ohio, ohio, ohio. the key battleground state. and as expected we cannot make a projection in ohio right now. it is close. the exit poll results though are in. let's share with you what the voters were telling us after they emerged from the polling booths in ohio these are the results from the cnn exit poll. 40% for mitt romney. 36% for rick santorum. 12% for newt gingrich, and 11% for ron paul, and you see a four-point spread. these are early numbers in the exit poll and they could change, but right now, these are the exit poll questions, and we are being transparent with you, with a slight advantage for mitt romney over "situation room" in the key battleground state of ohio. let's go to candy crowley who is covering the romney campaign in boston right now. and candy, this is is a moment that i am sure that mitt romney would love to say, i won ohio. >> absolutely. that would be the major headline and here are the three reasons they believe they will do well there tonight. and they are hoping for a victory and here are the signs p

joseph, ohio. you have a breakdown of states for us and then i have some questions for you. >> why don't we start with ohio. we beat everybody. we beat the rush here. we're at a polling station in hamilton county, west of cincinnati. this is pretty conservative country. polls open a little later. it's just me and my camera man and the engineer. it will get more crowded later. yes, ohio, so important. it's a battleground state. why? because of the blue collar vote, the catholic vote. it's open primary, which means republicans can vote in the gop contest. so can democrats. so can independents. rick santorum has been trying to appeal to blue collar voters. he's from pennsylvania. but there are other important states as well. tennessee. crucial southern state. 55 delegates up for stake there. a lot of conservative voters. polls indicate santorum with a slight edge. his big lead seems to have disappeared. also let's talk about georgia with the most of all. 76. that's an important state for whom newt gin

and some are missing in ohio. newt gingrich has given up in ohio, instead he stopped at the rocket center in alabama, a sign the pro-moon base newt gingrich isn't ready to -- >> i have opponents who are in a normal period are adequate, but they don't have anything like the scale of change i just described. >> reporter: where romney really lucked out is santorum is only now pointing out the former massachusetts governor has in the past voiced support for a mandate to buy health insurance. romney indicated as much in this interview in 2009. >> reporter: do you think this masterson plan could be a model? >> i think there's a number of features in the somes misplans that could information washington. the fact we have portable insurance and we were able to get people insured without a government option is on model i think they can learn from. >> reporter: she said he did not want a one size fits all plan for the country. that is a claim that santorum and gingrich could challenge if he do well tonight. if romney wins bi

let's start with ohio. we know that is the biggest contested battle ground state tonight, critical in the republican nomination battle. it will be critical come november. let's look at what's happening in the state of ohio. voting by ideology, we asked people as they showed up to vote how do you describe yourself 64% described themselves as conservative. the polls aren't closed yet. among those who say they're conservatives a close race in ohio. 39% for santorum, 39% for governor romney, 12% for speaker gingrich and 9% for ron paul. tie among conservatives. that tells you you've got a contested race in the state of ohio tonight. closer look more about the ohio electorate. will you vote for the gop nominee in november, asking people no matter who wins will you vote for the gop nominee? 62% say yes i'm a loyal republican i'd vote for the nom knee. look at this. 23% say probably, 10% say only in my candidate wins. you've got some sense of reservation. that happens sometimes that hotly contested nominating proc

he did win ohio last night. had he lost ohio -- or i should say had he lost ohio just a couple of hours ago, we would now be talking about how mitt romney would be in trouble for this republican nomination. however, we're talking about how mitt romney is going to try to go on and try to collect delegates and close out this very, very divisive fight for the republican nomination. >> divisive fight, but if you look at the delegate count, romney is a shade below 400. 396 delegate. rick santorum is a long way behind with 158, and then you've got newt and you've got ron paul. to the average guy who doesn't know the arcane and fine points of how the election works, that sort of looks like he's got all the momentum and he's on the move, and it's a fait accompli, but it isn't, is it? >> no. because you need 1,400 delegates to secure the nomination. while super tuesday is important, we're looking ahead to kansas, who is already holding caucuses, and on to next tuesday where mississippi and alabama will be holding primari

i think he needs to win ohio. it's interesting to me is in talking to people in the campaign, i think they're feeling better and better about tennessee which is a southern state and you know, romney in 2008 did not win any southern states when he was going for that will nomination. it would be very important lift to him to win the state of tennessee. >> especially because people will write off virginia saying santorum, gingrich not on the ballot. >> he won't get any credit for na. >> take a different look at the race. let's bring up the del map instead. here's where we are going in, governor romney with the lead. if you play this out, and you just go through this here, if romney wins these states here, i gave santorum tennessee in this calculation. oklahoma goes to santorum. i'm not sure about north dakota. we gave it to romney. if you look at it here, even if we give that state to ron paul, this is somewhere in the ballpark where governor romney could end up tomorrow night. a long way ahead of his rivals. >> then

