‘Go home’: Newt Gingrich bristles at questions about fundraising
Reporting from Des Moines — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, after unveiling a 21st Century Contract with America in an attempt to breathe life into his presidential bid, grew churlish when asked how his fundraising was going in advance of a key deadline.
“See, I knew you couldn’t resist. I’m not going to answer you,” Gingrich said, speaking to reporters in an auditorium at Principal Financial Group. “You should really go home and think about why you would even ask that today.”
Friday is the deadline for third-quarter fundraising, and the subsequent reporting will be used to gauge the health of the campaigns.
Gingrich was left in debt after the second quarter, which he blamed at the time on expensive consultants who had quit en masse. But at the time, he promised a “very healthy” third-quarter tally.
A Fox News poll released Thursday showed Gingrich’s campaign had a boost on another front, jumping into double digits among a national sample of Republican voters.
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