Newt Gingrich, former US House Speaker, has ended months of speculation by ruling out joining the race for the Republican presidential nomination according to the Financial Times.
His entry would have added further uncertainty to the highly fluid and unpredictable contest to become Republican candidate in next year’s presidential election.
Mr. Gingrich remains a popular and influential figure among Republicans stemming from his leadership of conservative opposition to the Clinton administration during the 1990s.
He had vowed to run for president if he raised $30m in campaign funds by late October. But he changed his mind on Saturday because of campaign finance laws that would have forced him to step down from American Solutions, the political think-tank he chairs.
”I think that basically ended the conversation,” said the 64 year-old, in a video on his website, www.newt.org. ”I’m not going to walk off and allow American Solutions to collapse at this point.”
American Solutions for Winning the Future describes itself as a non-partisan organization set up by Mr. Gingrich to find solutions to problems facing US society.
Read it here: Gingrich Out