Newt Gingrich Suspends His Campaign   ...1 of 3 >
May 2, 2012--Almost a year after he announced his candidacy (+), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign at a press event at the Hilton Hotel in Arlington, VA.  He stated, "Today, I am suspending the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship."  "Callista and I are committed to be active citizens," Gingrich said, and he vowed to continue to advance the ideas he advocated in his campaign.  Gingrich put forth a number of "big ideas" such as overhauling the judiciary, a plan to bring gas prices down to $2.50 per gallon, personal savings accounts, investments in brain science and of course his much mocked pledge to build a permanent base on the moon by the end of his second term. 
At times emotional, Gingrich reflected back on a "truly wild ride" of a campaign which had more than its share of ups and downs.  After the near collapse of his campaign in June, Gingrich eked along through the summer until a series of strong debate performances boosted him to frontrunner status in November.  Then, however, attack ads from Mitt Romney as well as Ron Paul hit hard, and Gingrich had lackuster showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.  Rebounding, he finally secured a win in the South Carolina primary, but he was unable to build on that in Florida.  In the end, Gingrich won only two states.  In addition to South Carolina, he carried 156 of 159 counties in Georgia en route to winning that primary.  While Gingrich advocated big ideas, his campaign ran a fairly conventional communications effort, including 30-second TV spots.  After Iowa, the campaign got sucked into a mud fight with Romney and his allies.  Not only did that divert attention from his big ideas, but his campaign did not have the resources to win such a fight.  Gingrich stayed in the race much longer than some observers thought he should have.  He fell short in Alabama and Mississippi and again in Lousiania, and finally in Delaware.  His campaign reportedly has $4 million in debt. 
back | next