FREDERICK, Md. – “Either Romney will self destruct, or Romney will be the nominee,” says Newt Gingrich, having lunch with a small group of supporters between campaign appearances on the eve of the Maryland, Wisconsin, and District of Columbia primaries. “Nobody is going to beat him head-to-head because you can’t compete with the weight of his money.”

Strapped for cash and struggling to stay in the game after a series of losses in Southern states he thought he could win, Gingrich has in the last few days come up with a strategy to “redirect” his campaign. He will continue to travel — “less expensively” — to some primary states and will not quit the race until Romney reaches the number of delegates required to clinch the Republican presidential nomination. But Gingrich says he will now focus his efforts on persuading GOP delegates to adopt a series of platform proposals that will hold Romney to conservative positions.