WashingtonRepublican candidate Newt Gingrich has conceded that frontrunner Mitt Romney is most likely to win their party's presidential nomination, but says he will remain in the race, partly to help the party build a solidly conservative platform ahead of the November 6th election.
“I think you have to be realistic,” Mr Gingrich told the Fox News Sunday television programme yesterday. “He is far and away the most likely nominee.”
The former speaker of the House of Representatives is running a distant third in the nominating race to challenge US president Barack Obama, behind former Massachusetts governor Mr Romney and former US senator Rick Santorum. He acknowledged his struggling campaign was “operating on a shoestring”.
His campaign would be constrained by a lack of funds, he said, but that was no reason to get out of the race now.
“People don’t walk up and say ‘Oh please drop out’. People walk up and say ‘I’m glad you’re here, I’m glad you’re talking about ideas, please stay in’. And so I do think there’s a desire for a more idea-orientated Republican Party.” – (Reuters)