Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich looks likely to become the first major Republican to formally announce he will run for the presidency of the United States next year.
At present, there's no clear Republican frontrunner to take on President Barack Obama.
Mr Gingrich, 67, left elected office in 1999. The BBC reports he is best known for leading a team of conservative Republicans who won control of the House in the 1994 election.
He plans to enter the race on Wednesday. Supporters have been advised to watch Fox News that evening.
His entrance into the race has been widely anticipated. The BBC reports Mr Gingrich is seen as a font of conservative policy ideas and controls a broad network of non-profit organisations and business ventures.
But he is twice divorced and had an extramarital affair in the 1990s with the woman who became his third wife.
Other likely 2012 candidates include former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Utah Governor and US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