in ohio one cliffhanger went into the early hours. cnn projecting ohio will go to mitt romney. the state up on the map in romney red, massachusetts, vermont, virginia, and idaho. rick santorum in purple scoring victories in north dakota, oak ok a oklahoma and still up for grabs at this hour. we begin with ohio and john king on the magic wall following the count all night. let's take a look at the state. took us a while, governor romney has won ohio. you see the lead there in the ballpark of 12,000 votes statewide. this is the cincinnati area. pivotal. a swing county. come november, 20-point margin over santorum there. big turnout in hamilton county. romney organization doing the job there. southwest corner of the state northeast. cuyahoga county, cleveland, important suburb as long the lake up here. summit county where akron is a big win for governor romney there. move down again, stark county not as big a margin. statewide. romney wins in the urban areas, suburbs offsetting a santorum sweep. what it gives you anderson. gives you that. romney red in the middle of the country. b

you're in ohio right now. it's an expensive state as far as commercials, attack ads, media concerned. what are you seeing on the ground there? >> reporter: well, what's clear is he's got a lot of energy on the ground here, and he's also raised a lot of money compared to the last quarter. just exponentially more money in this state of ohio as well. so the romney campaign feels -- i'm sorry, the santorum campaign really feels they're on a roll. they think they're doing a great job in fund-raising. and they're hoping it will reflect, of course, on super tuesday. >> we'll know soon enough. joe johns in ohio for us, thank you. >>> super tuesday will also be critical for newt gingrich. if he has a poor showing, it may guarantee a two-man race between the front-runners, mitt romney and rick santorum. who do you feel more comfortable with, romney or santorum? >> well, i don't approach it that way. i've been out here talking about a totally new generation of ideas, different from either romney or santorum. i prefer a m

why is ohio just a squeaker? >> well, a few weeks ago he was double digits down in ohio. so the fact that he closed that gap in a few weeks and won, i think is a testament to the fact that he's got resilience and strength and momentum. i don't look at ohio and say what a disappointment. i look at ohio and say, my goodness, what a positive result. he was 14 points down three weeks ago according to one poll and to win it last night was remarkable. it's a four-way race. you've bot to go out and earn every vote. he's doing that. i think you look at those numbers in a reasonable person would conclude he's the best candidate and most likely to be the nominee. >> governor, good morning. ron brownstein. underscore soledad's point. consistently last night as we have seen throughout, governor struggling with evangelical christians, middle income republicans, with those who consider themselves the most conservative. do you say any way for him to breakdown that very entrenched division in the party? do you see any signs of that eroding or is your camp going to have to live with that

ohio, tennessee, and vermont. now, ohio, the big battleground state. the rate is down from when the president took office, down from its high of last year. but still an uncomfortable 7.9%. a half a million people there are still out of work. tennessee, the rate is above the national average. 8.5% there. here in georgia, ohio, oklahoma, virginia, candidates can rightfully say that the jobless rate has risen since obama stepped into the white house. in newt gingrich's home state of georgia, with 9.4% was the unemployment rate at the end of last year. and in 2010, the state's jobless rate spiked to an all-time high of 10.5%. idaho, oklahoma, and virginia also have higher rates than when the president took office. but in oklahoma and virginia, you got 6.3% and 6.1%. that's better than the national average. i want to take a look now at housing. because, if you're underwater, it means you owe more on the home than the home is worth. super tuesday states have some of the highest rates of underwater mortgages in the country. i mean, take a look at georg

i guess you could say that in ohio. but i don't think that equals enthusiasm for heading to the polls to actually cast a vote for the man. >> i think that's fair. i do think he is gaining momentum, but i'm not sure that translates into gaining enthusiasm. you just heard what i thought about his enthusiasm gap. and i think representative cantor and now endorsing mitt romney, and he has to say things like that. by the way, romney also gathered the endorsement of senator tom cobourne of oklahoma. which is no small feat. cobourne is an unimpeachable conservative. that's a huge endorsement for romney. i think he is getting momentum in endorsements and some in some of the states like ohio. does that mean he is getting enthusiasm, energy, excitement? that's a totally different question and story. >> not that i expected eric cantor to go, woo hoo, romney! he doesn't seem that enthused. >> right. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> today in syria we are learning the government is expanding its deadly attacks.

top of the talk is ohio? >> ohio, ohio, ohio. if santorum can win in ohio, and our last poll shod neck and neck, if he wins, he'll survive. if romney wins in ohio, it's going to bolster this notion that it's all his for the taking, if you will. ohio is going to be critical. >> then you look at the south, of course gingrich needs to win his home state of georgia. >> he probably will win. >> he probably will. the next question is tennessee. romney hasn't won -- >> tennessee is like ohio. it's snick and neck between santorum and romney. gingrich is not necessarily all that much of a factor in tennessee right now, which is a surprise, because you would have thought in the south he would be doing better, but at least according to the most recent polls we have seen, tennessee is very much like ohio. >> a total of 419 delegates. >> and then the super delegates unplunged from the states that will be more. >> tune in for our coverage. >> more delegates tonight at stake than all the contests until now. >> one third of the delegates of the

