the republican race for the white house is all tied up in mississippi and alabama, most primary polls close in four hours. those contests could go anywhere. . what s happens in lafayette, jim? the primaries are, all three candidates have a serious shot at taking the checkered flack, all at least at risk for a maybe blowout. with the deep vow. reporter: confident that primaries in mississippi and alabama could put him in the gop s driver s seat under the obama economy, it s been harder these are crushing a lot of people. romney has good wins to, and victories by newt ging rich could be just as damaging. reporter: he s making the case that the race won t be settled in the south. it can be different for anyone to get to the number of delegates with the majority of the convention. they laughed that off in an e-mail to reporters, saying that they have bush did you somehow magically win at the convention. this is pure fantasy or vanity, or both. i do not believe
the republican candidates take the stage in this, their last face-off before the florida primarily. i ll moderate tonight s republican debate right here on cnn. everyone s talking about the tension on the tarmac. in your face airport encounter between arizona s republican governor. what was that all about? and newt gingrich vows to establish a permanent colony on the moon. will that idea take off with voters? i m wolf blitzer on the campus of the university of north florida in jacksonville. you re in the situation room. just four hours from now, the four remaining republican candidates will square off right here in jacksonville. it s the final debate before next tuesday s crucial florida primary. it s become a grudge match between the front-runners, mitt romney and newt gingrich. our chief analyst gloria borger is here and jim acosta has been covering this campaign. jim. let me start with you. it looks like romney may try to go to the jugular. somebody may go to t