Mass exodus at Gingrich campaign

Gingrich and Marathon Pundit,
CPAC 2011

More turmoil has hit the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza reports:

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign imploded Thursday afternoon with his entire senior staff resigning en masse, according to multiple sources familiar with the moves.

"When the campaign and the candidate disagree on the path, they’ve got to part ways," said Rick Tyler, a longtime Gingrich spokesman who was among those who left the campaign.

Tyler as well as Rob Johnson, Gingrich’s campaign manager, Dave Carney and Katon Dawson, senior strategists to the effort, media consultant Sam Dawson, Iowa strategist Craig Schoenfeld, South Carolina operative Walter Whetsell and Georgia-based adviser Scott Rials have all stepped aside. Much of Gingrich's early state operation was also headed for the exits, according to a one senior campaign source.

In the immediate aftermath of the departures, which several sources said came at a meeting Thursday in Gingrich's Washington office, Gingrich released a statement via Facebook pledging to continue in the race.

Hey, I like Gingrich and love most of his ideas. Yes, his campaign so far has been a disaster--his criticism of the Paul Ryan plan can only be blamed on himself--but Newt elevates the GOP conversation.

Meanwhile, the Tim Pawlenty campaign picked up a top Gingrich player, former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, as it announced in a press release:

"Tim Pawlenty is a great man, he was a phenomenal governor, and he is the person I now believe stands the greatest chance of defeating President Obama. He is the only candidate who has laid out a real plan to grow the American economy, and his track record in Minnesota is proof he's the right man for the job," Perdue said.

"I am thrilled Governor Perdue is joining my campaign. He is revered among governors as a thoughtful, sincere man whose faith, character and passion for good policy is second to none. He's a dear friend and with his help we're going to continue to build momentum to win the nomination and ultimately the presidency," Pawlenty said.

Technorati tags: elections Politics Republican gop conservative newt gingrich Tim Pawlenty