Atlanta As he winds down his presidential campaign, Newt Gingrich faces a new challenge: reinventing himself politically yet again.
Gingrich reinvented the Republican Party in the House in 1994, leading the GOP to its first majority in 40 years and becoming speaker. Four years later, after Republicans pushed him out of House leadership and he resigned, he reinvented himself as a Republican elder focused on what he termed "big ideas" — health care, energy and space exploration — and as an able fundraiser for his political advocacy group.
What could follow a run for president that saw Gingrich leading at times in national opinion polls?
Other places
"I would think that this will be his last run for president," said Sue Everhart, chairwoman of Georgia's Republican Party, a state Gingrich represented in Congress and where he won one of his two primary victories. "There are plenty of other places that he could be helpful."
Several other Republican leaders said they expected this race to be Gingrich's last for the presidency. He had contemplated a run in 2008 but eventually decided against it.
However, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said it was too early to discuss what Gingrich might do in the future.
"Politics is one of those funny businesses where people end up deciding at the end, not the pundits," Hammond said. "Newt Gingrich has spent his entire career proving pundits wrong. I'm sure he'll be happy to do so again."
A second campaign could prove even more daunting, especially when potential supporters compare his shaky campaign performance with the advantages he enjoyed at the beginning — national political experience, fundraising clout and a deep network of political contacts.
Gingrich needed to court social conservatives but was weighed down with baggage that includes three marriages and an acknowledgement of infidelity. He had been reprimanded by Congress after an ethics probe.
