The 2012 presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich, former U.S. Representative from Georgia and Speaker of the House, began shortly following the 2010 midterm elections. He was politically active during the midterm elections, and helped several Tea Party-backed Republicans with his endorsements and fundraising abilities. In early 2011, he chose to run for president and left his position as a political analyst for Fox News to seek the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.