Gingrich officially calls off campaign
WASHINGTON — White House hopeful Newt Gingrich bade farewell to the 2012 presidential campaign Tuesday, using a video posted on his website to pre-empt an official announcement set for today.
In his message to supporters, the former speaker of the House of Representatives said he wanted to “give you an insider advanced notice that on Wednesday I’ll be officially suspending the campaign as part of a press event” in Virginia.
“We’re still faced with a tremendous crisis of our country’s future,” he added. “A re-election of Barack Obama would be a genuine disaster.”
Gingrich, 68, didn’t mention by name his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the party’s presumptive nominee, but said that “all of us have an obligation, I think, to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama” in November.
Gingrich’s spokesman acknowledged last week that the writing was on the wall for the embattled candidate after Romney swept all five of the state contests that were held on April 24.
With Republicans rallying behind Romney, the “super” political action committee aligned with his campaign has scrubbed the many negative adds that attacked rivals Gingrich and Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who bowed out last month.
The brief Gingrich video is front and centre on the Newt2012 site, whose home page carries a prominent message reading “Thank you — but we still need your support,” followed by a bright red “Donate” button.
His campaign has about $1.2 million in cash on hand but is saddled with $4.3 million in debt, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.