contests in minnesota, missouri and colorado. and there could be a curveball and there could be a curveball coming. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> this president has failed. that's why he has to go and we need a good president. >> it isn't enough to nominate obama light. >> this could be a moment when the underdogs steal the show. >> i'm not a household name like mitt romney and newt gingrich. >> sounds like the revolution has already come to minnesota! >> will there be a dramatic upset in minnesota, colorado or missouri? it's america's choice. mitt romney's been on a winning streak but his momentum could stall again. >> i will stand for our rights and i'll stand for our values. >> newt gingrich is angry and determined to hit romney where it hurts. >> i have never before seen a person who i thought of as a serious candidate for president be that fundamentally dishonest. >> rick santorum and ron paul may be romney's biggest threats tonight. >> money is not going to bite presidency. >> once you become a ron paul supporter you remain a ron paul supporter. >> who might surge or stumble once the results are in tonight? >> the contrast between obama and romney is just not going to work for us. >> all four candidates are signalling a bitter fight to the finish. >> i am a candidate for the president of the united states. i will be candidate for the president of the united states. >> three states are voting. big contests are around the corner. and this race is spreading all over the map. welcome to the cnn election center. this special edition of "john king usa." 33 delegates at stake in colorado tonight, 37 in minnesota, plus a missouri primary with no impact on the delegate chase but still a potential momentum changer. mitt romney not long ago had dreams of a possible february sweep. but tonight two of his rivals have hopes of an upset. as always wolf blitzer is here to help guide us through every twist and turn. >> that's right, john. the underdogs in this race are trying as hard as they possibly can to even score. mitt romney has three victories under his belt. newt gingrich and rick santorum have one each. ron paul still searching for his first big win, john? >> wolf, our correspondents as always are covering all four candidates tonight. jim acosta, joe johns. jim, let's start with you. you're in denver tonight. is that governor romney think colorado's his best hope? >> well, we'll see, john. not everything has gone mitt romney's way today. there was a morning snowstorm that made romney late for his one and only event of the day. he was actually forced to skype from his campaign bus to the crowd waiting inside the event. but once he was able to get onstage he sounded pretty confident he'll win colorado tonight. >> don't be late to the caucuses tonight. that's the important thing. you guys make sure and be there and we're going to have a celebration also together tonight at -- is that sarah palin? look at that. there she is right there. [ cheers and applause ] >> there are a lot of sarah palin look alikes out here. they want to be. anyway we're going to have a little celebration tonight in denver i guess at the hyatt. i really appreciate the warm welcome we're getting on such a cold and snowy morning. i guess it took a long time to get the snow off the windshield of the bus. so it slowed it down. but it did not slow you down. i appreciate your willingness to be here and to participate in this process. colorado's got something to say about who our nominee is going to be. and i think i'm going to be that nominee. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: now for the record, sarah palin was not in that crowd. it must have been a look alike. but behind the scenes the romney campaign released a strategy memo that laid out what he thinks is his path to the nomination. but in that memo there was basically an acknowledgement that rick santorum will win one of these contests tonight. the memo also went on to predict a long haul to the nomination. basically saying that romney is best positioned to win in states out west and even the u.s. territories. john, when a campaign is talking about winning the u.s. territories you can bet it's probably going to be a bumpy ride to the nomination. >> clearly expecting a long road ahead. the one state they can't lose tonight would be colorado. jim acosta will be with us all night from the romney headquarters. joe johns in columbus, ohio. does speaker gingrich expect to be shut out? >> reporter: it's clear note th clear at all. i think he's trying to get a leg up on super tuesday because frankly it's so important for him, john. the strategy is for the speaker to amass a bunch of votes in ohio and in the state of georgia and then just sort of hold on until he can get back to some of the southern states to try to replicate that big victory he had in south carolina. one of the most interesting things i found, columbus, ohio will be the third stop of the day for him. he started out in cincinnati, moved on to dayton, ohio. and in dayton that of course is the hometown of wilbur and orville wright who are the pioneers who are widely acclaimed for starting aviation, manned flight. and newt gingrich there sort of chose that place as the opportunity to take some of his critics on who have gone after him so much for proposing a space colony on the moon. he even took on "saturday night live" itself. listen to sound bite. >> "saturday night live" made fun saturday night about the idea of a colony on the moon. and i think that's terrific. and i think "saturday night live" is a funny show. and my only challenge to them is when the colony is there i hope they will come and broadcast from the moon. >> reporter: so here he is trying to answer his critics in the state of ohio. newt gingrich says he will be in it for the long haul. but it certainly looks like it will be a very tough road for the former speaker of the house to try to get the nomination. john? >> joe johns tracking speaker gingrich tonight in columbus, ohio. speaker gingrich scheduled to speak later in this hour. let's show you more about what we expect to learn tonight. let's go over to the magic wall. we started with iowa, went to new hampshire. south carolina, florida and nevada. these three states voting tonight. we get more of a case in the midwest. you see santorum winning iowa here. he's