Wilson Presidential Bid Is $1.4 Million in Debt
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SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson ended his short-lived presidential campaign with $1.4 million in debts, federal campaign reports showed Monday.
The Republican governor’s red ink actually could be slightly higher--perhaps $1.6 million--when a final tally is completed, one aide said.
Wilson, who formally entered the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Aug. 28 and withdrew a month later, raised nearly $5.33 million in contributions since March, when he announced the formation of an exploratory committee.
Wilson spent nearly $5.1 million on his campaign and owes an additional $1.399 million, according to a copy of the 600-page spending report.
Wilson cited a lack of money as the major reason he dropped out of the Republican presidential race.
Wilson averaged about $800,000 a month in contributions since March, but his fund raising dwindled sharply in the final three months.
From July 1 to Sept. 30, he took in $1.94 million, or about $640,000 a month, according to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
Wilson shut down his presidential campaign on Sept. 29, citing money problems, his slow recovery from April 17 throat surgery and a late campaign start.
His fund raising lagged far behind that of GOP front-runner Bob Dole, who went into the summer reporting period with a 4-1 edge, and Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who doubled Wilson’s fund-raising total.
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