than 50 cars set ablaze since friday. los angeles police announce arrests. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in the situation room. we're counting down the hours to the first voting of the 2012 presidential campaign. 28 hours to be precise, until iowa republicans gather at more than 1700 locations for their party caucuses and start picking their favorites. candidates have spent millions of dollars, logged many thousands of miles in this long iowa marathon. now it's a sprint. as they dash across the state looking for the last few votes. mitt romney is at the head of the pack trying to hold back ron paul and a hard charging rick santorum. let's go live to cnn joe johns joining us from marion iowa right now with the latest. joe? >> wolf, mitt romney is pushing across the state traveling hundreds of miles. certainly one of the busiest days of his entire campaign. he is trying to get his supporters to go out and caucus for him. >> on the final day of campaigning, energy is everything in iowa. you watch for loud applause, size of crowds, signs of enthusiasm. the romney campaign projects confidence but are careful ton predict the win. in fact, officially they say they never plan to win iowa which will be the excuse if they don't. >> i sense a feeling, of co-elessing, of people around mitt. i think people are starting to figure out that this is the guy that is going to beat barack obama. >> other candidates were taking questions. mixing it up. romney was playing it safe. speaking of his wife, he might as well have been talking about himself lately. >> she was marvelous. they asked her tough questions and she did exactly what you're supposed to do, she didn't answer them. >> one thing the candidate did not show is empty space in the room. >> this county did good things for me last time around. i need you to get out and do that again. with more votes and vote and vote and vote. >> usually people get paid to make sure guys like romney to speak in small rooms that are easy to fill. with mitt romney facing a social conservative mike huckabee, huckabee would win and romney would not recover. this campaign would rather not see history repeat itself with the surging conservative, rick santorum. there was a much larger crowd and smaller space, different energy, and more of the stump speech, playing it safe. >> i believe it an opportunity nation, a merit society. >> romney made a reference to the campaign four years ago but said nothing about the loss. it was another joke about his wife, ann. >> i'm standing here, she's standing there, and suddenly her half of the stage collapsed in dubuque at the best western hotel. she went down to the ground, landed on her back side. i said, how are you honey? later she said, well, i fell on da butt in dubuque. >> romney actually did do a media availability in atlantic, iowa yesterday. in which he poked fun at rick santorum for endorsing him in the last campaign for president after romney's event here in marion, iowa. he goes on to one more stop that occurs around 9:45 eastern time. pretty late night, wolf. >> seems to me, joe, and i don't know if you agree with, that ann romney is emerging as a real asset. i met her last week. are we seeing more of her on the campaign trail before the iowa caucuses? >> we slirn are. and she goes pretty far to help soften up his image, if you will. he always had that problem of being a little stiff. the word in the media so many times has been robotic. she helps that. because she is a spontaneous, a light touch and seen by many as a real asset to the romney campaign. >> she is. a very nice person, i must say, as well. thanks, joe. well get back to you. not too long ago newt gingrich looks like he was jet powered as he jumped to the front of the pack but he quickly fizzled and fell back to earth after he became the target of some nasty, nasty campaign ads. much of the negative tone in iowa is the work of free spending super pacs as they are called. taking a closer look into the super pacs, brian, what are you finding out? >> wolf, every campaign benefits from the so-called super pacs but there is one with mitt romney who spent more and raised more and spent more in ads and it torpedos newt gingrich from the lead. his warp speed slide from the top of the poll has been news in iowa. and there is an onslaught of negative ads like this one. >> i made a big mistake in the spring. >> haven't we had enough mistakes? restore our few tour is responsible for the content of this message. >> restore our future. a political action committee that support mitt romney. it spent more than $3 million on ads in iowa. many of them blistering grinning. super pacs like this can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of a candidate and all candidates are benefiting. super pacs have to be independent and candidates aren't allowed to communicate with them in reality. >> how close are the relationships between the super pacs, like restore our future, and campaigns like romneys. >> technically super pacs are unaffiliated with the campaigns. however in reality, they are very much an extension of the campaigns. run by former senior advisers. >> gingrich called restore our future a phony super pac, saying that to romney. >> that's your staff and your organization. those are your millionaire friends paying for it. >> we called and e-mailed romney's campaign for response. we didn't hear back. contacted by cnn an official at restore our future, which is run out of this building in washington, wouldn't comment on gingrich's criticism, wouldn't discuss strategy. but at least two people on the board of that super pac are former romney supervisors. records show hotel magnates jw and richard mariott each gave at least $45u7b,000 to restore our future this election cycle. paulson gave a million dollars. we tried to contact them but possibly due to the federal holiday, we didn't hear back. tactics used are legal and analysts say they work. >> this has had a huge affect on this race. there is no question that it enormously eroded his support in iowa after