Newt Gingrich (Courtesy of Creative Commons)

The former House speaker said his goal is to “find a series of victories” that will allow him to draw close with Romney by April, according to The Associated Press.

The Gingrich camp will shift its focus heavily toward the upcoming Southern states, where it hopes to perform well among conservatives and portray Romney as being too liberal to defeat President Obama in a general election race, according to the Post.

From the Washington Post:

“A vast majority of Republicans across the country are going to want an alternative to a Massachusetts moderate who has, in his career, been pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase and who ran third from the bottom in job creation in the four years he was governor,” Gingrich said. “So I suspect this debate will continue for a long time. Our commitment is to find a series of victories, which by the end of the Texas primary, will leave us at parity with Governor Romney. And by that point forward, we’ll see if we can’t actually win the nomination.”

Gingrich’s best chance for a surge could come during the Super Tuesday contests on March 6, when delegate-rich Southern states like Georgia — which he represented in Congress — and Tennessee hold their primaries, according to CNN. Conservative-friendly Oklahoma could also play in his favor.

But keeping it close entering Super Tuesday would mean having to survive a month of February that is expected to provide a daunting challenge for the Gingrich campaign. With the next debate not scheduled until Feb. 22, Gingrich has limited free airtime to make an impression on voters, one political strategist said in the Huffington Post.

"He has a tough few weeks ahead of him," said Matthew Dowd, who worked for former President George W. Bush.

Of the seven states that will hold contests between Nevada’s vote and Super Tuesday, Romney won four — Minnesota, Colorado, Maine and Michigan — back in 2008, according to CBS News.

"I have run a campaign which twice now has made me the frontrunner, and I suspect will be again by the Texas primary or so," Gingrich said. "That really is a national campaign."

Reach executive producer Danny Lee by email or follow him on Twitter.