Gingrich?s risky stand on immigrants will test GOP appetite for Romney

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newt Gingrich, a political gambler his whole life, is banking on unorthodox stands on immigration, Social Security and other issues to propel him past Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential contest.

In a few weeks, GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will show whether they think the best person to challenge President Barack Obama is a comparative stranger to Washington politics or a contentious and sometimes cantankerous veteran of decades of inside-the-Beltway battles.

Gingrich, 68, may be the most familiar of the eight Republican candidates. But he has never been a play-it-safe politician. He has a long career of highs and lows to prove it.

Romney, meanwhile, is sticking with his run-out-the-clock strategy. He?s adhering to GOP orthodoxy on immigration, not making too much noise about Social Security, and focusing his criticisms on Obama.

His strategy has kept him fairly steady in the polls for months while others ?Äî notably Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain ?Äî have risen and fallen. Now it?s Gingrich, the history-quoting former House speaker, with a chance to prove he?s the Romney alternative who can rally and inspire Republican voters.