Gingrich predicts GOP race will last 6 more months

Published 10:27 am Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ORLANDO Fla. — Newt Gingrich says he expects the GOP presidential race to last about six more months — unless chief rival Mitt Romney drops out.

Polls show Romney is favored to win Tuesday’s primary in Florida.

But Gingrich, appearing undeterred by sagging poll numbers, has pledged to stay in the race despite the Florida results. The former House speaker visited a polling station in Orlando Tuesday morning and shook hands with voters.

His campaign also reported Tuesday that it had raised about $5 million in January, more than half of it coming after his win in South Carolina on Jan. 21.

Aides say Gingrich raised about $10 million in the final three months of 2011 — his largest fundraising haul so far but far behind Romney’s $24 million take.