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%.

After a series of stressful weeks for Mitt Romney, filled with must-win contests and doubts about his electoral prospects, The Hotline notes that Romney finally has a week where he can let things fall as they will.

“Romney
has the least to lose this upcoming week as Alabama and Mississippi
voters head to the polls. True, talk that Romney can’t coalesce
conservative voters is likely to continue if Romney underperforms in the
red southern states. But the stakes are much higher for former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum… If Gingrich loses
to Santorum, the former Speaker’s campaign would have a tough time
arguing there’s any credible path for him in the presidential race…
But if Gingrich wins, he remains a credible threat to Santorum in the
race, undercuts Santorum’s argument that he is the candidate to harness
conservative fervor, and ends Santorum’s hope (at least for the time
being) that Gingrich will drop out of the race.”

Juan Williams:
“The death of the political middle is the defining shift taking place
in American politics today. It is ending the tradition of political
leadership that rises above ideology, region, party, religion and even
race to attain statesmanship… The Congress has become an increasingly
uncomfortable place for voices of moderation. Many of them are fed up
and have decided that 2012 is the year they will call it
quits… Because of the exodus — if not expulsion — of the remaining
moderates from Congress this year, American politics will become even
more polarized and dysfunctional. If you like the ideological extremism
and obstructionist paralysis that has characterized the 112th Congress,
then you will love the 113th.”

Sources close to Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign tell Fox News that there are preliminary discussions to name Texas Gov. Rick Perry as his running mate in an effort to unite conservatives.

Perry endorsed Gingrich when he dropped his own presidential bid earlier this year.

However, at least two senior aides to Perry were apparently dismissive of the idea. One noted that in the past, Perry has likened the Vice Presidency to a bucket of warm spit.

Rick Klein: “If and when Romney locks down the GOP nod, this weekend’s voting will mark a case in point as to how. Romney was decimated in the biggest contest held Saturday, in Kansas, with Rick Santorum securing an outright majority in a four-way field, and Romney struggling to hit 20 percent.”

“But Romney appears likely to walk away from the weekend with about as many delegates in his column, and possibly even more. Romney won overwhelmingly in the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; add that to the final set of caucus contests in Wyoming, and Romney got to wash out his big loss in Kansas.”

“That means a handful of contests where turnout is rivaled by class presidency elections in midsize high schools may end up being responsible for selecting the party’s nominee… Wins like this weekend’s did not happen by accident. Romney’s was the only campaign to prepare for the long haul of the race with detailed legal and structural plans for how to win delegates in every obscure corner.”

“I’d like everybody to get out.”

— Rick Santorum, in an interview on Meet the Press, about his GOP presidential rivals.

A new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll in Illinois shows Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential field with 35%, followed by Rick Santorum at 31%, Newt Gingrich at 12% and Ron Paul at 7%.

However, 46% of voters said they could still change their minds before the March 20 primary.

Mitt Romney “won the presidential delegate vote at Wyoming’s county conventions, picking up seven of 12 delegates after local party meetings that also delivered at least two delegates to Rick Santorum,” the Casper Tribune reports.

Wyoming will send a total of 29 delegates this year to the Republican National Convention — “more than such larger states as Connecticut, Oregon and Nevada. Under Republican National Committee rules, Wyoming gets additional delegates for having a Republican governor, Republican congressional delegation and Republican majorities in its state Legislature.”

Google has a nice map of the Kansas caucus results as they come in.

There are 40 delegates are at stake: 12 are
congressional-district delegates awarded on a winner-take-all basis, 25 are awarded proportionally
based on the statewide vote provided the candidate breaks 20%, and an additional three delegates go to
the statewide winner.

Complete results are expected by 6 pm ET.

Update: The AP reports Rick Santorum “appears on his way to taking most of the state’s 40 delegates.”

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) will announce today that he is resigning from Congress to devote time to his run for governor, the Huffington Post reports.

“The move should allow the long-serving Washington Democrat to up his name recognition across the state, which has been one of the difficulties facing his gubernatorial campaign. The trans-continental commute from D.C. to Washington has severely limited the amount of time Inslee has been able to campaign in the state.”