Mitt Romney told Fox News that he would not pick Rick Santorum as his running mate because he’s not conservative enough.

Said Romney: “Well, that would preclude, of course, Rick Santorum. Because, I mean, look at his record. I find it interesting that he continues to describe himself as the real conservative. This is the guy who voted against right-to-work. This is the guy who voted to fund Planned Parenthood. This is the person who voted to raise the debt ceiling five times? … Rick Santorum is not a person who is an economic conservative to my right.”

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Nate Silver warns about paying too much attention to the recent primary polls from Alabama and Mississippi because “polls in these states have a pretty awful track record.”

“The problems also seem apparent in the other states that make up the Deep South — Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina. Polls in those three states have missed by an average of 4.2 percentage points — or 4.4 percentage points if you also include Alabama and Mississippi in the total.”

“I’ve got a lot of good friends — the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets — both owners are friends of mine.”

— Mitt Romney, in an interview with an Alabama radio host Paul Finebaum.  Romney made a similar comment last month about NASCAR team owners.

Mitt Romney told Fox News that dragging the Republican presidential nominating process through the summer would be a big problem.

Said Romney: “Look, if we go all the way to a convention, we would be signaling our doom in terms of replacing President Obama… We sure as heck are not going to go to a convention, all the way to the end of August, to select a nominee and have campaign working during a convention. Why, can you imagine anything that would be a bigger gift to Barack Obama than us not having a nominee until the end of August? That is just not going to happen.”

“It’s always a burden to run with ‘R’ for Republican after you name.”

— Mitt Romney, in an WBZ4 interview when he was running for Massachusetts governor in 2002.

The most interesting detail from a new survey by Public Policy Polling is that a majority of Republicans in Alabama and Mississippi — states with primary elections on Tuesday — believe President Obama is a Muslim.

Key findings: In Alabama, 45% of Republican voters in Alabama think Obama is a Muslim, while 41% are not sure. In Mississippi, 52% of Republicans think Obama is Muslim, while 36% are unsure.

“If I’m a weak frontrunner, what does that make Newt Gingrich? Because I’m well ahead of him.”

— Mitt Romney, quoted by Politico, responding to Newt Gingrich’s characterization of his campaign.

Though he’s surprised many with his strong showing in recent polls, NBC News notes Newt Gingrich “has spent a combined 10 days in both states — six in Alabama and four in Mississippi.”

“By comparison, Rick Santorum has spent three days in each of those states, while Mitt Romney has spent two days in each. Ron Paul has not visited either state. And no candidate has campaigned in Hawaii, which also holds its contest on Tuesday.”

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that more than half of Americans for the first time expect President Obama to be re-elected.

But it won’t be easy: Even as expectations have moved his way, rising gas prices have dented the president’s rating on handling the economy, his overall job approval has slipped back under 50 percent and he’s reverted to a dead heat in public preferences against Mitt Romney.

“This isn’t a mathematical formula — this race has a tremendous amount of dynamics.”

— Rick Santorum, in an interview on Meet the Press, on the GOP delegate chase.

A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows Rick Santorum holding a very slight lead over Mitt Romney among Republican primary voters across the nation, 34% to 30%.

However, 55% of GOP voters expect Romney to eventually win the party’s presidential nomination.

There are Republican primaries in Alabama and Mississippi tomorrow and recent polls point towards very close race.

First Read: “Romney sneaking out a win in either of the contests would prove that he can win in the South and that conservative GOP voters are beginning to coalesce around his candidacy. But losses in them would confirm that Romney continues to have problems with these voters and — more importantly — that the primary season will last through April if not longer. For Santorum, wins in both Alabama and Mississippi would prove that he’s the chief conservative alternative to Romney, and that he has the momentum to keep this race going. But losing them would suggest his campaign is running out of gas. And for Gingrich, winning both states would keep his candidacy alive, but losses in these southern states would reveal that he’s become a political zombie, propped up solely by Sheldon Adelson and the pro-Gingrich Super PAC. Those are the stakes for tomorrow.”

Two new Public Policy Polling surveys suggest it’s going to be a close election night in both
Mississippi and Alabama.

In Mississippi Newt Gingrich is holding on to a
slight lead over Mitt Romney, 33% to 31%, followed by Rick Santorum at 27% and Ron Paul at 7%.

In Alabama, Romney barely edges Gingrich, 31% to 30%, followed closely behind by  Santorum at 29% and Paul at 8%.

Two new American Research Group polls also show a close race.

In Mississippi, Romney leads with 34%, followed by Gingrich
with 32%, Santorum  22%, and Paul at 8%.

In Alabama, Gingrich leads with 34%, followed by
Romney at 31%, at Santorum  24%, and Paul at 6%.