Newt Gingrich: Still Running for President in 2012

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich—whose long-shot presidential campaign has been plagued by staff defections and is more than $1 million in the hole—is at pains to knock down rumors this week that he’s ready to call it quits.

“I ran 5 years to win my seat,” the 68-year-old former Georgia congressman wrote in an email sent to The Daily Beast on Friday. “I worked for 16 years to create a majority in the house. I worked for 42 years to create a Georgia GOP majority. My dad served 27 years in the infantry. One of my closest friends served eight years in a Vietnam prison camp. Quitting isn't an option.”

The seldom-quoted Callista Gingrich, the candidate’s third wife, added her voice to Gingrich’s denial.

“On the record, the elite media will be deeply disappointed,” she emailed The Daily Beast. “Newt is in the race. See you in Iowa.”