Alabama Republican Primary Results 2012: Where to Watch Live

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum all have high stakes in Tuesday night's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi and caucuses in Hawaii and American Samoa.

But Alabama, in particular, offers a different prize for each candidate, and all four of them have very different mindsets going in.

Currently, the most recent polls for the 2012 Alabama Republican primary show Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in a statistical dead heat, with 28.3 and 28.5 percent support respectively and with Rick Santorum in a close third with 25. 8 percent. Ron Paul is in fourth with 6.7 percent.

For Mitt Romney, a win in the Southern state added to his victory in Florida would show that he has a wider appeal than just the Northeast, something that has remains questionable even after his (admittedly close) win in Ohio.

For Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, winning Alabama gives him a reason to stay in a race that hasn't gone his way in some time, and would show, along with a win in Mississippi, that he is the undisputed choice of the South.

A win for Rick Santorum, on the other hand, would demonstrate that he, not Gingrich, has been chosen as the more socially conservative, more blue-collar-connected alternative to Romney, something both candidates have been stressing, with lesser and greater success, since the primaries began.

And for Ron Paul, doing at least well in the deeply religious and deeply conservative state would show that the libertarian candidate has a wider appeal than anticipated among those in the Bible Belt. Combined with wins in Hawaii or American Samoa, a showing slightly higher than what the polls have predicted could help boost support for him even if he does poorly in Mississippi.

Find out when to look for the results of the 2012 Alabama Republican primary, where to watch on TV and online and how to follow the race on Twitter, below.

When To Start Watching:

Polls close for the Alabama GOP primary at 7:00 p.m. CST (8:00 p.m. EST). Results should begin coming in around 8:15 p.m.

Where to Watch Live:

For those with access to cable television, CNN will begin live coverage of the Mississippi and Alabama primaries at 7:00 p.m. EST with America's Choice 2012, anchored by Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, Candy Crowely and John King.

C-SPAN will also be teaming up with POLITICO for live coverage of the Alabama, Mississippi, Hawaii and American Samoa primaries beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST, while Fox News will begin coverage of Tuesday night's primaries at 7:30 p.m.

Where to Get Live Results:

The International Business Times will be providing live updates for the Alabama 2012 Republican primary beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST, with information on which counties are reporting, what percent of the votes are in and which candidate is currently in the lead.

How to Follow Results On Twitter:

Search for the hashtag #ALprimary to follow the conversation about Tuesday's GOP event on Twitter.