Gingrich will back Romney if he has to

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Under pressure to help unify his party, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pledged yesterday to support Mitt Romney if the former Massachusetts governor wins enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination by the end of the GOP primary season in June.

If Romney falls short, "I think you'll then have one of the most interesting, open conventions in American history," the former House speaker said as he campaigned for votes in next week's Maryland primary.

Gingrich is short on funds, and his hopes for a Southern-based comeback were all but extinguished by Rick Santorum's recent victories in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Even so, he has insisted he plans to campaign actively into the party convention, which begins Aug. 27 in Tampa, Fla.

He signaled his change in remarks to reporters. If Romney gets the 1,144 delegates needed for the nomination by the time of the Utah primary on June 26, Gingrich said, "obviously, I will support him and will be delighted to do anything I can to help defeat Barack Obama."

Gingrich and Santorum have come under increased pressure from some Republicans to swing behind Romney, who is on track to pick a majority of delegates before the primaries end in Utah.

Gingrich has tried to position himself as an anti-establishment figure, and has bristled at the devastating attacks that Romney and a Romney-aligned super political action committee unleashed at him at key moments in the campaign.

Yet, as a former House speaker, he is also aware of the importance of party unity as the general election campaign comes into view.

Romney is the front-runner with 568 delegates, based on a tally by The Associated Press, slightly less than half the needed 1,144 delegates, and more than four times as many delegates as Gingrich, who has 135.

Gingrich conceded he is strapped for campaign funds. "The money is very tight, obviously," he said. He has struggled since his campaign peaked just before the Iowa caucuses kicked off the nominating process in January. He has won just two contests -- in South Carolina and his Georgia home state.