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Results: AL, MS, HI
We'll kick off the night with a look at Super PAC spending in MS and AL:
How can we be this late in the game and still have a situation where Romney is avoiding any real barrage of negative advertising? It's because his Super PAC sugardaddies have more money than the creepy Santorum and Gingrich sugardaddies. Yet despite the barrage of Anti-Santorum ads, he remains competitive -- a testament to just how much conservatives hate Mitt Romney.
5:04 PM PT: Per CNN, Alabama exit polls are:
Santorum: 34
Romney: 29
Gingrich: 28
Paul: 6
Mississippi:
Romney: 35
Gingrich: 30
Santorum: 29
Paul: 5
Keep in mind, Romney won the exit polls in Ohio by 6, ended up winning the state by less than 1 percent.
5:06 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray):
Exits suggest Mississippi has about the oldest electorate we've seen anywhere yet, that really works to Romney's advantage
— @ppppolls via web
5:10 PM PT: Gingrich has planned a whirlwind of events in upcoming states the rest of the week -- a way to prove that he won't exit the race no matter what the results say. However, if he places third in both in AL and MS, it's going to be increasingly impossible for him to justify staying in.
5:15 PM PT: Updated exit poll numbers from Mississippi:
Romney: 33
Santorum: 31
Gingrich: 30
If Romney pulls off the narrow victory in Mississippi, it'll undoubtedly be good news for his campaign -- a southern victory in a very evangelical state. However, the reality will be that not-Mitt Romney will still have won 2/3rds of the vote -- continued weakness from the supposed front-runner.
5:17 PM PT (Barbara Morrill):
If current exits are right Santorum outperforming all pre-election polls in AL and MS. Did late deciders move toward him, away from Newt?
— @ppppolls via web
5:18 PM PT (David Nir): The very, very first votes are coming in in Alabama. Newt leads, with 15—that is, 15 total votes, not percent.
5:19 PM PT:
5:25 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray): New thread here.