very confident in minnesota and missouri for just that reason. consecutives, evangelicals. he believes he'll get one, maybe two wins tonight. colorado a state governor romney carried four years ago. it is critical. this is our exit polling sent ever. no entrance or exit polls in these states. but we'll bring you a compilation so far. we've gone through all the states that have voted. how are the tea partiers voting, how are the evangelicals voting so far. we'll move into the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth competition. we'll show you how the republican electorate is feeling so far. we also have the best campaign team. rick santorum will strike to make his case he's the better conservative alternative than newt gingrich. >> he's certainly counting on some kind of win. let's bring in gloria borger and david gergen to assess what's going on. rick santorum could have an upset tonight. that could set back mitt romney's air of inevitability. >> he really needs a win, wolf. he's trying to prove this race that he's the conservative alternative to mitt romney, not newt gingrich. so if he has a win or two wins, both of which are possible, then he gets the bragging rights. and he can continue on and perhaps raise enough money and get enough juice to go on and compete in super tuesday and make the case about his conservatism. >> a lot of people thought only a few days ago that romney was going to coast in colorado -- three states made for him. >> i think a lot of us are wondering why are we going to atlanta to talk about this tonight. here we are. it's a night of real drama. there's real possibility especially if rick santorum were to win two out of the three but if santorum won one and ron paul wins the other, that could very much upset the dynamic of this just before super tuesday. it would be the last big major political event before super tuesday. and that would cast a lot of questions, raise a lot of doubts about super tuesday. >> here's the other thing about missouri. we talk about no delegates, beauty contest and all the rest. true. but it is the first time you have rick santorum and mitt romney together without newt gingrich on the ballot. so without newt gingrich on that ballot, this is a test of rick santorum. can he beat mitt romney and be the conservative alternative to mitt romney? so that's a race that's worth looking at for the future. >> let's not forget ron paul. he's got a devoted group of supporters. next saturday night the main caucuses, i think he'll do well in maine. and remember at the end of the month, arizona and michigan before super tuesday. so there's going to be some more moments here. the question to you is this. newt gingrich. if he didn't do anything between now and super tuesday what does that do for him? >> well, he's got to debate which could help him in phoenix with the cnn debate. but he's also going to be going into the south. and what could emerge -- >> on super tuesday. >> on super tuesday and what could emerge from this is a regional pattern in which mitt romney is really strong in the northeast and in florida. and in the west. that newt gingrich is really strong in the south. and that rick santorum is really strong in the midwest. that is a fractured party. that's a nomination that's up for grabs if that were to develop. >> and it guarantees that this process keeps on going and going and going. >> it does. and what's interesting today is that the romney campaign put out a prebuttal to what's going to occur tonight. jim acosta was talking about it. they talked about newt gingrich's southern strategy. let me quote. they called it "a flight of fancy and not grounded in reality." because they say, look, he may do well in some of those southern contests. but don't forget, it's proportional. so he's not likely to win even if he gets -- unless he gets 50 or 60% of the vote he's not likely to win/winner take all. so the romney people say we're the only ones with the organization and the money to march on. >> but just a few days ago after nevada we said the cloak of invincibility is back on romney. he loses a couple tonight we're in a new ball game. >> let me go to the white house. jessica yellin is joining us right now in washington. jessica, you look at these three states that are voting tonight, especially colorado. this is a state that if president obama's going to be re-elected he desperately needs. >> he's counting on winning it, wolf. they argue that they can win the white house again without it. but you know he picked it up last time around. it's nine electoral votes. one of their maps says that they need to pick up 19 battle ground electoral votes. if they can just get, for example, colorado plus minnesota or colorado plus another state like north carolina and iowa, that could be the springboard that gets them to the white house. it's going to be a hard win for the president because he's lost some of the support there that he gained at the last four years ago. but we're going to see a lot of the -- i'm going to be spending a lot of time in colorado covering the president. let's put it that way in the next year, wolf. >> you know they'll be watching what happens tonight not only at the white house throughout washington but also in chicago at the obama re-election campaign. john, back to you. >> and wolf, also watching is ron paul. he's counting on doing quite well tonight. but what if he doesn't? i'll ask him about the possible threat to his campaign and his message. and will newt gingrich be able to win even just one more state? the best political team's take on that question is ahead. this new at&t 4g lte is fast. hey. did you guys hear... ...that mary got engaged? that's so 42 seconds ago. thanks for the flowers guys. 