ATLANTA — Former House Speaker and Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich could announce his candidacy for president as early as Wednesday via Facebook and Twitter, campaign sources said.
Political experts believe Gingrich could announce his intentions at the Georgia Republican Convention in Macon this weekend.
A member of Gingrich's staff told the Associated Press that the former speaker will use social media to announce he's running for president. The move doesn't surprise Insider Advantage CEO and Channel 2 political analyst Matt Towery.
"If it is the announcement, it's a little unusual to do this in the social media rather than in person," Towery told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. "But then Newt has never done anything that I consider to be straight down the middle. He always does something with a little flair, so I'm not surprised."
Towery is long acquainted with Gingrich going back to 1978 and knows the former speaker well. He said Gingrich has been among the first politicians to use social media.
Towery told Elliot he believes Gingrich is a polarizing political figure, but doesn't think that's a disadvantage in the race for the GOP nomination. Towery said Gingrich probably hurt himself by waiting so long to announce his presidential run.
Towery does believe the former speaker has some obstacles he has to overcome, including the fact that's he's been out of office for so long that many younger voters probably have no memory of him as speaker of the House.
Gingrich needs to remind voters of his accomplishments if he wants to have any chance at the nomination, Towery told Elliot.
"If he does that and stays on message, which has always been his short area there, he could very well win this nomination," Towery said.
Gov. Nathan Deal told Channel 2 Action News late Monday afternoon that he is a longtime friend of Gingrich and will support his run for president.