as paul just said, that's all going in his favor in ohio. 44% of republican voters in ohio are evangelical christians. guess what, 27% don't have a college education and, oh, guess what, 80% make under $100,000. so what we saw in michigan is romney did much better with higher earners, but managed to pull it out, and win michigan. so while i think santorum has all these things in his favor, he is viewed as a fake, i think on the trail in michigan, he sold the case for the working class folks. he sold the case to union workers and he was able to sell the case to evangelical christians, of course, even though as you pointed out, fred, he has three degrees. >> okay. so what is behind how romney is gaining some momentum, that gap between santorum and romney and ohio is narrowing. >> yeah, basically -- >> is it big money? advertising dollars? you're right, the romney campaign greatly outspending the santorum campaign and throw the super pacs in there. that's the true story this cycle. the pro romney super pac, greatly outspiending the pro santorum super pac. people turn on their tvs and that's a

ohio is a big piece of it. winning a southern state, otherwise he'll limp in. >> i totally disagree with that. i think people keep raising the standard here. he wins arizona by 20 plus percent. he wins across all demographic groups. he wins tea party people in michigan. 12 points behind. he ends up oning it by 3. he's won in florida by a large margin. he's won in large states with big cities and diverse demographics. there is no one state that mitt romney needs to win from here until he secures the nomination. it's just a matter of building, building, building. >> the biggest problem mitt romney has is these debates have been horrible for the republican candidates. his unfavorables with independents now are over 50%. >> there's a long time. >> it's hard to change unfavorables. not been helpful. >> maybe. >> our primary in '08 was a long, tough one. you did not have these candidates with divisive rhetor rhetoric. if you remember back in 2008 -- >> when you enter a general election and when everybody starts focus

heavy turnout in ohio. not yet, but it's early. as i mentioned, 419 is kind of the number to watch here. both newt gingrich and rick santorum have been upping the ante, of course, on their attacks against the front-runner, mitt romney. no surprise. listen. >> he will be the weakest candidate we could possibly put forward on the most important issue of today. >> he can't close the deal and he can't close the deal in part because people inherently don't trust what he's saying and think that he isn't always very candid and sometimes, frankly, isn't straight. >> republican congressman aaron shock of the state of illinois joins our panel this morning. he's also a romney supporter. thank you for talking with us. we appreciate your time this morning. we all know ohio is a must win. what about the other nine states. mitt romney has said i believe if i win ohio i'm going to be the nominee. do you think that's true? >> i think it's true and i think regardless he's going to win a majority of the states tonight. everyone expects this to have b

to win ohio. rick santorum, did he even spend a million dollars? >> he did but he certainly didn't spend nearly as much as mitt romney did to pull out a squeaker in ohio, carol. >> what does that mean? >> i got off the phone with a very prominent republican. i won't say this person's name because they wanted to speak freely. they are very concerned about mitt romney just barely pulling it out in ohio. the fact of the matter is ohio is a very important state. if mitt romney is to be the nominee, if we are to believe that he will amass the delegates, then they're concerned he could be very damaged going against president obama. >> let's talk about voter turnout. i was reviewing numerous papers in ohio online. most of them said voter turnout was at best modest. at worst low. so what does that say? >> because this has been a very divisive primary. it hasn't been exciting and it's engs sighting for us to follow. if you're a republican, you're not inspired by the infighting that we're seeing right now b

the big prize is ohio. after trailing roixs in the state, mitts has seen a surge over the past several days. is it enough to carry him to victory in ohio? our nationally political correspondent jim acosta is in ohio. what's the latest, jim? >> reporter: wolf, the big question is whether or not all the momentum swinging in mitt romney's direction is enough to put him over the top and put the rest of his rivals away in this gof gop field. but for now in ohio, it's shaping up to be a buckeye nail biter. >> i hope i get the support of the people of ohio tomorrow. >> reporter: on the day before super tuesday, team romney is out to seal the deal and the closing argument is on the troubled economy. candidate said he can fix it. >> i understand why jobs come and why they go. other people in this race have debated about the economy. >> reporter: the candidate's wife said, she can feel it. >> my grandfather started working in a coal mine when he was 6 years old in wales. >> reporter: in a clear sign it's gaining mome

ohio will be the biggest prize on tuesday. let's check in with jim acosta, he's following mitt romney. he's in cincinnati, ohio right now. how did it go for romney on this day, jim? >> wolf, signs of confidence from the romney campaign. i can tell you that this evening. just a few moments before mitt romney addressed this crowd in cincinnati earlier this evening. he handed the microphone over to his wife ann who told his wife they were feeling confident about what's happening in washington state. that's not something the candidate's wife does when there might be a razor-thin margin. that is one sign that they're feeling pretty good about. then also, we saw mitt romney who sort of returned to a pattern that we've seen in the past when they've been feeling good before a big contest. he did not talk a lot about rick santorum today. he really went after president obama. at one point at an event earlier today, wolf, mitt romney asked how president obama can sleep at night with all of the turmoil that is now going on in afghanistan

how critical will ohio be in this election? >> we pick presidents. as simple as that. >> reporter: ohio picked president obama in 2008 by 51% and the ground operation across 88 counties that helped him win never folded up shop. >> we have a stronger infrastructure today than perhaps in 2008. >> reporter: they have a president with low poll numbers in a still struggling economy. this nbc news marri imarist surs 49% disapprove of his job, 45% approve. state republicans say mr. obama is vulnerable. >> $4 gas prices, obama care and the failed stimulus, things don't look good for president obama up here in ohio. >> reporter: they're pushing that theme of a president who has failed to improve their lives. as the obama campaign launches what's expected to be the most aggressive effort ever in the buckeye state, the president flew to dayton for a basketball game and what amounted to a political lay-up. >> heartland is what it's all about. >> reporter: two days later the vice president arrived in toledo where he delivered a high profile attack on the presiden

