>> tonight, a republican campaign blockbuster. ten states and hundreds of delegates on the line at the same time. >> it's our time for choosing. and this time we got to get the choice right. >> will this night bring any clarity to the most unpredictable presidential race in memory? >> we just need to stay on the island, not get voted off. >> voters are deciding in vermont, virginia, and georgia. >> it's very important for to us do well in georgia. >> in ohio, massachusetts, and tennessee. >> we feel really good about tennessee. >> in oklahoma, idaho, alaska and north dakota. >> i want north dakota's votes. >> it's america's choice. and it's super tuesday. mrz mo mitt romney needs to finally prove he can close the deal with voters and rick santorum needs to move prove he can stop him. >> everyone is going out here scrapping and clawing. and we're doing all right. >> this may be newt gingrich's last chance for a campaign comeback. >> i'm not a team player. i'm a change agent. >> and ron paul's biggest chance to pick off more delegates. >> we do know that the strategy of building up delegates is a pretty sound position to have. >> will any one candidate emerge as the big super tuesday winner or loser? republicans are choosing. the world is watching. and nothing in this election compares to what's happening right now. welcome to the cnn election sent they are special edition of "john king usa." there's a gold mine of delegates at stake right now. 400 that stretch from vermont to alaska and something that may be just as valuable, a chance for the republican candidates to prove they can win on a big national playing field. live picture from fargo, north dakota. people gathering right now for a huge republican congress that begins later this hour. voters in all turning out in ten states across the nation to have their voices heard today. it's going to be a very busy night. could go into the morning. wolf blitzer will help us. >> john, to every moment of this it's going to be exciting. we could get results coming in at least a little bit less than an hour or so from now, polls close in georgia, virginia and vermont, 7:00 p.m. eastern. less than an hour from now. at 7:30 p.m. eastern voting ends in the ohio primary. that's the most watched contest of the night. polls close in oklahoma, tennessee and massachusetts at 8:00 p.m. eastern. we may project a winner in idaho and north dakota sometime after the 10:00 p.m. eastern hour as the caucuses in those states wind down. voting ends in the alaska caucuses at midnight eastern. a total of 419 delegates are at stake in ten contests across the nation on this super tuesday. as always, anderson cooper is with us. anderson? >> wolfers let's look at where the delegate race stands right now. cnn estimates mitt romney has 207 delegates, more than twice as many as rick santorum who's got 86. ron paul has 46 delegates. newt gingrich has just 39. remember, 1,044 delegates are needed to clinch this nomination. four years ago john mccain already had clinched the nomination by early march with 1200 delegates. tonight we have a brand-new way to show you how the fight for delegates could affect the republican convention in tampa. we'll use some state of the art technology to put tom foreman in the middle of a virtual convention. let's go to john with some new exit poll information. >> ten states on the map tonight. a lot of data coming into us. 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 process. but could be a sense that the republicans might have difficulty healing their wounds after this process. are you satisfied if romney wins the nomination? nearly 6 in 10 of ohio voters, 57% say yes. so governor romney much of them say yes about 36%, more than a third, that's a bit worrisome say no. what about rick santorum? he was tied in the polls with governor romney heading into the poll in ohio. slightly more. 61% of ohio republicans say yes, i'd be satisfied if rick santorum wins the nomination. as you see this you know a tough battle between santorum and romney for conservative voters and some sense of hesitation and reservation. it will be very important as we watch all ten contests tonight and pitch forward after super tuesday if the republicans finally settle on a candidate then big challenge will be healing their wounds. we have a long way to go tonight before we know we can answer that settle question. >> john, thanks very much. we have correspondents covering all the campaigns tonight. first candy crowly is covering mitt romney's campaign. he wrapped up a little informal q&a candy with reporters out there. what's the message he and his folks are trying to project tonight? >> listen. the same message that they've been trying to project for the last ten days, 12 days. they want to get back to jobs. in terms of how they feel about this evening, i spoke to one senior adviser who said, listen, we understand that big states win big headlines. if you take those states. but the action is where the delegates are. they want both, of course, but right now romney campaign really is focused on the math of this. where do you pick up that number to get the nomination? they can't do it all night but they are back there crunching these numbers, if you will. that's really what romney had to say outside the voting booth today. >> it's really hard to predict what's going to happen tonight. as i said, i'm hoping for a good win here in massachusetts. and what happens elsewhere i don't know. but i think we'll pick up a lot of delegates. and this is a process of gathering enough delegates to become the nominee. and i think we're on the track to have that happen. >> reporter: so what they are looking for tonight of course are all those delegates. but we all know that there's been so much focus on ohio, that that is really the kind of the crown jewel. the headline that the romney folks