Newt Gingrich says he’ll launch 2012 bid by next week

After months of hints, Newt Gingrich appears poised to formally jump into the 2012 GOP race for president.

The former House Speaker tells The Hotline's Tim Alberta that he will officially launch his bid for the White House by early next week.

"I'll be in by the 10th or 11th," Gingrich said, though he declined to elaborate how or when he plans to announce his long-rumored campaign.

In March, Gingrich launched an officially unofficial foray into the race, filing a committee with the IRS that allowed him to raise cash for a 2012 bid without untangling himself from his network of political non-profits that fund his day-to-day political activities.

Gingrich had previously hinted he'd declare this week. But as The Ticket previously noted, that timing would have been unusual, given the former Speaker still would not have qualified for this week's Fox News presidential debate in South Carolina--the first 2012 showdown of the season.

(Photo of Gingrich: Keith Srakocic/AP)