momentum in his quest for the republican nomination. he s crossed the halfway point to 1144. he has 573 delegates and santorum has 212, newt gingrich and ron paul trail. some other interesting numbers, msnbc s richard lui has a closer look at the exit polls and what do they tell us about romney s path going forward? chris, if it s over, mitt romney would point to this, the gop baselining up behind him. nbc news exit polls, romney hoovering in 40s with evangelicals, he split that vote in one of his best you comes with religious conservatives, questions about the faith with the group could be moderating. very conservatives ran almost even with santorum yesterday, a strong performance not seen outside of new england. also, romney did very well with those who strongly support the tea party. he beat santorum, look at that, by up to 15 points. the fiscally conservative group outperformed compared to overall vote in wisconsin.
here are the official numbers coming in. we projected romney as the winner in all three of the contests. 23% of the official vote in maryland is now in, romney significantly ahead, 47% to 31% for rick santorum. newt gingrich and ron paul trail significantly. in washington, d.c., 24% of the vote is in. 69% for romney. 13% for ron paul. 11% for newt gingrich. santorum was not on the ballot, did not qualify. in wisconsin, mitt romney ahead right now with almost a third of the vote in. 30%. he s got 43% to 38% for rick santorum. 11% for ron paul. 6% for newt gingrich. let s bring in our own candy crowley. she s been covering the romney campaign. a lot of happy people over there. three wins, that s significant. reporter: it s a clean sweep. it s exactly what they wanted. you heard first from paul ryan, who s been accompanying romney around wisconsin. we republicans are unified. you might get some argument tonight in the camp of rick santorum, but there s a clear push here for, h
together we ll build the greatest america we have ever known. where prosperity is grown and shared, not limited and divided. an america that guarantees that ours is the door that innovation and greatness always knocks on first. there was a time not so long ago when each of us could walk a little taller and stand straighter because we had a gift that no one else in the world had. we re americans. that meant something different to each of us, but it meant something special to all of us. we do it without question. so do the people in the rest of the world. those days are coming back. that s our destiny. so join me, walk together, take another step every day until november 6th. we believe in america. we believe in ourselves. our greatest days are still ahead. we are after all americans. god bless this great country, god bless you, god bless the united states of america. thanks, you guys. thanks for the victory in wisconsin, maryland and district of columbia. thanks, you guys. tha
ago. the shooter is still a free man. the family said it was murder. that and more right here, right now on cnn. good evening. i m don lemon and thank you for joining us. we are going to begin with a developing story that is a turning point for the u.s.-led mission in afghanistan and could starlt bringing the men and women there home much sooner than we thought. in a matter of weeks or days. the tragic story of army staff sergeant robert bales played out last weekend, but tonight he is on u.s. soil. his attorney arrived in kansas to prepare for his first face-to-face meetings with his client. he is suspected of killing 16 afghan civilians including nine children last weekend. he could be charged in connection with the deaths as soon as this week. standing by for us, dan, let s start with bales attorney. this story has been advancing over the weekend. for several days we had no idea of the name of the suspect while the military kept his name secret. now we know who he is.
look at the situation on the ground, now, with the calls for the united states to speed up withdrawal after a decade of war, we will speak with others in the know, including our gift from the brookings institute about the possibilities and what can be accomplished. but, first, politics and alabama and mississippi no question, according to the new research group romney is in a tie with the rival newt gingrich in mississippi and 34 percent to 32 percent and rick santorum and ron paul trail, and in a similar story in alabama, this time newt gingrich with 34 percent and romney 31 percent a dead heat. and now john roberts is live in