Gingrich Campaign Faces Tight Budget

Annapolis, Md. -- Intent on taking his campaign all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this summer, Newt Gingrich indicated to reporters Tuesday that his staff is reorganizing to adjust to tough financial realities but said he has enough money to stay in the race.

"The money is very tight obviously, that's why we're trying to raise more money," Gingrich said when a reporter brought up the campaign's latest fundraising method of asking supporters to donate 50 dollars to take a photo with the candidate, part of their latest push to solicit more small donor contributions.

Directly questioned about whether he would be asking staffers to take pay cuts, Gingrich said the campaign is "working through what it is going to take" to get to Tampa and told reporters to expect more guidance from his communications staff "in the next day or two."

Gingrich downplayed the significance of canceling his previously scheduled 2-day trip to North Carolina this week, which is being replaced by events in DC.

"We had an opportunity to do a couple things in Washington tomorrow and the Washington primary's next Tuesday, and so that's why we stayed in Washington," he said. Gingrich joins his wife Callista in Wisconsin at the end of the week, where she has been embarking on her first solo campaign tour.

Print outlets took their embeds off the Gingrich campaign bus after the Louisiana primary, leaving just a handful of network embeds to continue traveling with the candidate, who has relied heavily on earned media to stay in the public spotlight.

Gingrich said he wasn't bothered by their departure "much as I like them personally" because he has continued to receive large audiences, like the crowd of hundreds in Delaware who turned out to see him Monday night. He also gestured to the gaggle of reporters at the media avail outside the Maryland state capitol -- over 20 outlets were present -- suggesting the campaign still had some wind in its sails.

"Clearly we're going to have to go on a fairly tight budget to get from here to Tampa, but I think we can do it," he said. "And I think we will do it and it's going to take a lot of work on our part but we have a lot of supporters who want us to do that."