Newt Gingrich, Republican Presidential Candidate | featured news

Alarmed by Newt Gingrich’s decline in the polls in the face of a fusillade of negative advertisements, some senior aides and grass-roots supporters have suggested that he reverse course and fight fire with fire, fearing for the future of his candidacy if he does not.

After a campaign effort that has defied convention and angered top Iowa Republicans, Mitt Romney is well-positioned to emerge as a big winner in Tuesday's presidential caucuses. The tightest GOP caucus contest in decades features Romney, Ron Paul and a fading Newt Gingrich in a virtual tie for the lead, making the final days of politicking unusually consequential. And another candidate, Rick Perry or Rick Santorum, could get hot at the end and knock one of the favorites out of the top three.

Mitt Romney says if Newt Gingrich can't stand the heat coming from his allies, then just wait until President Obama starts coming. "This is politics, and if you can't stand the heat in this little kitchen, wait until the Obama Hell's Kitchen turns up the heat," Romney said on Fox News . He made similar comments later on MSNBC.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are tied at the top of the Republican pack to win their party's presidential nomination, each with 20 percent of GOP primary voters' support, according to the latest CBS News Poll. Ron Paul takes the third spot with 10 percent, while the remaining candidates enter the holiday period languishing in the single digits.

The presidential candidate, in danger of slipping from front-runner status, says criticism from fellow Republicans is 'reprehensible.' Facing slipping poll numbers, an angry Newt Gingrich lashed out at his Republican presidential rivals Monday, calling their criticism of him "reprehensible" and helpful only to President Obama's reelection.

Newt Gingrich hit a new level of crazy today on Face The Nation by announcing a plan to arrest federal judges who disagree with him. What makes Newt Gingrich dangerous is that he knows the voters that he is courting. These are the same people that nominated candidates like Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell. He knows they aren’t politically knowledgeable. He doesn’t need facts. All it takes is fanatical belief in an extremist ideology to win their love. He went straight for the hearts of religious right voters with talk of secularism, crosses, and Merry Christmas.

Newt Gingrich was hammered by TV ads, in interviews and on the debate stage Thursday as his GOP rivals sought to slow his momentum.

The Gallup daily tracking poll shows Newt Gingrich's national lead over Mitt Romney is down to just five points, 29% to 24%.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has taken a commanding lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, hitting the 40 percent mark for the first time in the campaign, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on Tuesday.

Donald Trump withdrew Tuesday as the moderator of a debate planned for later this month in Iowa, citing his interest in possibly still running for president as an independent. Trump pulled out of a debate he had planned to host along with the conservative magazine Newsmax, scheduled for Dec. 27, just days before the Iowa caucuses. All the GOP presidential candidates save for Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum said they would not participate.