Editing Newt Gingrich (section)

== Early political career ==
Gingrich was the southern regional director for [[Nelson Rockefeller]] in the [[1968 Republican Party presidential primaries|1968 Republican primaries]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Chameleon |first=Ed |last=Kilgore |url=http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/84568/kilgore-gingrich-liberal-policies |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=March 3, 2011 |archive-date=March 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306165723/http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/84568/kilgore-gingrich-liberal-policies |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Congressional campaigns ===
[[File:Newt Gingrich, official 96th Congress photo.png|thumb|160px|Newt Gingrich's official congressional photo in 1979.]]
In [[1974 United States House of Representatives elections|1974]], Gingrich made his first bid for political office as the Republican candidate in {{ushr|Georgia|6}} in north-central [[State of Georgia|Georgia]]. He lost to 20-year incumbent Democrat [[John James Flynt, Jr.|Jack Flynt]] by 2,770 votes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31926 |title=Race details for 1974 election [in 6th District] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195814/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31926 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref> Gingrich's relative success surprised political analysts. Flynt had never faced a serious challenger; Gingrich was the second Republican to ever run against him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=16367 |title=John James Flynt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611122351/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=16367 |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |series=bio page |website=OurCampaigns}}</ref> He did well against Flynt although 1974 was a disastrous year for Republican candidates nationally due to fallout from the [[Watergate scandal]] of the Nixon administration.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Newt Chronology {{!}} The Long March Of Newt Gingrich {{!}} FRONTLINE {{!}} PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/newtchron.html|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>

Gingrich sought a rematch against Flynt in 1976. While the Republicans did slightly better in the [[1976 United States House of Representatives elections|1976 House elections]] than in 1974 nationally, the Democratic candidate in the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential election]] was former governor of Georgia [[Jimmy Carter]]. Carter won more than two-thirds of the vote in his native Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1976&fips=13&f=1&off=0&elect=0|title=1976 Presidential General Election Results - Georgia|access-date=October 9, 2013|archive-date=March 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318163348/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1976&fips=13&f=1&off=0&elect=0|url-status=live}}</ref> Gingrich lost his race by 5,100 votes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31093 |title=Race details for 1976 House election |publisher=Ourcampaigns.com |access-date=December 3, 2011 |archive-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108200735/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31093 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As Gingrich primed for another run in the [[1978 United States House of Representatives elections|1978 elections]], Flynt decided to retire. Gingrich defeated Democratic state senator Virginia Shapard by 7,500&nbsp;votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shepard, Virginia |publisher=Our Campaigns |date=June 23, 2007 |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31287 |access-date=January 23, 2012 |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121093539/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31287 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/pages/pages.asp?ldID=105&guideID=551&ID=4133 |title=Shapard, Virginia |series=GGDP Library Special Collections |publisher=Georgia State University Library (library.gsu.edu) |date=January 26, 1988 |access-date=September 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701063758/http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/pages/pages.asp?ldID=105&guideID=551&ID=4133 |archive-date=July 1, 2010}}</ref> Gingrich was re-elected five times from this district, before it was modified by redistricting.<ref>Gingrich was also elected to 4 terms from a new 6th District (after redistricting following the 1990 census), as described in the next section.</ref> He faced a close general election race once—in the [[1990 United States House election|House elections of 1990]]—when he won a narrow 974&nbsp;vote victory over Democrat David Worley in the general.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/98510/forgotten-campaign-newt-gingrich|title=The Forgotten Campaign|first=Alec|last=MacGillis|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=December 14, 2011|access-date=May 25, 2021}}</ref> Although the district was trending Republican at the national level, conservative Democrats continued to hold most local offices, as well as most of the area's seats in the [[Georgia General Assembly|General Assembly]], well into the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgias-center-of-political-gravity-shifting-toward-atlanta/QRMU7WXWKJBZTCQ5F6LDLPOK54/|title=Georgia's center of political gravity shifting toward Atlanta|first=Greg|last=Bluestein|work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|date=March 2, 2021|access-date=May 25, 2021}}</ref> In 1992, Gingrich faced a primary challenge from State Representative Herman Clark, which he won by just 978&nbsp;votes amid ethical concerns and an anti-incumbent trend. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/22/us/gingrich-claims-victory-in-a-tight-primary-race.html|title=Gingrich Claims Victory in a Tight Primary Race|first=Peter|last=Applebome|work=[[The New York Times]]|date= July 22, 1992|access-date=April 17, 2025}}</ref>