Newt Gingrich at a political conference in Orlando, Florida. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Gingrich revamps campaign to deny Romney delegates.
Associated Press March 28, 2012
LOS ANGELES²Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is drastically reorganizing his money- and
delegate-deprived campaign, scaling back a traditional operation to focus on low-cost social media and an effort to
cajole delegates to back him over front-runner Mitt Romney.
One-third of Gingrich’s campaign staff has been laid off and his campaign manager has been asked to resign,
Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said Tuesday night.
The new strategy hinges on preventing Romney from winning the 1,144 delegates he needs for the nomination,
Hammond said. Gingrich plans to spend much less time in primary states and will instead personally call
delegates to try to persuade them to back him at the Republican National Convention in August.
“We are not going to cede to Mitt Romney’s strategy to take the party down,” Hammond said. Ultimately, Gingrich
would bring the fight to the convention floor, Hammond said.
Gingrich still promises to support Romney if Romney collects the necessary delegates before the party convenes
in Tampa, Fla., Hammond said. In the meantime, Gingrich planned to shift the campaign’s focus to digital outreach
– in particular YouTube, Twitter and other social media.
Gingrich’s campaign manager, Michael Krull, was asked to resign. Hammond and campaign communications
director Joe DeSantis will remain with the campaign. Both have been working for Gingrich for more than a year,
even as a group of consultants quit the campaign last summer.
The rollback in the campaign comes after Gingrich listed more than $1.5 million in outstanding debt by the end of
February, according to Federal Election Commission filings, including legal fees and advertising production costs.
At the same time, he had about $1.5 million cash on hand, the least of the four GOP candidates.
Campaigning Tuesday in Maryland, Gingrich conceded that he is strapped for campaign funds. “The money is very
tight, obviously,” he said. “That’s why we’re trying to raise more money.”
Rick Santorum, Gingrich’s rival for the anti-Romney vote among conservatives, responded to the news that Gingrich
was scaling back his campaign by urging Republicans to back his effort, not Romney’s.
“One of the things I was told very early on in presidential politics is that you run for president as long as the money
hangs on,” Santorum told reporters Tuesday night in Delavan Lake, Wis.
“I think it is time for all the Republican candidates to coalesce behind me,” Santorum said. “You know, let’s just
have a conservative nominee to take on Barack Obama. Until that time happens, I’m not going to call on anyone to
get out.”
Hobbled by weak fundraising and well behind Romney in the hunt for delegates, Gingrich has been under growing
pressure to help unify Republicans by dropping out of the race.
In a nod to those who think he should give way to Romney, Gingrich on Tuesday pledged to support his rival’s bid if
the former Massachusetts governor wins enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination by the end of the
GOP primary season in June.
“Obviously I will support him and will be delighted to do anything I can to help defeat Barack Obama,” Gingrich told
reporters in Annapolis, Md. Republicans vote in the Maryland primary next week.
/3/28/12 Gingrich revamps campaign to den\ Romne\ delegates – Boston.com
boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/03/28/gingrich_revamps_campaign_to_den\_romne\_delegates/ 2/2
If Romne\ falls short, Gingrich said, “I think \ou’ll then have one of the most interesting, open conventions in
American histor\.”
Gingrich tried to position himself as an antiestablishment figure in the race while pla\ing up the 20 \ears he spent
in the House, including a stint as speaker. He has struggled since his campaign peaked just before the Iowa
caucuses kicked off the nominating process in Januar\. Devastating attacks from Romne\ and a Romne\-aligned
super PAC have helped to den\ him further victories.
Gingrich had hoped for a Southern-based comeback in the race, but Santorum won contests in Mississippi,
Alabama and Louisiana.
The former House speaker has won just two primaries, in South Carolina and Georgia, and has less than 15
percent of delegates so far.
Romne\ is the front-runner with 568 delegates, based on a tall\ b\ The Associated Press. That is slightl\ less than
half the needed 1,144 delegates, and more than four times as man\ delegates as Gingrich, who has 135.
——
Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., Beth Fouh\ in New York, Philip Elliott in Delavan Lake,
Wis., and Jack Gillum in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rew ritten, or redistribute
Gingrich revamps campaign to deny Romney delegates.
Related articles
- Gingrich Scales Back His Presidential Campaign (npr.org)
- Gingrich reduces staff, cuts schedule in bid to save his campaign (thehill.com)
- Gingrich scales back his presidential campaign (ajc.com)
- Gingrich lays off staff, refocuses campaign (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Newt Gingrich scales back campaign for last-ditch focus on Tampa (tampabay.com)
