E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
In the latest evidence that Newt Gingrich isn’t exiting the GOP race anytime soon, the former House speaker ended a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with his backers in Congress poised to push ahead with his campaign, possibly through the June 5 primary in California.
When he sat down this week with 10 of the 11 lawmakers who have endorsed him, each of them took turns offering their assessment of the health of the Gingrich candidacy. While some of the lawmakers expressed misgivings about the toll his continuing in the race would take on the eventual Republican nominee, none of them called on Gingrich to drop out.
Four of the attendees, who spoke with NBCPolitics.com, said that Gingrich's interest in staying in the race is driven by a desire to advance certain policy proposals in the primary and general elections.
“We believe that Newt staying in there is very helpful to the conservative cause,” said Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, who was among the attendees. “I think Newt was realistic and saying there is a path.”
Still, Kingston added, “He didn't use the word longshot, but it's difficult.”
Gingrich reached the apex of his political strength this primary season when he won South Carolina’s influential primary on Jan. 21.
Time Magazine's W Michael Crowley, Communication Strategist Jill Zuckman and Democratic pollster Fred Yang discuss the latest on Newt Gingrich and the 2012 field.
But in the two months since that point, the ex-speaker, pummeled by negative ads in Florida and succeeding primary states, has seen his support once again hit the bottom. He finished a distant third in Louisiana’s primary; Rick Santorum, who’s assumed the role of Mitt Romney’s chief conservative alternative, won that caucus.
Not having won another primary besides the Super Tuesday contest in Georgia -- the state which elected Gingrich to Congress -- the campaign has struggled to regain any momentum. Gingrich laid off a third of his staff this week and severely curtailed travel, prompting political observers to wonder when he would finally drop out.
“I encouraged him to do what he feels is in his heart he has to do,” said Texas Rep. Michael Burgess, who attended the gathering.
But to hear the members of Congress who attended the meeting describe its outcome, Gingrich appears no closer to ending his candidacy.
“We kind of came to a collective conclusion that there were still some significant goals and objectives that could be achieved by him maintaining his place in the race," said Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, another participant in the meeting.
Related: Gingrich axes third of staff, cuts travel
In addition to Kingston, Burgess and Franks, another seven congress members attended: Reps. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., Austin Scott, R-Ga., Tom Price, R-Ga., Joe Barton, R-Texas, Dan Burton, R-Ind., and Dan Lungren, R-Calif.
The outstanding question now is not whether Newt will be the nominee, but rather, when will he exit the race, and how much collateral damage will have been done to the Republican nominee when Gingrich does drop out.
Those who did attend described a campaign that is realistic that its odds of winning the nomination are especially long. But, unless Romney were to begin regularly steamrolling his primary opponents in upcoming contests, the lawmakers said Gingrich was likely to stay in the race until the May 29 primary in Texas (where he has the endorsement of Gov. Rick Perry), or the primary a week later in California.
“I think the endgame is that we won't know what it's going to be until after Texas,” said one of the Republicans who went to the meeting, who was granted anonymity to speak more candidly about the closed-door huddle.
“I still think he's got a shot in Texas,” added that lawmaker, who noted that the slower pace of forthcoming primaries might allow Gingrich to conserve resources and survive through those contests.
But the former speaker still faces significant hurdles, not least of which was the public warning by Sheldon Adelson -- the casino magnate who’s primarily financed a supportive super PAC -- that Gingrich was “at the end of his line.”
Top Talkers: A new CNN/ORC poll shows that President Obama besting both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in general election match-ups and in favorability ratings. The Morning Joe panel discusses the numbers and Romney's net negative in favorability ratings.
A significant factor in Gingrich’s thinking involves whether his continued presence in the race would harm the party, or even his own political legacy.
Gingrich remains a prominent figure in the conservative movement despite the fizzling of his campaign.
If his candidacy were to stretch to the point where it hurts the party, it could threaten the generosity of conservative donors, on whose largesse Gingrich’s private endeavors sometimes depend.
The speaker’s sense was that if he were to leave the race, the media coverage he’s gained as a candidate would evaporate. By staying in the race, one of the lawmakers present said, Gingrich believes he “would have a great opportunity to drive some planks of the platform,” especially as it relates to some pet issues on health care, science and national security.
But the congressmen also said that Gingrich understood the long odds posed by the math, and described the speaker’s understanding that Santorum’s position in the race has made it difficult to challenge Romney one-on-one.
Moreover, Romney continues to amass delegates and prominent endorsements, most recently on Wednesday from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who said he backed Romney in part to forestall a messy convention fight -- the type Gingrich would need to orchestrate to make good on those long odds of becoming the Republican nominee.
“If you talk to people in the conference, you've got some people who want it over. You've got some people who have people in the race and want to see them do better,” said Westmoreland, a supporter of Gingrich. “Kind of a mixed bag, but I do think it would be nice to have your nominee on the same page as we are with our agenda. Trying to nail that down has been kind of hard.”
“The one thing that is there is, whoever our nominee is, they're going to have 242 people behind him,” he added.
Leave a Comment:
Newt's not going to give up, but three of his wives did.
They have to double the cabin pressure when Newt flies. Otherwise that fat swollen head of his would EXPLODE
Newt.............you still don't get it! You're a loser. Make like a fart and blow away.
