3 things to watch on Super Tuesday

(CNN) -- It's not as super as it has been in previous elections with more states involved, but 10 states have their say Tuesday in one of the most volatile Republican presidential races in generations.
Here are three things to watch for:
Romney's big day. He's been the off-and-on frontrunner throughout the race, but a big Super Tuesday could begin an end game toward a sometimes hesitant base coalescing behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Romney should win his home state of Massachusetts, neighboring Vermont and Virginia, where he and Ron Paul are the only two candidates on the ballot. His campaign thinks he can win in Idaho with its heavy Mormon population and possibly in North Dakota. That leaves Ohio and Tennessee, where polls show former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum leading just a week ago.
If Romney can win in Ohio, a bellwether for the general election, and Tennessee, which would help dispel the notion that he can't win in the South, it would be a big boost in overcoming a balky base and propel him to a huge lead in the delegate race.

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Turnout. It's the biggest dance yet for Republicans, so the number of people who show up at the polls could be an indication of how energized Republicans are now and what that might mean for the fall.
While there have been spikes in turnout in some states -- South Carolina was energized to turn out a win for Newt Gingrich in January that helped blunt Romney's early momentum -- overall it's down nearly 10% from 2008.
There are many factors that influence turnout -- local races on the same ballot, weather, polling that suggests the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Watch states such as Ohio and Tennessee for a better indication of how energized Republicans are.
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Even if Romney doesn't win in Ohio and/or Tennessee, he'll be able to take the podium tonight and point to wins in other states. Expect Santorum to also declare victory and emphasize that he was outspent by Romney in the states he lost to him.
Newt Gingrich will get a big win in Georgia, which he represented in the House of Representatives, and is already looking ahead to next week's contests in Alabama and Mississippi to keep his campaign going.
And Ron Paul could finally win his first contest of the 2012 battle for the Republican nomination in one of the caucus states. Even if he doesn't score a victory, he'll pick up some delegates, and his passionate core following and low-budget campaign will keep him in the race as long as he wants.

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CNN projects Romney will win Washington state

(CNN) -- Mitt Romney will win Saturday's Republican caucuses in Washington state, CNN projects, giving the former Massachusetts governor a shot in the arm heading into Super Tuesday.
With more than 60% of the vote in, Romney had 37% while Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum were tied for second with 24%. They were trailed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 11%.
At stake in the contest are 40 delegates.
"We're in a good second place, but the good news is we're doing very, very well in getting delegates," Paul told supporters in Seattle, when about half of the vote had been counted. "The enthusiasm for the cause of liberty continues to grow exponentially."
Washington's caucuses come just three days before Super Tuesday, when 10 states hold primaries and caucuses. And because of that, all four major GOP presidential candidates campaigned in the state, hoping a strong finish there would carry over to Tuesday.
Before CNN's projection was announced, state GOP chairman Kirby Wilbur predicted a win for either Romney or Paul. He also reported a large turnout.
Even as caucuses began Saturday in Washington, the focus was shifting to Super Tuesday states. Romney campaigned in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he took aim at President Barack Obama.
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"He's out of ideas. He's out of excuses. And in 2012, we're going to make sure he's out of a job," he told a cheering crowd.
Romney got a boost earlier this week from wins in Arizona, Wyoming and Michigan. His win in Washington would be his eighth this election cycle.
Santorum similarly campaigned in Ohio, telling an audience in the town of Blue Ash, "This was the industrial heartland of the country. They now refer to it as the Rust Belt. After ... I take the corporate tax for manufacturers, eliminate it, cut it to zero -- we're going to be the stainless-steel belt across this country."
But in the days before the caucuses, the attention was on Washington state, as all four candidates made the long trip to the Pacific Northwest.
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"This is the first time any one GOP presidential candidate has paid attention to us in recent memory, and my memory goes back to the 1970s," Wilbur told CNN. "We used to be the ugly sister invited to the dance, but no one asked to dance. Now we are the princess."
Wilbur said that the state's contest used to follow Super Tuesday, when in most cycles the battle for the nomination was basically over.
Santorum, campaigning Thursday in Pasco, told supporters, "You are the voice that is going to speak very loudly before Super Tuesday and put this race on a whole other plane."
Romney, who campaigned in Washington on Friday, sounded a similar theme.
"There are a bunch of states that are going to make up their minds on Tuesday, but you guys are first, and so your voice is going to be heard," Romney said at a campaign event in Bellevue.
Paul campaigned in Washington two weeks ago and was back in the state Friday and Saturday. He also was running campaign commercials in Washington, as was Gingrich, who made a swing through the state last week.
The caucuses, which kicked off Saturday morning, are open, meaning independent voters and Democrats can take part in the GOP contest.
While some smaller caucus meetings were held in private homes, most gatherings were larger and held in public places, such as schools, and included multiple precincts.
Besides voting for delegates, caucus-goers voted in a nonbinding GOP presidential preference straw poll. While delegates to the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida, won't be determined until later rounds of voting this spring, major news organizations, including CNN, will make proportional delegate estimates based on Saturday's presidential straw poll results.
The state GOP projected that 40,000 to 60,000 people would take part in the caucuses, up from the 12,616 who participated in the 2008 Republican caucuses. There was also a primary on the Republican side four years ago, with around a half million voters casting ballots.

Reported by cnn.com

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Romney: Santorum not fiscal conservative

Posted by

CNN Political Producer Rachel Streitfeld

Boise, Idaho (CNN) - Mitt Romney unleashed his harshest public attacks to date on his surging rival, Rick Santorum, during a rally in Boise Friday.

The former Massachusetts governor told an audience of more than one thousand people that Santorum was not a fiscal conservative, and accused him of contributing to the rising federal deficit during his time in the Senate.

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"I know that Sen. Santorum is getting his moment in the spotlight now, which is a good thing. I hope people take a very close look at his record," Romney said. "He voted to raise the debt ceiling five different times without compensating cuts. And he's a big proponent of earmarks."
Romney added: "If you want a fiscal conservative you can't vote for Rick Santorum, 'cause he's not."
The GOP candidate has not directly criticized Santorum in campaign events in over a week.
However, Romney's campaign and an outside group supporting him have applied increasing pressure on the former senator, who is riding on a wave of momentum after a trio of wins in early voting states Feb. 7.
Earlier on Friday in Ohio, the state's attorney general Mike DeWine announced he was withdrawing his support for Romney in favor Santorum.
Reporters questioned Romney about the news after his Boise event.
As staffers urged the governor to move along, Romney smiled at reporters and walked away.

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