Blame Fox When GOP Loses

Meanwhile, Santorum says 'damn right' we cling to guns, religion

(NEWSER) - Bad news for Rick Santorum: Mitt Romney has taken the lead in Santorum's own home state of Pennsylvania. Romney is at 42% support and Santorum at 37% in the latest Public Policy Poll , followed by Ron Paul with 9% and Newt Gingrich at 6%. That's a gain of 17 points for Romney since last month—and a loss of 6 points for Santorum. Romney has even made gains in Santorum-leaning groups including evangelicals, tea partiers, and the "very conservative." Many see Pennsylvania as make-or-break for Santorum . More»

Gingrich must go after Alabama, Mississippi losses, pundits agree

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich lost both Mississippi and Alabama last night, and the calls for him to drop out have risen to a deafening roar. Here's what pundits are saying:

• "If Newt Gingrich can't win Alabama and Mississippi, where can he win?" asks CNN . The states are "virtual home turf" for the ex-speaker. Dig deeper, and the numbers keep looking bad; Gingrich saw sharp declines among key groups like very conservative voters and evangelicals.
• Gingrich "lost any of the remaining logic behind his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination," writes Glen Johnson of the Boston Globe . He can't even claim he was derailed by Mitt Romney's attack machine—Rick Santorum "has shown an ability to win in spite of it."

Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum both need this

(NEWSER) - Having failed to seal up the nomination in yesterday's Southern primaries , it's all about Illinois now for Mitt Romney. That state's Tuesday primary is the next big one, though Missouri will hold caucuses Saturday and Puerto Rico holds its primary Sunday. Politico calls Illinois "the new Michigan. And, for that matter, the new Ohio." Romney won both of those states and needs to make it three-for-three in the big Midwestern primaries. Right now, things are looking good for him—unlike in Michigan and Ohio, Romney is actually ahead in the Illinois polls, though not by much, the Washington Post reports. More»

Alabama, Mississippi primaries could seal the deal for Romney

(NEWSER) - Today's primaries in Mississippi and Alabama are playing an unexpectedly pivotal role in the GOP presidential race. What to keep an eye on, per NPR and Politico :

• Will Mitt finally win in the South? He's failed to take any of the southern states so far, but he's polling well in both Alabama and Mississippi. Will today be the day he proves he can compete in the famously conservative region? Both states veer particularly sharply to the right, so both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum really want to beat Romney here to burnish their conservative bona fides.
• Will Newt lose in the South? Gingrich has called both states must-win for him; in order to stay in the race, he'll likely have to win at least one and perform well in the other.

He aims to sweep the South

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich says he's not dropping out, despite increasingly loud calls from Rick Santorum supporters for him to do so. "If I thought [Santorum] was a slam dunk to beat Romney and to beat Obama, I would really consider getting out," Gingrich said in a radio interview today. "I don't." He pointed out that as of Nevada, some were calling for Santorum to drop out. "He ignored all those. He now has had a terrific month. " More»