Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich on Friday said he views Washington's March 3 caucuses and non-binding straw poll as an important contest before the "Super Tuesday" contest March 6.

The former speaker of the House swung through the state Capitol on Friday to meet Republican lawmakers and local reporters before heading out to campaign events in South King County and Everett.

"This is different than any previous campaign I'm aware of. It's been like a roller coaster. I think a lot of people thought, looking back to 2008, that Florida would be the end of the cycle. Instead ... I was still standing after Florida," he said in an impromptu news conference at The Associated Press office.

"This is a much more complicated marathon than anybody would have guessed. I think you're going to see it go on for awhile," he said. "The caucuses become really important because they're the last political event before super Tuesday. So everybody would like to do well here."

Gingrich said he's had good showings so far in the with 800 people attending an event in the Tri-Cities on Thursday and 600 at an rally in Spokane.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul held rallies in Washington last week, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is scheduled to visit the Seattle area March 1.