2 leave Fox to mull candidacies

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Fox News Channel on Wednesday suspended the contracts of on-air contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for two months as the men explore a possible White House run.

The network, in an on-air announcement by Bret Baier, said Gingrich and Santorum would be dropped by Fox entirely on May 1 unless they notify the network by then that they are not running for president.

As the top-rated news network and one with a big Republican audience, Fox is expected to be a big player in the contest for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. Some critics have suggested that frequent exposure on Fox is a big advantage for Republicans seeking the White House.

Neither Gingrich, the former House speaker, nor former U.S. Sen. Santorum of Pennsylvania has officially taken the steps to begin a presidential campaign, but neither has shied from the attention.

On Thursday, Gingrich is set to meet with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Gingrich supporter. Gingrich plans to meet with reporters after the meeting, which Gingrich aides described as a long-standing chat about policy and insisted would not be to announce a White House run.

Yet Gingrich attorney Randy Evans has said the former House speaker will form an exploratory committee in the coming days and expects he will do so in Georgia, which he represented in the U.S. House. Those statements have fanned suspicion that Gingrich was ready to signal he would start a White House run.

Santorum, who lost his Senate seat in a brutal 2006 election, also has taken steps to put together the early shell of a campaign. He picked up veteran New Hampshire strategist Mike Biundo and hired consultant and radio personality Seth Leibsohn as his policy chief.