Gingrich builds staff in New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is beefing up his efforts in New Hampshire by hiring his first four paid staffers in the state, his campaign announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day after Gingrich told reporters in Concord that his fundraising levels had spiked in October. The former speaker was in town Tuesday to file his paperwork for candidacy in the state's primary.
Last week, the campaign hired rising conservative activist Andrew Hemingway, who was chairman of the New Hampshire Liberty Caucus.
The other three hires came this week, including former Bachmann staff member Mattheau LeDuc. LeDuc resigned from Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign last week, along with the rest of her New Hampshire staff.
He will serve as Gingrich's communications director in the state. The campaign also hired Alex Talcott as coalitions director and Pam Smith to coordinate volunteers.
At a press conference Tuesday in Concord, Gingrich said his performances in a series of debates have shown voters that he is a serious candidate. The campaign said it had raised more than $800,000 in October - more than Gingrich had brought in during the entire previous quarter.
The candidate also suggested that Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney might not have a lock on the state.
"The governor has a strong lead here, but the campaign has only begun," Gingrich said.
In a new CNN/Time/ORC International poll, Romney received 40% support from Republicans and independents in New Hampshire. Gingrich came in fifth with 5%.
However, only 32% of those polled said they would "definitely support" the candidate they had currently chosen.
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Ah the colorful salamander is finally creating 4 jobs. Until they decide to bail.
I didn't realize Newt was still running for the Republican nomination actually I didn't realize he was still alive. I must be getting old as I can still remember when he made a difference. Wow that time and his has long passed and given the number of people who took the time to post a response to this article I guess other people feel the same way.
Newt is the one person obama does not want to debate. obama is not near as smart as liberals think he is and he is definitely no match for Newt.
Come on Newt. We're behind you. Tell us what to do to take America back from disaster.
My one question is.....where will Newton McPherson be displaying that pumpkin sized cranium of his come monday evening?
Who is this fool trying to kid? He's making a good living off a small percentage of people who think he has something to say. Beyond that he has absolutely no chance of gaining the GOP nomination.
A waste of money and time. He was DOA the moment he told the truth about the Ryan budget.