'Newt Exploratory 2012': Newt Gingrich Forms 527 Organization
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich filed paperwork to form "Newt Exploratory 2012" with the Internal Revenue Service on Friday, CNN reports.
Shortly after news broke on the political organization's launch, Gingrich took to Twitter to address his exploration of making a 2012 presidential bid. He wrote, "We are very excited about exploring whether there is sufficient support for my potential candidacy for President of this wonderful country."
CNN reports:
In his IRS disclosure, Gingrich states that his organization "Newt Exploratory 2012" was formed for the "purpose of discerning the feasibility of a potential candidacy for federal office." The formal title of the IRS form is Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status.
The outlet notes the distinction that Gingrich has not yet filed any paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
On Thursday, the potential presidential contender launched NewtExplore2012.com. The new website came as only one of numerous recent signs that the big name Republican is testing the waters for a possible presidential campaign in the next election cycle.
Over the past week, speculation has swirled over the prospect of Gingrich mounting a campaign for the White House. Despite multiple reports suggesting the possible contender would announce the formation of an exploratory committee for a presidential bid on Thursday, a spokesman for Gingrich denied at the time the former House leader was on the brink of taking such step toward a run.
On Wednesday, Fox News suspended Gingrich as a contributor to the network over the possibility he could jump into the presidential mix. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum was suspended for the same reason in his role as well.
The AP reported on Wednesday:
Getting into the race would mark a comeback attempt for Gingrich, who led the Republican Party to a sweeping victory in the midterm elections of 1994. It gave the GOP a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Gingrich rose to House speaker in 1995, but was effectively ousted by his own party four tumultuous years later.A spending fight between Gingrich and President Bill Clinton led to a shutdown of part of the federal government in 1995 and 1996. He left Congress in 1999. In recent years, he's stayed in the public eye speaking on issues from health care to foreign affairs.
Before Gingrich addressed reporters in Georgia on Thursday, the Christian Broadcasting Network exclusively obtained an e-mail the possible candidate sent to his family about his political ambitions.
"We are grateful for your love support and prayers," he wrote in part of the memo after signaling his intention to launch his new website. "This will be an extraordinary adventure and we hope all of you will feel free to participate and help. We will do a family conference call in a few days reporting on how things are going."
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First Posted: 03/04/11 07:07 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:35 PM ET