GOP's Gingrich running

Former House speaker disclosed his bid on Twitter and Facebook on Monday and urged followers to tune into Fox News on Wednesday.

"I will be on to talk about my run for president of the United States," Gingrich wrote after spending a year or more publicly laying the groundwork for a GOP presidential candidacy. "I have been humbled by all the encouragement you have given me to run.

This time, it looks like it’s for real – former Speaker Newt Gingrich will officially announce his plans to run for president on Wednesday, his spokesman confirmed this morning.

How much do his missteps so far – like back in March, when he said he would announce but then didn’t – hurt his campaign? How does he fare against the current field of Republican presidential candidates?

Gingrich was once the face of the Republican Party, battling President Clinton and leading his party to power in the mid-1990s. But he stepped down in 1998, after embarrassing mid-term election losses, and he has since led a variety of businesses and nonprofits.

He is seen as one of the intellectual leaders of the party, but also has several hurdles to overcome.

Gingrich will also give an interview to Fox News that night, and is planning his first speech as a presidential candidate on Friday at a Republican convention in his home state of Georgia, according to spokesman Rick Tyler. He’ll also head to Eureka, Ill. – which happens to be Ronald Reagan’s hometown -- on Saturday to deliver the commencement address at Eureka College.

He’ll travel next week to Iowa, a crucial state that will kick-off the nominating process next year.

The then-Georgia congressman became a household name when he led the Republican takeover of the House in 1994, though he would step down amid criticism four years later. In the years since he has cast himself as a thought leader in the Republican Party, and has recently been raising money and laying the groundwork for a presidential run.

Gingrich will enter a wide-open Republican field in which he is one of only five potential candidates who has polled in the double digits. The others are Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney; only Romney is seen as a sure entrant into the race.