he surged nationally. >> analysts say because of the results from the negative ads in iowa this is only going to intensi intensify. restore our future is already using negative ads in south caroline kwla which holds its primary on january 21st. >> even though the soup are super pacs have to show their donors, they have ways of skirting around that. >> yes. they can take donations from shell corporations that they are taking money from. you will never really know who the people are behind that. again, it is all legal. the campaign finance laws were changed by the supreme court decision a couple years ago that paved way for this. >> lead up to iowa and beyond, wait until the general election starts. p will be nasty, indeed. brian todd, thank you so much. without the social conservative or evangelical of of his his eye rifles, he focused on the victory that seems to be in his grasp. gloria is here at the cnn election center as well. could romney go all the way and win in iowa? >> you know we never thought we would say, yes, given the fact he spent so much money there in 2008 and did not win. i do believe if you look at the polls and get a sense of what is going on in iowa that it is very possible. the key to it really is the evangelical vote. back in 2008 when mike huckabee won, he really brought out evangelical voters and consolidated them. so he add solid victory. there is no mike huckabee this time. evangelical voters are split. a lot of them going for rick santorum but tle are split between perry and santorum and some for ron paul. what you see with mitt romney, is as long as they are split, he is doing well. other thing is social issues. this time it is much more about the economy, who can manage well. who can be a good businessman. and who can beat barack obama. those are things that work well for mitt romney. >> and volatility in this contest. i don't remember a time where we have seen so many surge to the top only to collapse. >> it is an unsettled field that is a cliche already. we had, what, eight front runners. i think what's interesting about this particular primary, is that it has been very much about the debates in fact, wolf, you could say that all of the debates we have had and other networks we have had, have essentially been the first primaryes. that candidates are beginning to win out. people look, for example, at rick perry who is supposed to be a top-tier candidate. saw his bad performance in some debates and they haven't really given him much of a second chance. so iowa, while the first votes are being cast, they are the same as the rest of the country. it's bs been up and down and up down. >> the 2012 election is about to take place. not just a straw poll but real votes. >> the good thing for everybody nationally is they don't have to see all of the negative ads. >> i was there. i saw them. >> me too. >> you saw them as well. >> thanks very much. >> sure. >> are the candidates up to par lay a caucus victory into a nomination? and a ticket to the oval office. plus, steve king is back and could put a candidate. over the top tomorrow night, so why isn't he endorsing anyone? i will ask him. he is standing by to join us live. with hydroblend™, only from visine®. just one drop instantly soothes and revives tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for up to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now and save $3. i just wanted to let you know that military personnel can preboard at the gate. we are ready to invite our first class passengers and uniformed military personnel to board at this time. to those who put our country first, we're honored to do the same for you. all eyes are on iowa. for a relatively small state, iowa can certainly make a big, big impact. let's bring in john king for a closer look. people think it is going to be over on tuesday. not necessarily, because november is not that far down the road. >> only a republican contest tomorrow, wolf, but president obama has his team in iowa. why? in the last 13 presidential elections iowa receive eseven times for the republicans and six times for the democrats. let's go through a little scenario. this is hypothetical but watch this. this smap from 2008. electoral votes changed a little bit. some states have more, some states have less. blue is obama 2008. red is mccain. let's go through some states. iowa, for example, a toss-up for now. then to new hampshire. that's considered a toss-up as well. fourth state on the republican calendar, florida. everyone says that is a toss-up. ohio is a big state. let's make that, indiana as well. president turned that. turned north carolina from red to blue. most people think very competitive this year. another one of the nine red states, bush 2004, obama 2008. nevada has the highest unemployment in the country. i could do more. let's view these as the toss-up states in 2012. let's have a little exercise. this is a hypothetical. let's hope for the sake of argument that republicans take back ohio and republicans take back florida. we will see how it plays out but they expect to get that one out. president obama just carried that. let's see virginia and north carolina. let's say for the sake of argument the president keeps virginia but loses north carolina. now look, where are we? 260-253. taking 270 electoral votes to win the white house. this is just an exercise now but let's assume republicans take back colorado that it goes back to its roots. look at that. nevada, again, high unemployment. president is in deep trouble here. but latino population could be key in nevada. let's give that one to president obama. now new hampshire and iowa left. first two states on the republican, let's do this again, just a hypothetical, democrats. but if they can take new hampshire back. 266-266. what state could decide the presidential election next november? we begin with the republican caucuses in iowa. if president obama could keep it, he would win. if republicans can get it back, they could win the race. why is it yellow right now? next november toss-up. again in last 13 presidential elections, this is the ultimate swing state. 