Days until South Carolina Democratic primary: 1
Days until SEC Primary: 4
Here's what we know about the closing schedules for the top contenders:
Donald Trump: Today – Fort Worth, Texas; Oklahoma City. Saturday – Bentonville, Ark.; Millington, Tenn. Sunday – Huntsville, Ala. Monday – Radford, Va.; Valdosta, Ga.
Ted Cruz: Today – Nashville, Tenn.; Virginia Beach, Va. Saturday – Atlanta; Little Rock, Ark. Sunday – Northwest Arkansas TBD; Tulsa, Okla; Oklahoma City; Lawton, Okla. Monday – Dallas, San Antonio, Houston. Tuesday – Stafford, Texas.
Marco Rubio: Today – Dallas, Midland (fundraiser), Oklahoma City. Saturday – Kennesaw, Ga.; Birmingham, Ala.; Huntsville, Ala.; Bentonville, Ark. Sunday – Roanoke, Va.; Chesterfield, Va.; Midlothian, Va.; Virginia Beach, Va. Monday – Knoxville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Tulsa, Okla.; Conway, Ark.
John Kasich: Today – Memphis, Tenn. Saturday – Nashville, Tenn.; Knoxville, Tenn. Monday – Plymouth, Mass.; Castleton, Vt. Tuesday – Arlington, Va.
Ben Carson: Today – Nashville, Tenn.; Saturday – Irving, Texas; Frisco, Texas. Sunday -- Memphis, Tenn.
Hillary Clinton: Today – Atlanta; Orangeburg, S.C.; Columbia, S.C. Saturday – Birmingham, Ala. Sunday – Pine Bluff, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn. Monday – Northern Virginia TBD; Southeastern Virginia TBD
Bernie Sanders: Today – Hibbing, Minn.; Orangeburg, S.C. Tuesday – Burlington, Vt.
SEC-wide:
A Bloomberg News poll across all the SEC states – Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma – taken this week finds Donald Trump at 37 percent and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both at 20 percent. Trump also leads one-on-one matchups against both Cruz and Rubio. (Bloomberg News)
***
Bernie Sanders is aiming for a Super Tuesday surprise in several states, but the only Southern(ish) state where he has a shot is Oklahoma. (Politico)
***
But the number crunchers at FiveThirtyEight find that Sanders must perform better in certain states in order to have a path to the nomination – including Tennessee, where polls have him getting crushed right now. (FiveThirtyEight)
***
A pro-Ted Cruz Super PAC bought $1 million worth of television ad time in Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma with a spot attacking Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. (Politico)
Texas:
Monmouth Poll: Ted Cruz 38, Donald Trump 23, Marco Rubio 21; Hillary Clinton 64, Bernie Sanders 30. (Monmouth University)
***
With one day to go, early voting turnout has already broken records from 2008 in the state's 15 largest counties. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
***
New from the Department of Wishful Thinking: Former Gov. Rick Perry hints that he could jump back into the fray if there is a chaotic brokered convention. In that case, our money's on Newt. (Austin American-Statesman)
***
Marco Rubio rolled out endorsements from a half-dozen former Dallas-area state legislators. (Dallas Morning News)
Alabama:
Master Image, Inc. poll: Donald Trump 36, Marco Rubio 19, Ted Cruz 12. (Yellowhammer News)
***
Donald Trump's Sunday rally in Huntsville has been moved to a high school football stadium after 20,000 people registered online to attend, exceeding the capacity of the original venue. (AL.com)
***
Bernie Sanders supporter marches this weekend in Birmingham and Mobile are also taking on the issue of minimum wage hikes, after state lawmakers blocked a municipal wage hike in Birmingham. (AL.com)
***
Marco Rubio picked up endorsements from 31 elected officials. (AL.com)
***
Bill Clinton will campaign for Hillary in Montgomery on Saturday. (Montgomery Advertiser)
Tennessee:
Gov. Bill Haslam and former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist endorsed Marco Rubio. The Rubio campaign quickly cut a TV ad with Haslam's endorsement. (The Tennessean and Knoxville News-Sentinel )
***
Ted Cruz and an allied Super PAC are outspending Marco Rubio nearly 10-to-1 on Chattanooga TV, but neither got the ads up in time for early voting. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Virginia:
Monmouth Poll: Donald Trump 41, Marco Rubio 27, Ted Cruz 14; Hillary Clinton 60, Bernie Sanders 33. (Monmouth University)
***
The editorial board of the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg endorsed John Kasich and Hillary Clinton in their respective primaries. Newspaper endorsements, always supremely influential. (Free Lance-Star)
***
Loudon County schools, in the outer Washington suburbs, will close for SEC Primary day amid expectations for high voter turnout. (Washington Post)
Arkansas:
Little Rock strategist Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mike Huckabee's daughter and campaign manager, signed on to work for Donald Trump. (Arkansas News)
Oklahoma:
Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife in Tulsa on Saturday. (Tulsa World)
***
A Facebook ad for a forthcoming Donald Trump rally said it would be held in "Oaklahoma City." D'oh! (Tulsa World)
About the Author