would like to see as well as santorum folks. but i will tell you that one of the things that they have said all along, every time whether the romney campaign has been down or up, every time i've talked to them they've said listen we have a great ground game out there. we have a way to get these folks to the polls. that's what brought them home in michigan. they think that's what will do it in ohio as well. >> c >>. >> candy, stand by. jim acosta, the polls show it was very close between santorum and romney in ohio. but i don't understand why the santorum folks were spending only a minimal amount of money in paid advertising in ohio. >> reporter: that's right. if you look at the ad tracker cantor media, they will tell you that rick santorum is not spending a whole lot of money in ohio on ads in broadcast tv markets. and the santorum campaign responds to that essentially mitt romney is the establishment candidate. they say they are not. but wolf, i have to tell you, we ever picking up on some super tuesday defines from the santorum campaign. a spokesman for rick santorum had a chance to catch up with him a few minutes ago. he started to lower expectations a little bit. he said yeah, we'll be comfortable if we come out of ohio in a strong second place position in the popular vote. yes, it wasn't that great that we did not file the necessary paperwork to get those delegates in every corner of the state. for example where we are tonight, steubenville, ohio, rick santorum is on the ballot but he can't pick up delegates in this area. so that's a blow to his campaign. but they say picking up on what mitt romney was just saying a few moments ago that mitt romney is incapable of clenching the 1144 delegates he needs to get the nomination. here's what gidly had to say a few moments ago. >> he's got to get to 1144, too. it's not compelling. but he wants us out because he knows he can't get there. and if we all go to the convention with a certain amount of delegates and we have to figure something out at the convention then so be it. but that's democracy and that's the way the party structure is set up. we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. >> argument barack obama made in '08, saying its mathematically impossible for hillary clinton to clinch the nomination. she took it to june and came close but didn't get it. is that essentially the same situation we could be in the middle of right now? will you overtake him? . it's another issue where mitt romney lines upper effectually with obama. first all the issues, now campaign strategy. got to love it. >> the santorum campaign sees one bright spot in these days heading into super tuesday. they feel like this assault that they've made on mitt romney's record on a national insurance mandate has been effective. they feel like they have blunted his momentum here in ohio. and if they're successful tonight in a lot of of these states, and they hope they are, they think they're going to take that message forward and keep hurting mitt romney as the days go on. wolf? >> jim acosta at santorum headquarters in ohio right now. joe johns is covering newt gingrich's campaign in atlanta. joe, he's likely to win all the polls show he's doing really well in his home state of georgia. but what's his strategy beyond tonight? >> reporter: well for the first thing i think you have to say, wolf, they see a path to the nomination still. that path runs through the south. it goes through states like mississippi, through alabama, onto texas. of course, georgia is certainly critical in that strategy. newt gingrich saying he expects to win the majority of the delegates and do very well here tonight. listen to him from earlier today. >> we're going to carry georgia by a big margin tonight. we're going to do much better than people expected in a number of states. [ cheers and applause ] >> it turns out the american people like positive ideas and positive solutions. and the american people like proposals that give them a better future, that create jobs and help create a better future. and so i think for the third time we're going to come bouncing back. >> reporter: talking to aides with the campaign, i have to tell you, they've said here they've said in other places around the country, it's all about the delegates. amassing as many delegates as he possibly can with an eye toward the convention. newt gingrich not only in georgia, not exclusively in his home state, also doing a little bit of traveling in tennessee as well. some of the polls showing him trending upward there, looking halfway good in the state of tennessee. by the way, wolf, here in this ballroom in the atlanta area they have already cued up the song "georgia on my mind." so you know what the newt gingrich people are thinking here in the state of georgia. >> georgia certainly on his mind tonight. we'll have all the speeches later in the course of tonight as well from these candidates. joe johns, thanks very much. anderson, let's go back to you. let's check in with our analysts. what does a win mean for all these candidates? for mitt romney what does he need to claim a win tonight? >> he needs attrition. he needs to grind the other folks down. looks like that's increasingly happening. and that means he can go on and it's increasingly hard to see how others can go on. that's what he needs to look for tonight. newt need a break through, in addition to winning georgia and tennessee. rick santorum needs to do well in oklahoma, maybe take tennessee, hopefully for him win ohio. that's what they need. >> does romney have to have a win in more than just the east coast? does he have to have wins geographically all over the place? >> no candidate will come close to getting 144 dele 1144 delega. they want to pick apart the country and try to win at the delegate level. not about winning at the state level about finding