>> a brand new cnn poll in ohio. get ready. at the top of the hour, we'll release what's going on in the ohio presidential republican race for tomorrow. and georgia, as well, it's do-or-die, as he himself acknowledges, newt gingrich. two new polls, ohio and georgia, these are the biggest contests coming up tomorrow. super tuesday, we like to call it. >> all over it. >> you'll be working. >> i'll be working. >> i'll be working right along with you. >>> still to come for us, quite the story, a high school kid makes a game-winning shots and moments later he collapses on the court and dies. now an investigation reveals a serious threat for many youk kids. parents, do not miss this next! i've had surgery and yes, i have occasional constipation. that's why i take doctor recommended colace® capsules. i have hemorrhoids and yes, i have constipation. that's why i take colace®. [ male announcer ] for occasional constipation associated with certain medical conditions, there's colace® capsules. colace® softens the stool and helps elimi

in ohio right now, mitt romney, if he is to lose ohio today, that could be very troubling for him. now, he is ahead in the delegate count, however, the perception is that he could not empathize with people from ohio, such as yourself, right, where you grew up, and that could be a devastating near narrative for him. >> i got to say that rick santorum speaks more of the language. mitt romney just can't seem to excite them at all. >> he can't. and rick santorum grew up right across the border. you know, he was from the pittsburgh area. son of a coal miner, grandson of a coal miner. he has those roots. but mitt romney could have a very good night though. if we are to talk about the good things, he could win upwards of five states. maybe more. if that's the case the narrative tomorrow would be mitt romney will likely to be the nominee. >> let's talking about the voter turnout because it doesn't seem that voters are that enthused in any state on super tuesday. who does that benefit? >> certainly benefits barack obama, right? >> that's true. but in this primary, doesn't that benefit rick

jersey, getting back to the importance of ohio. they don't need to be told by us how important it is. they know it's important. that's why chris christie is coming out there tomorrow night, john. >> all this focus on the small states a reminder of the clinton-obama race four years ago when the small states did matter quite a bit. jim thank you. >>> a near accident in philadelphia's airport today raises some new questions tonight about airport security. a man crashed a jeep through a runway gate, drove down the runway as a plane was coming in. an air traffic controller spotted it and diverted the plane with seconds to spare. here's the discussion up in the control tower. >> everybody on 9er it's going to be a delay. you guys can shut down if you need to. we've got a rogue vehicle driving around on the airport. we're not moving anybody until we find this guy." >> you see the guy's picture right there, they say he may have been high on drugs. they don't connect this to terrorism. >>> democrats say republicans are waging a war on women

what if romney does win ohio and tennessee? then suddenly, gingrich remains in second place in the delegate count. he thinks he's going to rebound. and his staff said santorum had a best shot at romney in michigan and fell short of it, and they see that rebounding in the non-romney candidates, which to james' point, drags it out. >> to mary's point, he has to energize conservative more, do you believe this is by doing that, by trying to appeal to conservatives, someone said paul begala said he was moving to the right throughout the primary and caucus process. is he alienating independent voters he's going to need in the general election? >> he's not doing well with independents at all, mary and eric are right. you're not going to get the republican nomination without stimulating the conservative vote. that's an overwhelming bummic of that. he's moved way to the right on the tax plan. in addition to being for the bush tax cuts, he's moved far, far to the right on immigration to the point where jeb bush refuses to endorse him. he

>> in ohio we look at three states out of ten. ohio look at the numbers. it shows that rick santorum and mitt romney are locked in a tight fight in ohio. the state has a lot of people think mitt romney needs to do well if not win to show he can appeal to chose voters. tennessee another state right now where rick santorum and mitt romney are locked in a tight fight, as well. down here in tennessee which of course is just a couple of hours north of where we sit. where we are here in atlanta, georgia, newt gingrich, the state where he was the speaker of the house, served a long time representing back in congress. he is taking the lead right now and has a comfortable double digit lead. >> you have to win your home state or native state. if not, that's a bad showing if you don't. >> especially when you are newt gingrich and you say i have to do well in georgia in order for my campaign to do well. >> put the pressure on himself. tell us how the republican candidates are doing. sometimes you can read into the strategy by how and where they spend their time. >> i

