CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just hours before facing returns in Delaware’s primary that could knock him out of the GOP presidential race, New Gingrich told reporters on Tuesday that he finds it “a little insulting” for presumptive nominee Mitt Romney to be kicking off his general-election campaign before technically securing the nomination.
Speaking briefly to reporters after a tour through the Billy Graham Library here, Gingrich refused to take questions, assuring them that he “will have something to say this evening once we see some results from today.” The former House speaker has indicated recently that a loss in Delaware, the winner-take-all state where he has staked his crumbling campaign on a victory, could inspire him to “reevaluate” his run.
And while speculation mounts that he will suspend his campaign sometime this week, Gingrich warned against treating a Romney nomination as inevitable. The former Massachusetts governor “does not have the majority of delegates,” he said, and charged that it’s “a little bit presumptuous” for Romney to hold a general-election launch on Tuesday night in Manchester, N.H.
“I think it’s a very substantial mistake for Governor Romney to be pretending these primaries aren’t occurring, and for him to be having ‘a general-election speech’ tonight in New Hampshire,” said Gingrich, his wife Callista at his side. “He’s the front-runner, but he’s not the nominee, and I think it’s a little insulting to the people of these states.”
Gingrich will hold an election-night rally in Concord, N.C. Romney is expected to sweep all or most of the five states holding primaries on Tuesday: Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Gingrich reported last week that his campaign is more than $4 million in debt.
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