Mitt Romney is working to seal his status as the Republican presidential front-runner with a thus-far-elusive victory in the Deep South.
Closely fought primaries in Alabama and Louisiana offer the former Massachusetts governor a key opportunity in a region that has been slow to embrace him. Today's primaries are also poised to render a possible final verdict on Newt Gingrich's Southern-focused candidacy.
With polls showing an unexpectedly tight race in the conservative bellwether states, Romney made a campaign appearance Monday in Alabama -- a clear indication that he was eyeing a potential win there.
Rick Santorum, who has angled to campaign head-to-head with Romney, is pressing the case again that Gingrich should consider stepping aside. He plans to watch returns from Louisiana, which holds its primary later this month.
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