Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich (born June 17, 1943) is an American Republican politician who served as House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as House Minority Leader from 1995 to 1997 in the US House of Representatives. He was selected as the running mate of Dan Quayle in the 1996 Presidential election, and after the lost election, Gingrich was an informal advisor to John McCain's 2000 Presidential campaign while serving as a US Senator from Georgia from 1999 to 2005, and then became the Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005-09, helping organize the Allen-Romney ticket victory in 2008.