Mr. Gingrich vowed to carry on, saying that he was ?committed to running the substantive, solutions-oriented campaign I set out to run earlier this spring.?
But the departure of nearly two dozen aides, including his entire Iowa operation, left him, for now at least, crippled in his ability to do much more than appear at debates or other public forums at a time when his main rivals were busy raising money and building organizations in crucial states. And it injected fresh uncertainty into the Republican nominating contest amid continued talk that further candidates might jump in.
Mr. Gingrich?s senior strategists confronted him on Thursday after he returned from a two-week vacation with his wife, Callista, which included a cruise through the Greek isles. Mr. Gingrich defended his holiday as a chance to ?get away and think,? but aides chastised him, they said, for lacking the discipline to run a focused presidential campaign that could overcome rising doubts about his candidacy.
?The professional team came to the realization that the direction of the campaign they sought and Newt?s vision for the campaign were incompatible,? said David Carney, a senior strategist who was among those who submitted resignations on Thursday afternoon.
Many Republicans had long seen Mr. Gingrich as something of a vanity candidate ? not really expecting to win the party?s nomination, but viewing the race as an opportunity to draw attention to his policy ideas, books and documentaries. His aides described him and Mrs. Gingrich as not doing enough to dedicate themselves to the hard work and the unglamorous aspects of running for president.
For some candidates, the departure of an entrenched team of advisers could provide an opportunity to regroup, but Mr. Gingrich could face tougher going after these setbacks. His aides said that he was struggling to raise money, recruit staff and be seen as a top-tier candidate.
Former Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, a national co-chairman of the Gingrich campaign, withdrew his endorsement and said he would support Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota.
The repositioning in the Republican contest unfolded on several fronts Thursday. Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, said he would not compete in the Iowa Straw Poll, a traditional test of strength, which he won four years ago.
The shakeup surrounding Mr. Gingrich shined a new light on the intentions of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who is taking a serious look at joining the Republican presidential race. Two of the strategists who parted ways with Mr. Gingrich ? Mr. Carney and Rob Johnson, the campaign manager ? have also worked for Mr. Perry and could now play a key role in his decision.
Mr. Perry is scheduled to appear before Republican audiences next week in California, New York and Louisiana, all of which offer an opportunity for him to explore the fund-raising potential should he decide to move forward with a candidacy.
His spokesman, Mark Miner, said the resignation by Mr. Gingrich?s aides would not affect Mr. Perry?s choice.
The breakup of the Gingrich team, which included a top-to-bottom slate of aides in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Washington and Georgia, provided one of the biggest jolts yet to the 2012 Republican presidential campaign.
During a conference call on Wednesday, top strategists confronted Mr. Gingrich over what they believed was a lack of focus. They demanded that he spend 90 percent of his time in three early-voting states and curtail distractions like screenings of his documentaries.
To underscore their complaint, Mr. Gingrich was taking the call from New Hampshire, where he was not introducing himself to voters who will take part in the nation?s first primary next year, but rather promoting a documentary on Pope John Paul II that he made with his wife.