Newt Gingrich to suspend campaign for Republican presidential nomination

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to suspend his presidential campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination within the next week and endorse former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, according to a spokesman. Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond reported that Romney called Gingrich on Wednesday morning to say he would welcome his endorsement if Gingrich chose to end his campaign. Hammond said both the Gingrich and Romney campaigns are “working out the details.”

The former House Speaker told a Charlotte civic club on Wednesday that “it’s pretty clear” that Romney will be the Republican Party nominee, but that he would continue to campaign as a “citizen” in the state of North Carolina. A Gingrich advisor said, “He truly believes he would be the best candidate for the party but recognizes the objective reality that recent primary voters have not agreed and intends to be loyal to the party. He is being responsible, thinking this through, and communicating with the proper people before rushing to a microphone.” Gingrich previously said that he wanted to campaign all the way to the convention in Florida, but Romney made the intelligence of Gingrich’s plan difficult after he swept the primaries on Tuesday. The Gingrich campaign is also $4.3 million in debt. “His ultimate problem has always been wearing the mantle of the smartest guy in the room … which of course means he has to do things differently to show he is the smartest. His inability to demonstrate character, discipline and gravitas coupled with ‘shortcuts’ doomed this over a year ago,” said a former Gingrich insider.