Rove has to keep Newt in the game. Four "candidates" can cover much more territory, generate more audience and get more money, at least for the Republican party than only one or two. Newt is a draw. So is Ron Paul. Santorum and Romney keep the press going with their spitball fight. The problem will be keeping the interest until convention time. The Supreme Court decision will be the bigger deal. The conservative court will overthrow the Affordable Healthcare Act and the Republicans will have a feild day saying how Obama violated the Constitution. No mention that this will open doors for the Conservatives to end Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security until after the election. Then they'll say they need the money for the next war.
You are absolutely right, SJones, especially that last line.
Wish you weren't........... ):
I could swear Newt's wife was in the movie " Mars Attacks" as the alien disguised as a gum chewing blonde bombshell. That wasn't her?
Huddling with his backers?
Buwahahahahahahahaha!
Who? His wife and the other guy?
Sigh, well there's always the moon colony to work on, Newt. Maybe you can lobby for NASA or Richard Branson
Sombody needs to let this chip in on the joke. Everyone but Newt seems to know that his campaign over. Just stop before you embarass yourself further Newt.
I was shocked that Newt was even in the race.
Doesn't he know that he has so much baggage the American voters would never give the man who shut down the government the keys to the White House?
Talk about a super-ego, he knows no bounds! SURELY A FOOLISH IDEA!
The Republican party planks on "health care, science, and national security" are very simple. They're against them.
As for Newt, well there's still people to scam and money to embezzle, so he can't stop now.
It's a shame that the only republican candidate qualified to get this country back as a world leader is Newt. The remaining numbnuts will just lie down & play dead, they have no backbone. As much as I don't want another 4 yrs of Obama, any another republican candidate can't successfully debate Obama. Undecided voters will go with the best debater, it doesn't matter if what the candidate says has any substance or can even answer the question. Who knows, maybe we'll be lucky enough with what will happen 12/21/12.
Newt isn't a great debater, he's just the most pompous speaker in the room.
oops, I on the wrong post, I though everyone was talking about Obama.
He still looks the most like dough stuffed in to a suit, so I support him.
If the republican party and their backers had any smarts at all, they would save their money and put up a stronger candidate in 2016 when Obama will not be able to run for a third term.
NEWT needs to go back under a rock. I would vote for OBAMA before I would vote for Newt, as many people would. ROMNEY, as Marco Rubio pointed out, is the best candidate that the Republican Party has. NEWT is not, I repeat NOT, Presidential material. He is a WHINY, EGOCENTRIC, AMORAL, TWO-FACED, SLEAZY, JADED LOSER. With that said, he has his name up in the headlines, which is what he has wanted all along. As for the group of backers that are encouraging him to continue this time wasting charade ... THEY ARE ALL WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. There is no way on God's earth that Newt could even come close to beating OBAMA and the sooner he and his "supporters" realize that piece of reality, the sooner the Republican party can go forward with a candidate who has a backbone, the spirit of a leader and MORALS! NEWT, YOU WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT OF THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
I think it is great that Newt stays in, what other candidate shows how simple minded the Tea Party is? Santorum seems to say what he really thinks, can't agree with most of it, but he strikes me as the most honest. Might have voted for Huntsman if the lunatics didn't run him off.
Gingrich is just tooling around with the others now. He's going down and he's taking everyone with him. My big lock of the year is "Obama by a land slide" in November.
Yep, bitter old man that is taking his ball and going home. As bad as things are out here, Obama should win in a landslide.
OMG = Obama Must Go in 2012. He will destroy this country if he gets 4 more, he has no one to answer to, he won't have to worry about popular vote, he won't worry about anything except what he wants and what he thinks is best. A one man circus.
Sharri, better check the meds. There are three branches of government, no president has ultimate power. The question is, who do you want to have one third of it? My vote is for Obama.
ROMNEY HASNT WON YET!!! DONT LET THE LYING MEDIA DECIEVE YOU
Ron Paul is the only candidate who predicted and warned against the economic crisis, who understood and explained the reasons for it, and who offers a viable solution.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who really means it when he says he wants to bring our troops home and scale down our unsustainable and unreasonable empire.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who is serious about slashing spending and eliminating taxes.
Even though others are now trying to sound like him, there is only one Ron Paul. And there is only one candidate who can beat Obama: Ron Paul.
Newt is a boil on the -ss of humanity.
This is why Republicans had to get rid of him as Speaker before and why they will this time as a candidate.
weather or not Gingrich stays in the race is irrelevant, not only has Romney secured front runner status but he will almost certainly get the majority of the delegates before the convention. If gingrich wants to waste his time and money thats his business but the primaries are pretty much over.
Romney has won, even Seamus on his roof knows that. It will be interesting to find out who the real Mitt really is, I have a feeling the Tea Party will be pissed.
"A closed-door meeting on Wednesday with his backers in Congress".. Backers in Congress.. Backers.. And just what's in it for them? These 'Backers"..? Do I smell somebody being bought? So what about these other toads' 'Backers'..? What's in it for them and what loops will the new Pres (IF!) have to jump through to satisfy these 'Backers"..? I thought they were supposed to be donations, not loans.. Guess we all should wake up and smell the green (of money) and realize that THAT'S what's controlling this election process and in the end someone other than the President will be tugging on everybody's strings.
thturd & newdayDAWNING...RETURNED:
Hilarious! Love it! You two made my day!!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I never though that I'd come to this bizarre juncture: I actually feel sorry for Gingrich. Of course that means I'd never succed in politics; Gingrich seldom hesitated to go for the jugular when he sensed he had the upper hand. Sorry for Newt....whatta sucker.