NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has been traveling the country making speeches, will be in Norfolk Wednesday night as he sweeps across southeastern Virginia to talk to state GOP members --and to bloggers.

Gingrich has said he may run for president but won't decide until later this year. He has criticized the Bush administration in recent interviews, describing the White House as dysfunctional and citing failures in Iraq, border security and the response to Hurricane Katrina as signs of a broken government.

Wednesday night, he will give the keynote speech at a fundraising dinner for the Republican Party of Virginia. About 190 people, from grass-roots activists to high-dollar donors, have paid $100 to $5,000 a plate, said party spokesman Shaun Kenney. The total amount raised will not be available until after the event.

The former Georgia congressman "has been crisscrossing the country talking about ideas and where he thinks the Republican Party needs to go," Kenney said. "We've got a lot of interest from folks here who want to hear what he has to say."

Gingrich has built a successful business as an author, pundit and consultant since leaving Congress nine years ago. His speech topics include homeland security, health care, politics and leadership.

Before the dinner, Gingrich will hold a private round-table discussion with eight to 10 Virginia bloggers, Kenney said. Participants will include the conservative blog BearingDrift.com; the round-table and speech also will be posted on that Web site.

Last September, BearingDrift.com brought to light an incident in which Democratic congressional candidate Phil Kellam pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman 28 years earlier when he was a college student.

After the blog posted a court document with Kellam's plea, Kellam told reporters he had yelled at a woman who had been tailgating him and cut in front of his car and that he also smacked the hood of her car.

Republican incumbent Thelma Drake defeated Kellam in November.   

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)