>> ohio, ohio, ohio. that's where rick santorum and mitt romney are grinding it out right now. meanwhile, newt gingrich trying to get momentum back be in tennessee. polls show that it's rick santorum state and, of course, we see ron paul who is trying to work the caucus states. he's going to be in idaho. come tomorrow, though, where will they all be? home state of massachusetts where romney will win easy. rick santorum will be in ohio. that's where he'll spend his election night. north dakota will be where ron paul camps out and where we sit in newt gingrich's home state, that's where we are talking about. >> there are some within the best political team talking about the wardrobe. somebody said to me, rick santorum, what's up? he's back in the sweater vest? what happened to the coat and tie and does that mean anything? >> i talked to his top adviser and said, why not the sweater vest and he laughed at me and said, enough is a enough, preston. the fact of the matter is, he's going to wear a suit sometimes and he's going to where a sweater sometimes. >> if you look at where he w

they flew to dayton, ohio. the president said he wanted to bring the prime minister to dayton, ohio, to show him what real america looked like. you can see them. we're showing pictures, brianna, of them in casual clothes a little bit later on in the game. both men ate a hot dog and they drank a soda, not beer. i don't know if beer is allowed in there. who knows at the university of dayton. why was this important? because there are already some criticism that a large amount of taxpayer dollars were spent in taking the prime minister via air force one to the university of dayton for this basketball game. >> reporter: of course, it can't really estate you that ohio is a key sweep state. mitt romney won last week. i think one of the biggest things, if you look at what the british press reported about this, one of the most significant things they talked about was this trip on air force one. this is a privilege that a lot of foreign leaders don't get, and it was quite a visual demonstration certainly on the part of t

and look at ohio, that battlegrounded ohio. 24% of people who have home loans owe more on house than the house is worth. an interesting thing about ohio, is one of the reasons why ohio is almost a proxy, really, for what the gop nominee faces in november. do voters focus on how bad things got, or how they're very slowly, slowly improving? christine romans, cnn, new york. >>> two big political stories this hour. first, ten states, 419 delegates, four candidates, all adds up to one big day in the race for the gop presidential nomination. the republicans fighting it out on this super tuesday. voters are heading to the polls across the country. we're breaking down the major races. and president obama stealing some of the spotlight from the republicans. he holds a news conference in about 15 minutes. we're keeping our eye on that. the president, he's going to outline a new mortgage relief plan for the military, obviously, take questions from reporters. we'll bring that to you live as soon as it starts. but first, we want to bring in our political heavy hitters, wolf blitzer and chief poli

another poll that came out in ohio had the same story. santorum had a little lead in ohio it is gone and dead even. such an important state. not only in the primaries but also in the general election. ohio such a big battleground state. let's go to a poll down here in georgia if we have that. it just came out here. and well, look who's on top by double digits. >> he's counting on that and said that a number of times. i need to win my home state. >> or else. >> i guess this is good news for newt gingrich. >> even if he wins one state, georgia. >> is that enough? >> is that enough to make you a viable candidate? someone who has the staying power through the spring or summer? >> it may be for him to continue a while longer but if he doesn't i don't know how you continue. he's putting all his effort here. one more to tennessee. just to the north of the west of us. another state really interesting. this is a real good southern state to look at. a lot of delegates at state. doesn't have the gingrich factor, much more wide open. santorum did hav

is ohio totally up for grabs? >> reporter: it is. i think that's always true. ohio is the battleground state. people have strong wills, strong minds in this state. the's very interesting how the demographics break down. a lot of evangelicals, a lot of social conservatives in the state. some say as many as 40% in the republican party. it's presumed if they wanted to, they could sway the vote. there's also huge concerns in this state about the economy, although it hasn't been as bad as much, people are still hurting here. romney's argument about the economy plays very well in this state. >> joe johns, bowling green, thank you. in his puffy jacket, we like. two thumbs up. see you a little later on. >>> will success in the washington caucus propel to a big showing on tuesday? cnn will have indepth analysis. may provide you a clue to the answer to that question. our washington caucus conform begins 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. judge. >> a pennsylvania man dress necessary a parade as what he says is a zombie version of islam's prophet muhammed. he says he was then

it's back to school in chardon, ohio. classes resume for the first time since three students were killed in a shooting monday. one student remains in the hospital. the teenage suspect, t.j. lane, has been charged with murder. >>> and a high threat for more tornadoes today. take a look at that. many of the same areas hit earlier this week are in the danger zone again. high winds, hail, and more large and powerful twisters are possible across the south. >>> a hostage drama at a bank in california ends in gunfire with the suspect being shot. the gunman had earlier released ten of his hostages but was still holding the bank's manager when he was shot. the bank manager is okay. >>> an avalanche strikes a group of skiers near lake tahoe killing one and burying another for two hours. rescuers drug him out after another skier with a cell phone alerted authorities. and luckily, he just suffered a broken leg. >>> at and t are answering the complaints you filed because of your smart phone usage being slowed down. the carrier announc

biggest prize ohio. rick santorum's lead slipping away as mitt romney gained ground over the course of this past week. santorum's 35% 31% lead. santorum retreated from a comment he's caught flack for all week. on saturday the former pennsylvania senator called president obama a "snob" for wanting all americans to go to college. here's what santorum told wolf blitzer just a bit ago. >> i used the term "snob." you know, it was a strong term. probably not the smartest thing. but i don't give prepared talking point speeches written by other people. i got a little passionate there and i used a harsher word than i normally would. >> newt gingrich today concentrating on his home state of georgia which he calls, rightly so, a must win on tuesday. at one point the former speaker labelled himself a change agent, not, he said, a team player. >> unlike governor romney i'm not going to washington to manage the decay. unlike senator santorum i'm not going to washington to join the team. i want to create a new team cal

