Gingrich’s wife described as factor in campaign defections

Associated Press

ATLANTA

Callista Gingrich has been a near-constant presence at her husband’s side, a visible symbol that the twice-divorced House speaker is now a devoted family man.

But Gingrich’s third wife also is being cited by people close to him as a key factor in the staff revolt that has left his presidential campaign on life support.

At least 16 aides and advisers abandoned the Gingrich campaign Thursday, an unprecedented exodus that has cast doubt on his viability as a contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich has pledged to push forward with his campaign and is set to offer a foreign-policy address to a Jewish Republican group in Los Angeles on Sunday. It’s a speech that Gingrich hopes will reset his White House bid, and it’s a near certainty that his wife will accompany him.

In the implosion’s aftermath, officials close to the Gingrich campaign privately pointed fingers at Callista Gingrich as the source of the tension between her husband and his staff. They say she exerted enormous influence on the former House speaker, controlling his schedule and encouraging him to disappear on a luxury cruise in the Greek Isles just weeks after he got into the race. That trip was the final straw, for some, who pleaded with him not to go.

These officials said Gingrich ceded to his wife’s wishes, which sometimes involved his curtailing necessary time on the campaign trail in key states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private campaign business.