The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, February 14, 1995             TAG: 9502140301
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE 
DATELINE: ATLANTA                            LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

GINGRICH SAYS HE WON'T RUN IN '96

House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday that he will not run for the presidency in 1996. The announcement came after a weekend of serious consideration prompted by former Vice President Dan Quayle's decision to forgo the race.

While Gingrich never had listed the presidency as one of his political goals, he had not ruled out a candidacy until Monday, causing some of his supporters to hope - and others to fear - that he might get presidential fever.

The Georgia Republican said he based his decision on the belief that running for the presidency would undercut the GOP's ``revolution'' in the House, as well as his major goal of decreasing Washington's power.

``If your goal is to have less power in Washington, I'm not sure the first thing you should do after you get to be speaker is six weeks later run for president,'' Gingrich said during a breakfast with business leaders in suburban Atlanta.

He also said he didn't want to withhold from any other Republican presidential candidates the support of party activists who might be waiting for a Gingrich campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, and former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are widely considered the leading candidates for the Republican nomination in 1996.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, Rep. Bob Dornan of California, and California Gov. Pete Wilson are among other possible candidates.

``I think you've got a bunch of very fine candidates out there, and if you want to get involved in a presidential race you ought to go ahead and get involved,'' Gingrich said.

In the end, he said, the decision was that ``I should stay and focus on what I am doing, and get this done.'' If he stays on as speaker for eight years - the term limit he has set for himself - Gingrich said he hopes to have balanced the budget, ``renewed American civilization'' and returned power to average Americans. by CNB