Local man leads pro-Gingrich group

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When Cuba Township resident Keith Hanson received a mailing from the campaign of GOP hopeful Newt Gingrich and then saw a video about the candidate, he wanted to offer his support to Gingrich.

So Hanson sent an email to a campaign associate of Gingrich to let him know he had support in Illinois. Hanson received a note back that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, would be in the Chicago area for Polish Fest and asked if they would like to meet for dinner. The dinner turned into a fundraiser for Gingrich at Hanson’s home over Labor Day weekend, with about 200 people in attendance.

The large amount of attendees didn’t prohibit Hanson from getting a few minutes alone with Gingrich. A conversation in Hanson’s study gave the two an opportunity to realize they both had things in common.

“We read the same history books,” Hanson said.

Following the fundraiser, the Illinois With Newt organization was born. Hanson serves as chairman.

“The folks in Illinois that are interested in (Gingrich’s) campaign are scattered all over the state,” Hanson said.

One of the first things Illinois With Newt did was collect petition signatures for delegates. While the petition process wrapped up in early January, Hanson said the organization was able to collect 32,000 signatures in roughly three weeks to create a full slate of delegates.

“The task of coordinating delegates or alternates is hard work,” Hanson said. “It was exciting, not a lot of sleep for a few weeks.”

Although delegates have been selected for the ballot, Illinois With Newt is still hard at work.

“This is the stage at which you try to get people with feet on the ground spreading the word about Newt Gingrich,” Hanson said.

Hanson said as the campaign continues to move forward, he tries not to look at the polls so he can keep working at the pace he needs to. This doesn’t stop other people from telling him about the latest polls though.

“Maybe its a 400-meter race,” Hanson said of the process. “It’s not a marathon by any means, but its not a sprint either.”

The campaign continues to move along, and Hanson said Illinois With Newt can always use more volunteers. For more information on Illinois With Newt, log on to illinoiswithnewt.org.