2012 Watch: Is Gingrich the GOP’s top prospect?

by Jeremy P. Jacobs - 04/15/09 2:29 PM ET

Is Newt Gingrich the GOP’s top prospect for 2012? And is he considering a run?

Those are the questions that the folks over at Newsmax.com, the conservative magazine and website, sought to answer in their latest: “Newt Gingrich Eyes Presidential Bid.”

And while the former House Speaker from Georgia is perennially named as a potential Republican presidential candidate, Newsmax notes that Gingrich has been everywhere in recent weeks touting new ideas for the GOP.

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, told Newsmax that Gingrich is on every Republicans shortlist for 2012. The story also highlights this interested tidbit:

Gingrich is in frequent contact with Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking Republican in the House. He’s been all over the web promoting anti-tax “tea parties” set to take place around the country on April 15.

So is Gingrich the Republican leader of the future? This story, of course, comes almost two months after Matt Bai’s in depth profile of Gingrich in the New York Times Magazine. There seems to be little doubt that the former Speaker is a, if not the, intellectual leader in the party now. But is he the leader the GOP will turn to in 2012 to expand its base and win back the presidency?

What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments section below.

jeremy.jacobs@digital-staging.thehill.com