delegates at the c.d. level, congressional district level. >> if romney can win in each section of the country can he claim to be the national delegate? >> he can. romney has won important states in the general. florida, arizona, he may win virginia. we'ri he's won michigan. important general election states. if he wins ohio tonight that will put another one of those in the bag. i think that helps him look more like a national candidate. >> there's four different regional minute primaries today. the yankee primary which is his base, massachusetts where he was governor and vermont he has to run well there or he's not going to be very credible. the blue-collar republicans. most interesting because they can be swing voters in ohio and that's a swing state. then there's the southern evangelicals. oklahoma, tennessee, georgia, virginia, kind of a special case because there's almost nobody else on the ballot. got to run strong there. finally the western libertarians. alaska, north dakota, to a lesser extent idaho has a strong mormon population there that should favor romney. those are pretty diverse regions. if he can take one out of each four region he's got a serious claim as a national candidate. >> the two states that matter for mitt romney are ohio and tennessee tonight. ohio, if santorum loses ohio he not only loses a state he loses his rationale. that's blue-collar santorum, beer-drinking territory. that's populist america. he's just lost one of those states, michigan. he can't afford to lose another. those are important states to watch. if romney wins in tennessee or scores well in tennessee, anderson, i think you're right. now that's a beach head in the south. romney hasn't demonstrated he can do well in the south. >> nice anecdote to gingrich who we think will do well in the state of georgia. a lot more to talk about. john we'll be watching particularly the blue-collar voters paul was just talking about. anderson, more exit polls ahead. some of them reveal a significant problem for mitt romney. stand by for that. ron paul tells me his republican rivals are being reckless. find out just what he means ahead. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. with more choices and fewer calories, oh dear... oh dear! 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?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ten states at play on this super tuesday. first polls close in about 40 minutes. we'll continue to track the results when they come in. come into the night mitt romney has been bragging he's on a five-state win streak. we're seeing some problems for governor romney. these are republican voters voting in a republican primary. what about in the state of georgia tonight, newt gingrich's home state? what about governor romney's positions on the issues? 53% of voters in a republican primary romney considered the frontrunner say his views are not conservative enough. that's the state of georgia. 53% in georgia say mitt romney's positions are not conservative tonight. what about the state of ohio? this is a little better for governor romney. 47% of republicans in ohio say his positions are just about right. but still, more than a third, 37%, say not conservative enough. let's move on to the state of tennessee, another big battle ground tonight. we know here a dead heat with senator santorum in the final days, nearly half of those voting in the republican presidential primary today says mitt romney's position on the issues not conservative enough. we'll continue to look at this data throughout the night not only to see who's winning in the key states and why but what it might tell us about the race going forward. another candidate we haven't mentioned much yet ron paul. he's in north dakota tonight channelling much of his energy into the caucus state. i spoke with him earlier during a stop in idaho. >> congressman, good to see you on this important day. ten states voting today. yet to have a ron paul victory. we thought it might come in maine, close but not a victory. we thought it might come in washington state. it didn't come there. will today end with a win column for ron paul and if so where? >> today we're looking at three states in particular. we're looking at alaska, idaho and we're looking at north dakota. and we expect to do real well, but it remains to be seen exactly what will happen tonight. >> your third in the delegate chase coming into today, governor romney is starting to pull open to a big lead. many people might ask tomorrow morning, congressman, if you have maybe one victory but still well back in the delegate race they will ask what you want. >> we want a lot more delegates. we haven't even counted the delegates for the delegate process that has been started in the last couple months, won't finish for another two months. so we don't know exactly what we'll do. so we've got to count the delegates before we make any decisions. >> you're a veteran of this process. if governor romney were to win five or six of the ten states tonight, does that make him inevitable, likely? what will it make him. >> no, it makes him the frontrunner. but i think he'll still have a long way to go. nobody's going to clinch the election today. and you get gingrich winning some states, santorum winning some states, ron paul winning some states, and sorting all this delegates selection process, i think we have a little bit of time left before you declare anybody a winner. >> one of the big conversations in the country right now and in the campaign is what to do about iran and its nuclear program. the prime minister of israel was in town to meet with the president of the united states. your three rivals for the republican nomination, senator santorum, speaker beginning rich, governor romney all spoke to apac in washington today. i want you to listen to their tough talk when it comes to iran. >