Gingrich, the former speaker of the House best known for his tilts with President Clinton over budgets and personal foibles, will be the first high-profile GOP contender to officially enter the race. The announcement will come tomorrow, Gingrich said yesterday on social networking websites.
Some national polls have shown him near the front-runners among expected GOP candidates. But in the crucial first-in- the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, the prospect of a Gingrich candidacy has not sparked much enthusiasm to date. Election analysts say his brand of social conservatism may not resonate with most Republican voters or pose an immediate threat to the presumed front-runner there, Mitt Romney.
“He’s much better suited for Iowa or South Carolina than he is for New Hampshire,’’ said Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which has included Gingrich in its polling for the past year and a half. Gingrich, he said, “has a problem in that he’s known as a more conservative candidate — and somebody who’s a lightning rod in American politics’’ — qualities that don’t always play well with New Hampshire voters.
In a poll last month of likely GOP primary voters in the Granite State, more viewed Gingrich unfavorably than viewed him favorably. Romney, by comparison, had a favorability rating of 70 percent.
Gingrich, however, could improve his profile in the state with more activity, analysts said.
“Mitt Romney has to be considered the front-runner, but I do see others starting to gain ground and inroads,’’ said Jack Kimball, the newly elected GOP chairman in New Hampshire. “And I think Newt Gingrich is a candidate who will certainly have an effect on the numbers.’’
Gingrich has made only two trips to New Hampshire so far this year, but he has signed up a top GOP consultant, Dave Carney. He has also been making a concerted effort to reach out to the Tea Party movement in the state.
“Once he gets going, his message will be very appealing to Tea Party folks and conservatives generally,’’ said Andrew Hemingway, a Tea Party activist who is chairman of the state’s Republican Liberty Caucus and had recently spent an hour meeting privately with Gingrich.
After making his announcement, Gingrich will seek to seize the spotlight and jumpstart the primary race through a series of high-profile speeches and appearances. His first official campaign stop next week will be in Iowa, a state where social conservatives are far more influential and where he has made at least four trips this year.
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