Newt Gingrich, bowing out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination May 2, thanked Miriam and Sheldon Adelson for helping to sustain his campaign.
Gingrich held the lead in the first caucus state, Iowa, but a barrage of negative ads by pro–Mitt Romney super PACs crippled him. He recovered largely because of $25 million funneled by the Adelsons to super PACs backing him, but ultimately could not catch up to Romney and the others.
Gingrich and Adelson have been friends since Gingrich’s term as House speaker in the mid-1990s, coming together over shared thinking about Israel, skepticism of the motives of the Palestinians, and similar antipathy toward labor unions. Adelson, a Las Vegas casino mogul, has clashed repeatedly with unions.
Adelson reportedly has assured Romney’s camp that he will now direct his efforts to backing the presumptive nominee. — jta