrich, right? >> reporter: and it's clearly one thing he told me and talking to tom strategists tonight. they said listen,

media. i resent that. >> the florida state awaits. let's bring in our triple panel. clarence page, karen finney and jonathan capehart. john, you reprehensible journalist, defend yourself. >> talk about pious bologna. he attacks the immediamedia, bu where he is because of the media. this is a guy who knows how to work it. he knows how to work the press, the anger towards the press and the grievance politics festers there within the conservative ranks of the republican party. >> let's not forget he was highly paid by fox news. he was very much part of the organization, the business that he attacks. karen, watching mitt romney going negative and nasty on newt is like trying to imagine the dahli lama starting a bar fight. it seems out of personality. it's kind of difficult, isn't it? >> with that example, i know you're trying to get me to not be american, and i'm not going to let you do it. >> exactly. >> it's clearly not in mitt romney's comfort zone to be on the attack. you have the feeling when he was in business and bain did go in and re-organize, somebody else handled the dirty work. he

>>> a new poll from florida this morning tells an interesting tale about what's happening in the republican race for president. but there's more. it also shows how the president is faring against all the gop candidates in florida. we are going to take a very close look inside all the numbers for you. >>> the economy, one new number suggests there could be signs of life. we'll explain the numbers for you. and they're here. the zany super bowl ads. we're going to take a look at one that caught our eye because it pokes fun at what appears to be an apple product. >>> good morning everyone. welcome to weeken"weekends with witt." let's get to what's happening. developing news. a new poll shows mitt romney widening his lead in florida. just two days before the crucial gop primary happening there. the marist poll shows romney leading by 15 points. 42% to -- we have surprising news on how president obama fares in the sunshine state. >>> newt gingrich may not fare too well in the latest poll but his campaign is getting a boost of a different kind. a big endorsement. ron mott is in florida

fireworks heading into the critical primary right here in florida. our cnn debate last night could be a deciding factor. there's rick santorum giving up on florida. i'll ask him about his strategy and whether he's shooting for a vice presidential nod. and president obama isn't getting a sense of some wealthy democratic party donors who showered the clintons with cash. we're looking at the money, the politics in-depth. i'm wolf blitzer in florida, you're in the "situation room." >> the dust is settling here in jacksonville, florida, after our very exciting cnn republican presidential debate last night. and there's new evidence that mitt romney is gaining support four days before florida puts its stamp on the republican race for the white house. the new poll shows romney nine points ahead of gingrich among likely gop primary voters here in florida. the survey was taken tuesday through thursday entirely before our debate last night. gingrich was leading romney in florida earlier this week. right after he won the south carolina primary, but in the last couple of days, he clearly lost some o