Gingrich: I'm Staying In

Newt Gingrich lost overwhelmingly last night in Nevada, coming in a distant second with 26% to Mitt Romney's 42.6%, but the former House speaker immediately reaffirmed at a press conference that he's soldiering on, reports the Wall Street Journal. "I am a candidate for President of the United States, I will be a candidate for president of the United States," Gingrich said. "We will go to Tampa." Low on funds and staff, Gingrich said he is going to put the bulk of his campaign's resources into the Arizona debate on Feb. 22 and the Super Tuesday primaries on March 6.

Gingrich bemoaned the campaign's nasty tone, saying "it’s terrible that the American system is reduced to negative ads.” But, notes Politico, he's not about to go positive, either: “If you’re not willing to stand and fight, you have to get out of the campaign," Gingrich said last night. But after his second distant finish in a row, Gingrich says he is retooling his message, trying to emphasize the conservative/moderate contrast between he and Mitt Romney. "Over time we're going to drive home that contrast in a way that will be enormously to his disadvantage," said Gingrich. (More Newt Gingrich stories.)