Gingrich to Ohio for 'Right to Life' event

In between trips to the early presidential battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) will fit in a visit to Ohio on Friday.  

Gingrich is set to speak at an Ohio Right to Life event and screen a documentary on Pope John Paul II's trip to Poland in 1979, when the country was still under communist rule. 

Earlier this week, Gingrich was in Iowa courting voters and meeting with party leaders. He's expected to make a final decision on a presidential bid in early March, but has reportedly been telling Republicans in his home state of Georgia that he's running next year.

In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Gingrich said he's seriously considering a 2012 bid, acknowledging that former GOP Govs. Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee all have an early edge. 

"Romney's the front-runner in fundraising, Palin is the front-runner in celebrity status and Huckabee is the front-runner in polling data," he told the paper. "All three of them should feel pretty good about where they're positioned right now." 

Gingrich called Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) a "very close personal friend," noting the two worked together in Congress in the late '90s to pass a balanced budget. 

A slew of rumored 2012 hopefuls have made trips to the key battleground state over the past year, including Romney, Huckabee, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.  

Speaking to reporters Thursday, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said his message to the party's nominee in 2012 is: It's all about Ohio.   

"It's hard to see Obama getting reelected or a Republican winning election without winning Ohio," Gillespie said. "I would start there if I were advising our nominee."