daniel will be laid to rest today in chardon, ohio. he's one of the three victims of the shooting from the high school on monday. t.j. lane was charged in the shooting on thursday. the other two victims will be buried next week. >>> the red cross isn't allowed to bring food and other aid in. neighborhood and homs, syria after troops swept in to crush the uprising. more than a dozen people were executed. a journalist was wounded while covering the conflict in syria. he spoke with anderson cooper about what's going on in that neighborhood. >> reporter: it's the most ferocious, vicious that i have seen. there are actually no military targets within there. it is directive of the new population. i think it would be blown. they are using a medieval siege. a shelling there. the air is covered with snipers. any attempt to leave the neighborhood is met by sniper fire. >> as you probably know, homs has been the epicenter of the antigovernment uprising in syria. >>> an agreement has been reached in the deep water horizon disaster. bp agreed to pa

he's in columbus, ohio. paul, what are the mixed results from super tuesday meaning for the supposed front-runner? >> reporter: good news, bad news for mitt romney. he won six of the ten states, good news. he picked up half of the 419 delegates at stake. good news. this is all about a battle. it's a battle for delegates. but the maybe not-so-good news, here in ohio, he barely won, about 12,000 votes over rick santorum. last week he barely won michigan. i guess you could say it was deja vu here again in ohio. that's troubling. in the exit polls, he's having problems rallying the base. >> what's next for the race? >> reporter: well, kansas. kansas is next. you're going to see mitt romney there tomorrow. you're going to see rick santorum there today. kansas, a very conservative state. their caucus on saturday maybe favors santorum over romney. then it moves south, alabama and mississippi are the big two next tuesday. again, two pretty conservative states. it's fair to say in the short run over the next week or

no candidate has ever won without winning ohio. urning, rural, moderate republicans, all of them in the state of ohio. thirdly it tests how whether you have a true crossover appeal. rick santorum hopes he can appeal to the reagan democrats, the blue collar voters, who will be very important in the general election should he become the nominee, so very, very important state. 63 delegates, but actually it's not even the number that counts. you just have to prove you can win there. >> what do the recent polls show? >> first of all, we haven't had one since tuesday's primaries, but the most recent poll shows that rick santorum is 11 points ahead. what we'll be able to see when we get another poll, perhaps as early as tomorrow, we'll be able to see whether romney has any momentum coming out of his twin victories the other night. mitt romney has more money to spend. so far he's outspending rick santorum 4-1. already been up on the air in the state. rick santorum has five or six days to catch up. >> i always say i would like to be an owne

just ahead on the program, new details in the ohio school shooting. three young lives cut short in the high school cafeteria. three families destroyed tonight, the mother of one of the victims, a teenage boy named danny, joins me ahead. what she has to say is heartbreaking, but she wants you to hear about her son. she wants you to hear about the boy that he was and the life that's been lost. >>> also ahead in "raw politics" tonight, will mitt romney's wins power him through super tuesday? was the win in michigan in name only and the wyoming caucuses tonight, the results, first with isha sesay. >> anderson, in syria the sneej homs is getting worse with opposition saying that the assad regime is flying helicopters overhead in syria firing at citizens on the ground. i've had surgery, and yes, i have occasional constipation. that's why i take doctor recommended colace capsules. i have hemorrhoids and yes, i have constipation. that's why i take colace. [ male announcer ] for occasional constipation associated with certain medical conditions there's colace

ohio a pivotal state. there have been few distractions for ohio. are voters will consumed with super tuesday or has this kind of been put on the back burner because of more pressing issues for people there? >> it really has been on the back burner. especially here in northeast ohio in the last week because of the shootings at chardon high school. matter of fact, it has been really the only story here this week. which is kind of a good thing in a way, i would think, for the politicians. because, well, i shouldn't say good thing. they haven't made any appearances in this part of the state this week. they've been elsewhere. cincinnati and columbus. not here in the cleveland area. that's going to change starting tonight. >> okay. so what's going to change this evening? >> well, you're going to see an appearance by rick santorum. he's going to be speaking at a county lincoln day dinner. mitt romney has a big rally planned tonight at cleveland state university. and they're going to be blanketing the state this weekend. >> okay. what do ohio voters want t

just ahead on the program, new details in the ohio school shooting. three young lives cut short in the high school cafeteria. three families destroyed tonight, the mother of one of the victims, a teenage boy named danny, joins me ahead. what she has to say is heartbreaking, but she wants you to hear about her son. she wants you to hear about the boy that he was and the life that's been lost. >>> also ahead, we'll have politics tonight, will mitt romney's wins power him through super tuesday? was the win in michigan in name only and the wyoming caucuses tonight, the results, first with isha sesay. >> anderson, the siege in homes gets worse with opposition saying that the assad regime is flying helicopters overhead in syria firing at citizens on the ground. that and more when "360" continues. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours? with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. for up to 16 hours of relief, try therma

the vice-president was in ohio just two days after the president was in ohio for some march madness. the next stop for the biden naming names store? florida. you see a lot of national polls, but in election years the presidential contests are settled state by state. and while most of our attention is on the roller coaster republican race, team obama knows the map this year is much, much, much tougher than 2008. so today, 236 days, i know you're counting, until the big election, the incumbents decided it was time to turn it up a notch and get personal. >> mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. >> let's talk truth tonight with former congressman and ngzing in supporter j.c. watts and democratic strategy and time bureau washington bureau chief. let's start first maria to you as a democrat. naming names, going to the key states, counting the days now to the election. seems pretty obvious they understand. they thought they'd have a nominee by now. they can't wait because the map's pretty tough. >> absolutely.