7 wins for republicans, 6 for democrats. big important state to kick us off tomorrow in a very big state for the next 11 monthes. >> helps explain why the president is speaking to a lot of democrats in iowa tomorrow. >> amen. they understand that for all of the big states, well focus on florida, on ohio, on some of the big industrial. pennsylvania will be in play this time. everyone agrees. when you go through the map, if you have a close election next november, it is the iowa, new hampshire, nevada, some smaller states that decisive. including this one, iowa. as we find out who the republican front-runner will be, we will be spending a lot of time in iowa until november. >> certainly will. here is a look at some of the other headlines making news on the cnn political ticker. almost two out of three iowa rub insiders see mitt romney winning tomorrow's caucuses. cnn saw several activists and insiders. 63% are predicting a romney victory. 27% think ron paul will win. 6% of the political pros say the race in iowa is just too close to call. jon huntsman is pumping more of his own money into the white house bid. the former governor says he will match his campaign dollar for dollar until midnight wednesday. he already loaned his campaign more than $2 million and is banking it all on next aek new hampshire primary. senior adviser tells cnn daily contributions to santorum's campaign are up as much as 400% from only ten days ago. a cnn poll shows santorum coming in third among likely iowa caucus goers. be sure to go to cnn.com/ticker. good place to go. a check of the day's other top stories is next. then, not just republicans taking iowa by storm. obama campaign is up and running there as well. we are going inside their game plan. plus -- mitt romney's wife, ann. is she his secret weapon? 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[ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories. lisa, another story underscoring risks of celebratory gunfire. >> that's right, wolf. there is a west florida boy who is in critical condition today with a bullet lodged in his head. authorities say the 12-year-old was sitting in his front yard early new year's morning watching fireworks when he suddenly fell, bleeding from his nose and eyes. doctors say a gunshot went through the top of his head. police believe celebratory gunfire, possibly from miles away, hit them. several same-sex couples became the first into hawaii's history to enter into civil union. along with delaware is one of five states recognizing same sex unions. seven other states in the district of columbia allow same-sex marriage. the price of a powerball ticket will double to $2 but the jackpot will double at $40 million. officials say tickets for mega millions game will remain $1. a substantial number of hybrid sharks may be an indication the animals are interbreeding to adapt to climate change. researchers have found 57 sharks that are a cross between the australian black tip shark and the common black tip shark. the smaller australian favors tropical water while the regular black tip is found in some temperate waters. >> lisa, i know you are as excited as i am. a new year and new look in the situation room. new graphics, new open. let me play a little bit of this. it is a lot of excitement going on in 2012. >> i love it. >> we are kick off with new graphics. >> definitely. very hip. very exciting. something for our viewers. pass the word, tweet it. let people know we have a new image and new look right here for 2012, wolf. >> we have been on the air for more than six years. about time we updated the look. i love viewers to tell me what they think. tweet me and i'll get your thoughts. see what you think. lisa, thank you. he's viewed as king maker in iowa politics. why is congressman steve king still not ready to crown any of the republican candidates? i'll ask him. that's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] talking a big game about your engine is one thing. having a proven history that can back it all up is a whole other story. unsurpassed torque. incredible towing. legendary cummins engines. which engine do you want powering your truck? guts. glory. ram. ♪ and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ welcome back. our powerful new open. i think you'll like that. steve king is certainly king maker of potentially at least until tomorrow's iowa caucuses. the influential republican congressman met with all of the candidates and even went hunting with chris santorum. but he is still not endorsing anyone. congressman steve king is joining us live from des moines. congressman, thanks very much. i know -- just to be on the safe side, between now and the iowa caucuses tomorrow night, you're not going to endorse anyone, is that right? >> you know, i haven't made a decision, but i will say that each hour that goes by, it gets harder to do. and at this point, it is less likely than it was an hour ago. >> but it is still possible between now and 7 p.m. your time, 8 p.m. eastern tomorrow night, we will hear you say, i like, x, y or z? >> you know, wouldn't be possible by design. if i had a decision to make, i would have made that decision at the news cycle this morning. so each hour that goes by is less likely. there are a good number of reasons and none have to do with anything except for respect for all of the candidates. >> can we assume, congressman, that whoever does win the iowa caucuses, whoever the republicans of your state select will be your candidate and you will endorse the winner of the iowa caucuses? >> you know, i don't know if that will necessarily be the case. it t is very, very likely the case. but i think we will have to hear from the other states too. i would like to get the nomination process done. you will know this, i will be for the nominee enthusiastica y enthusiastically. and i will go wherever i need to go to help elect a republican president. >> why wouldn't you be for the candidate, the people, that the caucusgoers want the most. why wouldn't you g