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[ speaking chinese ] [ male announcer ] stay a step ahead with the 4g lte galaxy s ii skyrocket. only from at&t. ♪ what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. the texas congressman ron paul has always said his campaign would fare better in the caucuses states. we spoke just a bit earlier. the congressman was in minnesota. >> ron paul is with us now. sir, the three contests tonight, colorado, missouri and minnesota, does ron paul think he has a chance to win in any of those three states? >> well, we're going win some delegates. whether we come in first or one, two or three i don't know exactly that. but we feel positive about moving along and picking up more delegates. but we'll have to wait and see how many. >> if we wake up wednesday morning, though, eight contests will have been held in the republican race for president by then. if ron paul is 0 for 8 meaning no wins, what would that say about your prospect of actually winning the nomination? you certainly have an impact on the race an getting delegates. but 0 of 8 are you a viable candidate to win the nomination? >> it pnds on what happens for the next 42 states. there will be a lot more primary toss go. but obviously you do have to start picking up. we have some others. we're optimistic we're going to keep picking up delegates. that's what the other delegates are doing. nobody else is about to at this point jump ahead of romney. but we think we're going to keep doing. this and we have a very good chance on what's happening up in maine. >> as you go across the country, wouldn't things you say at every stump speech if you're president of the united states you'll get much more serious about the deficit. you say you will cut $1 trillion in the debt in the first year. ben bernanke asks this question, at a time of a fragile recovery how how quickly can you cut. >> we need to at least avoid doing no harm. i would say do no harm is an important piece of advice i would argue. so there is a balancing act. >> what he's trying to say there is, don't cut too much too soon. do you agree or disagree? >> well, i would question the credibility of the chairman. i mean, go back and look at what he said in '06 as he was moving in to becoming chairman. he says don't sweat it, people. the markets are great. there's no housing issues. no bubbles. and he's not been very good in predicting and warning us. he was around when the nasdaq bubble was about to burst. he didn't warn greenspan at the time. so i would say that be careful in using him as your expert witness. >> let me ask you what a president paul would do. if you were president at this moment in a couple of world hot spots. number one syria. the united nations security council did not pass a resolution putting more pressure on president assad. the president of the united states has said he believes assad should step down. you've seen videos i'm sure of the killing and bloodshed. what would president paul do about that right now? >> well, that problem has been going on for many, many years if not centuries. bad governments. look at what they did to communists. killed hundreds of millions of people. so it's a tragedy that happens in africa all the time. but i'm not representing those countries as a congressman and as a president. i represent the united states. and i don't think it's a wise thing to get involved in the civil war that's going on in syria. that would cost money, it would cost lives, and it may well spread. and already because we are agitating, we're already very much involved trying to get the u.n. to do this and that. and the russians now don't like it. the chinese don't like it. so what should be a domestic civil war is now turning into an international crisis. and the russians and the chinese are reacting to us by pushing this. i think it's none of our business. i think it's tragedy. but i can point out many tragedies, many folds greater than, this but it's not in american interests. now, as president if there were a crisis like this and was building and somebody's making the case it's a matter of national security i'd go to the congress. i wouldn't go to the united nations or nato. i'd go to congress and say, do you think this deserves a war? if it does you declare the war then we go to war, fight and win it. but to assume that we have an automatic obligation to be over there i think ace very dangerous thing to assume. >> and what would you do about the current situation unfolding in egypt in they say 19 americans working for pro democracy groups assisting the citizens of egypt trying to build political parties and the like, egypt wants to put them on trial and prosecute them for meddling in its affairs. what would a president paul do about that? >> i think we should do everything conceivable diplomatically to get our people out. but obviously we have to look at this in context of how this came about. we propped up mubarek for 40 years, and tense of billions of dollars. i think close to $50 billion, which meant that it was an artificial situation. so now the revolt and the blowback comes from this that there's a revolt against our puppet dictator. and who's taken over? people who don't like us and who hate israel. and this is backfiring on us. our intervention, propping up of mubarek is coming back to haunt us. as far as the people he's holding we should do everything conceivable diplomatically to get him out there. >> three states voting tonight. we'll check the results and see you this weekend in maine. take care, sir? thank you. ron paul there. we're waiting now to hear from newt gingrich at an event in ohio. it's not voting today but it's a state critical to his stop romney strategy. does the former speaker really have a viable path to fight all the way to the convention? we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. you're watching a special edition of "john king usa." three contests tonight, caucuses in minnesota and colorado and a primary in missouri. this could be a good night for the underdogs, rick santorum and ron paul. more politics in a moment. first wolf blitzer is here with the latest on the crisis in syria. >> it's a situation that's horrible right now, john. we're watching a blood bath in parts of syria today. people in the streets even children. 35 reportedly were killed. more crackdowns by the president bashar al assad. i spoke to susan rice. >> you're being seen around the world including in damascus right now. i want you to look into the camera as you are. and assume you're speaking directly to president bashar al assad in syria. what would you say to him? >> for a brighter future, your days are numbered and it is time and past time for you to transfer power responsibly and peacefully. the longer you hang on, the more damage you do yourself, your family, your interests and indeed your country. >> let's go to cnn's arwa damon. arwa, powerful message from the u.s. government. but can the people in syria act