Newt Gingrich Campaign Won't Compete In Michigan Primary

Newt Gingrich has decided not to campaign in Michigan, signaling worries about his performance in the state's Feb. 28 primary.

Gingrich had planned to travel to Michigan at the end of the week. "I look forward to being there in the next few days," he told a Detroit radio reporter on Feb. 15, saying he believed the state was still up for grabs.

But his spokesman R.C. Hammond announced last night that he wouldn't make the trip, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Daniel Malloy reports. Recent polling shows Gingrich in fourth place in the state.

In January, Hammond played down Gingrich's chances in Michigan, telling CNN, “If we are looking at the six February states right now and we are going to rank them, we are not putting Michigan first.”

Gingrich spent Tuesday morning campaigning in Oklahoma, one of the Super Tuesday states he's depending on winning to revive his campaign. He's expected to spend the next two days in Arizona, which also holds a Feb. 28 primary, ahead of Wednesday's debate, with a light public schedule. On Friday, Gingrich will be in Burlingame, Calif., to address the state's GOP convention.