Your 2012 Presidential Candidates Guide

Newt Gingrich- Republican

What You Need To Know:He is best known as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for most of the Clinton years. He has been working as an author and a political correspondent for Fox News following his term as Speaker. In trying to gain traction for his run up to the Oval Office, he claimed he had the most followers on Twitter of all the candidates. Turns out a hefty portion of the 1.3 million might be dummy accounts created to generate interest in his campaign. Factors which may influence his standing in the polls: His stance on most political issues are different than the traditional Republican line, which might not sit well with hard-core Republican voters. While leading the investigation of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged affairs, Gingrich was having an affair of his own. The affair later turned into his third marriage. Quote: About his time as House Speaker - "unemployment came down from 5.6 percent to under 4 (percent)." In actuality, the unemployment rate went down to 4.4 by the time he left his position as Speaker.