and why did you pick ohio, besides the obvious? >> why did i pick ohio state? because they're a physical team, and i think that that's important. >> okay. well, they've got their hands full against kansas. which as you remember, we profiled thomas robinson on this very show, before the tournament even started. and so we've got an emotional play with him, and so that's going to be quite a game. just to make you feel better, we'll go back to -- we'll go to my bracket. and it has, as you'll see in a second, nearly -- nearly as much red as yours. now, i went for -- kind of an all-tornado bracket. i figured that kentucky would be a slam dunk. if you remember, the crimson tide of alabama won the college football national championship, and their stake just got absolutely devastated last year by tornadoes. well, kentucky, i was just there with the tornadoes a couple weeks ago. and i figured, with all the talent they have and the heartbreak they've had with the tornadoes, this would be a slam dunk. and i'm still sticking by that. >> so hopefully kentucky will win and th

now after that bluegrass battle, ohio state and kansas go at each other aaron craft has a special fan in afghanistan. his older brother brandon shipped out with his army infantry team while aaron and his team, the buckeyes were beating syracuse in the elite eight last weekend. aaron says brandon is in his prayers and aaron admits he was worried about brandon going to afghanistan but brandon assured aaron he was well trained and remind himd this was the path he chose. aaron said he would never have made to it ohio state without his older brother pushing him while they were growing up. >> i played two years with him in football and basketball, awesome to see his leadership and work ethic, prepared me to where i am now. >> i think his procedure is tough enough, crafts out on on the court you know how his brother can get, by any means, i know he's coming back home. >> aaron's parents spoke to brandon thursday night before coming down to new orleans. that was the first time they had spoken to brandon since he deployed. randi, aaron craft is trying to concentrate on kansas and the big game

cnn's joe johns is in ohio in bowling green. rick santorum may have a bit of a problem after all there, what's going on? >> reporter: yeah. i think you're right, fred. there is more than one problem, if you think about it. the first problem he has is that he had a strong lead and romney has been able to narrow that within the margin of error. a statistical tie in terms of polling here in the state of ohio. that's one reason why we are looking at advantage romney here. the other reason, of course, is that santorum had a bit of an administrative problem not able to get on the ballot in three congressional districts and could come up short some 16, 18 delegates in a worst-case scenario. if you look across the country, it's a different story. it looks like a little something for everybody. in the state of tennessee, for example, santorum is running pretty strong there. in the state of georgia, which is the state newt gingrich represented in the congress for so many years, newt gingrich is actually running very strong. a little bit o

now ohio advances to play south florida. between ohio and south florida, we have two cinderella teams. when they play start, they will definitely have a sweet 16 cinderella team, which is great. >> so maybe i'll still be in it. let's see. >> 97% accurate right now. you had a great shot at beating most of your colleagues. >> i'm going to call the president and give him some advice. >> i think it's a good idea. >> thank you, joe. i know you're under the weather, so i hope you feel better. >> thank you, thank you. appreciate that. >>> today's tournament action begins here at noon eastern. every tournament game is like on cbs, tbs or tnt. watch onlights at ncaa.com/marchmadness. >>> but first, house training a dog can be frustrating, especially if you live in a high rise apartment or you don't have a yard. yes, been there. a new invention is helping dogs take care of business without going outside. gary tuchman has the story in this week's start small, think big. >> hopi skovron's career is going to the dog. >> these are my top

people shaving their heads for a cause in ohio. some elementary school students went bald to support their friend who is fighting cancer. this isn't an easy thing to do for young people because appearance means everything. but do events like this do more than just raise money? is it actually helping these kids deal with the problem their friend is having? >> absolutely. you cannot image the stress, especially for girls, with losing their hair and feeling different as far as cancer is concerned. the fact that the student would come around, his friends would do this in support means all the world. >> well, that's very interesting. i mean, you see these kids doing these things, you never think about the deeper meaning behind it. so good for them and good for them helping themselves. >> sh should be applauded. now he feels connected and part of the school, he doesn't feel different. >> okay. thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> we're going back now to bonnie in the severe weather center. something new happening, upon snee? >> that's

four ohio teams still in the tourney? >> one of them is ohio university. we have a lot of bobcats here at cnn. a lot of our photo journalists and one of our good buddies a huge bobcat fan. we have a lot of fans here with a big thumb's up on the green and white and fun to watch them play the next couple of days and weeks. >> ohio state, go. that's my pick to win it all. >> there you go. >> thanks, reynolds. >> you bet. >>> president obama is in full campaign mode but it seems some donors with deep pockets are not ready to fork over any cash. we are looking at why just ahead. >>> and we are hearing the shocking 911 calls from a night of florida neighbor watch captain shot and killed an unarmed teenager. >> this guy looks like he is up to no good or he is on drugs or something. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> more tapes for you in a moment. ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hi

