Newt Gingrich had filed a case with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, asking to be added to the state's primary election ballot. Bloomberg reports Gingrich dropped the case. Does the presidential nomination hopeful have an ace in the hole?
How many delegates does Gingrich have?
CNN highlights that Gingrich needs 1,144 delegates to win the Republican nomination. At this time, he has 31. This leaves him with an outstanding 1,113. By comparison, Mitt Romney, the current front-runner, has secured 80 delegates, which leaves him with a need for 1,064 more.
How many delegates would a win in Virginia offer to Gingrich?
Had Gingrich made it onto the Virginia primary ballot, and had he won the primary election, he could have secured 49 delegates.
Who endorses Gingrich?
According to the candidate's website, his latest high-profile endorsement comes from former Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves, who refers to Gingrich as the candidate "who knows what needs to be done to get the country on the right track." Other notable endorsements include former presidential candidate Rick Perry (as reported by NPR). Also of note are economist Art Laffer as well as Michael Reagan, son to late President Ronald Reagan. "Newt Gingrich is far and away the best person to bring this country back to prosperity," Laffer told Human Events.
How much money does the Gingrich campaign have?
Relying on Dec. 31 figures, Open Secrets highlights the candidate and his supporters managed to raise $12,648,565, of which $10,539,734 had been spent. With debts of $1,199,361, Gingrich went into 2012 with $2,108,831 cash on hand.
Who is funding the campaign?
The lion's share of contributions -- 99 percent -- comes from individual donors, while PAC contributions total 1 percent. Notable contributors are Rock-Tenn Co., the Las Vegas Sands, Stanford University, State Mutual Insurance, Bank of America and IBM.
How is Gingrich focusing his campaign dollars?
Travel expenses and political consultants are expensive line items in the campaign's budget -- figuring $295,896 and $139,386. A larger amount ($449,388) is focused on fundraising via direct mail and telemarketing. By far the greatest expense is Internet media ($649,110), on which Gingrich relies to get out his message and mobilize the electorate.
How will Virginia's ballot failure affect the Gingrich campaign?
Yahoo! News highlights that failure to qualify for the Virginia ballot is more of an embarrassment than a political problem. Gingrich has considered Virginia as "his adopted home state" and the campaign's failure to get his name on the ballot points to a lack of organization, planning and shows some internal problems. It might also give rise to conspiracy theorists, who might claim Romney campaign insiders rigged the playing field to exclude Gingrich. In the end, the candidate might spin his name's notable absence to his advantage.
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