Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to Announce Presidential Bid

Newt Gingrich, Georgia Republican and former House Speaker, is expected to officially announce his presidential bid on Wednesday afternoon.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to Announce Presidential Bid
5/11/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/114073724.jpg" alt="Former house speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gingrich announced via Twitter and Facebook on May 11 he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)" title="Former house speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gingrich announced via Twitter and Facebook on May 11 he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1804161"/></a>
Former house speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gingrich announced via Twitter and Facebook on May 11 he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
Newt Gingrich, Georgia Republican and former House Speaker, is expected to officially announce his presidential bid on Wednesday afternoon. According to CNN, he informed reporters on Capitol Hill that he would make the statement through Twitter and Facebook.

How will this change things for the GOP nominations? CNN quoted Eric Cantor, current House Majority Leader as saying that, “the discussion around the presidential race will obviously increase,” with this addition.

The Virginia Republican continued, “I think Gingrich has always been an ideas man, and I’m sure that will provide a lot of positive input to the debate.”

Gallup found that he was well known, but not viewed very favorably. Frank Newport, writing for Gallup, said “The former speaker’s Positive Intensity Score is 11, below this week’s average score of 13 for all potential candidates measured, and down from his high of 19 recorded between March 14 and April 3.” The polling organization has an election 2012 website which is updated each Tuesday.

CBS offered other insight in terms of polls. An April 15-20 poll conducted by CBS News and the New York Times found that though Republicans have generally positive impressions of Gingrich, they are not particularly enthusiastic about his potential presidency.

CBS stated that the same poll showed that 42 percent of Republican voters viewed Gingrich favorably, which is little more than twice as many who viewed him unfavorably at 20 percent. Additionally, 37 percent of the Republican voters polled did not have an opinion on him.

Viewed through a more holistic lens, the poll shows that only 23 percent of registered voters see him in a positive light, and more than 37 percent see him in a negative light. Further, about 4 in 10 voters did not offer an opinion.

However, as CBS noted, it might be too early in the campaign season to put too much weight on polls. To recall, in early 2007, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani had garnered the most approval in polls, but did not win any presidential primaries or caucuses.

According to CNN, Gingrich has already been to several early voting states in an effort to gain support and to meet with fundraisers. He informed supports that he aims to raise $100 million.