he has ohio -- >> game on, blitzer. game on. >>> bring it on, blitzer. bring it on. >> you know, you may be right, but you never know. we're looking for the cinderella teams. >> i love a cinderella story. >> harvard, you know, how often has harvard gone to the ncaa tournament? >> remember george washington a couple years ago? i love those stories. everyone loves a good cinderella story. to your show, what's coming up? >> enough of the bracketology. >> yeah. >> we have serious news. political fallout in the aftermath of santorum's huge wins in mississippi and alabama. we'll assess what that means. also taking a close look at leon panetta's visit to afghanistan right now. and we're digging deeper on some of the situation. it's an ugly situation. my fear is it's going to get worse before it gets better, and it might not get better. >> we know that sara sidner was reporting, the soldier accused of that, he has left afghanistan. >> probably smart to get him out of there. >> thank you, sir. >>> before i let you go, wall street, this executive quits his job, ca

and in ohio 6 to 1. we've seen if you can get romney to about a 3:1 spending ratio, you can beat him. gingrich and santorum have a legitimate point. he won't be able to outspend the president in the general. >> based on my conversation with insiders, they're getting increasingly confident it's theirs, they can taste it, and they're already starting to think about running mates. >> i think that's legitimate. if we get to june, and this hasn't wrapped up, with you romney is inching ahead, there will be huge moment actual to get santorum and gingrich out. you'll see evangelicals starting to pull back, saying we want to beat barack obama, do we really want to damage the nominee at the same time, i'm stag are, though, that romney has been running for five years and can't close the deal. >> what about santorum staying in and trying to hurt romney. maybe romney will lose, but this will establish santorum as the front-runner for 2016, assuming barack obama's reelected? >> i fear that, because i don't think santo

initial to ohio and florida, he'll targets likely parts of virginia, plus pennsylvania. now, two democratic officials tell me the campaign will planned this roll-out for today for this time, because they actually expected the republicans would have a nominee by now, and they say they couldn't wait until, say may or june for basically responding to, and in the words of one, drawing some contrasts. >> and you know the president and the first lady hosted a huge state dinner last night for the british prime minister david cameron. these dinners are usually held in the east room about 120, 130 gless. last night, what, 400 guests invited to the white house for this state dinner? it's raising in political eyebrows explain to our viewers why. >> reporter: there were 47 bundlers invited to the state dinner by our account last night, bundlers meaning donors who fund raise huge amounts for the campaign. this is noteworthy, because the obama team has raised hackles among fund-raisers and supporters in the past because they historically do not invite major donors, and they're critici

you'll see him taking ohio. ohio is an incredibly interesting place. i was there last monday when the shootings were going on in cleveland. and i was around campaigning. you've got some really interesting races going on, both for republicans and democrats in the primaries. and, you know, it's a very depressed, very, very depressed area. working class people. they are really a bellwether for what's going on. >> do you think the infighting has hurt? >> i think it has. >> absolutely. >> there's a lot of comparison with hillary and obama but i think it's different. i think there was real enthusiasm for both candidates there. >> and their negative numbers never went below 70, right? and i think if you look at mitt romney, his unfavorables are down to 60. >> and i think everybody was tired of bush. everybody was tired of bush. you can't say the same thing about obama. >> says the democratic congresswoman. >> no, really. >> no, it's true. you can't say the same thing about obama. not everybody is tired of obama. obama'

and ohio results without newt. would santorum have been stronger? that's the mischief. >> donna, as you know, you're a great political strategy, a lot of the romney folks want gingrich and santorum in the race, because they sort of divide of that vote. if newt gingrich were to drop out, how much bad news would that about potentially? >> first of all, it could consolidate the support. it would give him not only much needed momentum to win some of those close contests. i don't know physical fix some of the organizational problems we have seen when he's unable to fill his delegate slate. of course, the former speaker has also had that problem, but it would coalesce the conservative vote. eric erickson, who's sort of educated me on the conservative vote across the country, believes it would give rick santorum an edge in some of these upcoming original primaries, and even some caucuses out west. >> take a look at they numbers, bill. so far, since iowa, all of the super tuesday contests, more than 8 million people have voted in his republican contests, an

all eyes are on the state of ohio. kirk cameron and lewis black weighs in. >> you don't even make the all eyes are on the state of ohio. latest cnn/orc poll has romney and santorum in a dead heat there but listen to a confident romney today. >> well, i get the nomination and -- and then we can start -- and then we can start organizing our effort to make sure that we replace president obama. >> tonight, i'll talk strategy with mitt romney's son josh romney and a heated conversation with former candidate michele bachmann, the views on rush limbaugh and gay marriage and kirk cameron and lewis black weighs in. >> you don't even make the choice to be gay. i mean, when did they catch on to that? why do they not -- what is their problem with science? >> but our big story is super tuesday. does mitt romney have the momentum? no better person to ask than josh, josh romney joins me. welcome. >> thanks for having me on. >> my pleasure. tell me the mood in the romney family camp. >> you know, i think we are pretty excited about ho