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Newt Gingrich ends presidential campaign

WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich is planning to officially end his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination with an announcement Wednesday in Arlington, Va.

The former House speaker had indicated he would leave the race after he finished poorly in five Northeastern primaries last week.

On Wednesday, Gingrich exited the race but stopped short of fully endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

"Today, I am suspending the campaign. But suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship," Gingrich told a ballroom in a suburban Washington hotel.

"I'm asked sometimes if Mitt Romney is conservative enough. My answer is simple, 'Compared to Barack Obama?'"
Gingrich told supporters. "This is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan. This is a choice between Mitt
Romney and the most radical, leftist president in American history."

Gingrich adviser Randy Evans told Channel 2's Lori Geary that the former congressman is in good spirits.

"Newt's a pretty resilient, cheerful person. I think it was a little harder last week when we kind of knew where things would end," Evans said.

Evans said the Romney campaign will help retire some of Gingrich's $4 million campaign debt. He also expects Gingrich to be a regular on the Sunday morning talk show circuit.

"Even yesterday, a network called and said, 'We'd like to do a Newt life story,'" Evans said.

Gingrich won only two contests -- in South Carolina and in Georgia, which he represented in Congress for 20 years.resented in Congress for 20 years. His campaign has reported being more than $4 million in debt.