GOP primaries

Santorum leads Romney by 30 percent to 28, within the poll's margin of error. 

The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a super-PAC solely dedicated to defeating longtime incumbents of both parties, will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars against Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Tim Holden (D-Pa.).

Both are facing tough primary challenges from candidates running as ideological purists: Murphy is facing Tea Party candidate Evan Feinberg while Holden, a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, is facing Matt Cartwright (D), who is running as the more liberal candidate in a revamped district that has been made considerably more liberal.

The group plans to spend approximately $200,000 on each race, about what they've spent on past races against Reps. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) and Don Manzullo (R-Illinois), who lost, and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who won. The group also spent more than $300,000 combined trying to take out Alabama Republican Reps. Spencer Bachus and Jo Bonner, both of whom won their primaries.

While the Manzullo and Kaptur primaries were races against other incumbents, a group spokesman said it would not get involved in the member-on-member race between Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Mark Critz (D-Pa.), or any other primaries in Pennsylvania.

"Our general criteria which have some bearing on this are the length of incumbency," said group spokesman Curtis Ellis. "The voting record only figures in as far as our polling... The key determinant in all of our races is if people are happy with their representative we don't engage, I don't care if they've been there for 50 years."

Pennsylvania's primaries are on April 24.

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) is up with a new ad touting his opposition to President Obama's healthcare reform law on the day that the Supreme Court will begin to decide if the law is constitutional.

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The head of the influential American Conservative Union, Al Cardenas, endorsed Mitt Romney on Monday morning, adding his name to the list of prominent conservatives who've thrown their support behind the former Massachusetts governor in recent days.

"For the sake of our republic, I'm not willing to wait until the Republican National Convention to sort this out," Cardenas writes in an op-ed for the Daily Caller announcing his support. "I'm calling on my fellow conservatives, for goals both lofty and pragmatic, to join me in supporting the only candidate that can ensure President Obama's legacy is limited to just four years of fiscal irresponsibility and disregard for our Constitution, and not eight."

Santorum tried Sunday to translate his Louisiana victory into momentum as his campaign heads into much tougher terrain.

Haley Barbour said Mitt Romney is “finally a real front-runner” in the race for the GOP nod.

At the time, Romney opposed Massachusetts Republicans who were calling for a suspension in the state's gas tax.

Mitt Romney's campaign will go up on the air in Wisconsin, signaling it sees the state as the next likely battleground for the GOP nomination.

"The Democrats are cheering with great glee every time someone puts a score on someone else," the former Speaker said.

Ann Romney sent husband Mitt a public "love letter" on Wednesday in the form of a Web video released by the campaign.