Gingrich: Candidacy announcement in weeks

WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- Newt Gingrich said Sunday he expected to decide within a month whether or not to formally seek the Republican U.S. presidential nomination.

The former House Speaker said on "Fox News Sunday" his exploratory organization was coming together and he had been testing the waters himself in key states such as Florida and Texas.

"The water is pretty warm," Gingrich said. "My hope is that within a month we'll be in swimming there very rapidly."

Gingrich said the groundwork for a formal announcement had to be laid down in a methodical fashion in part because of specific federal election laws.

"This is a very serious exploration," he added.