WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich intends to take a formal step toward entering the 2012 presidential race within the next two weeks, Republican officials said Sunday, after months spent traveling to important primary and caucus states. The officials declined to say precisely what type of announcement the 67-year-old former Georgia lawmaker would make but added they expect him to make clear his determination to run. If so, he would be the first Republican to do so in a slow-to-develop field of potential challengers to President Barack Obama.
Gingrich became the first Republican speaker in 40 years after he led his party to control of the House in the 1994 elections. He left Congress two turbulent terms later. In the years since, he has developed something akin to a one-man political brand, speaking out on health care and other issues, building a fundraising operation, and offering advice to Republicans in office. The Associated Press
