Santorum Campaign: Help Us Pay Our Debts

April 10, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Rick Santorum's presidential campaign is over, but he is still asking for your support—specifically, your monetary support.

After announcing the end of his run for the White House on Tuesday, Santorum posted a letter to his website thanking voters and volunteers for their efforts during his campaign. In the post, he vows to remain as a voice for conservatives, but he also explains that he is in some serious need of cash to pay back debts.

[Read Rick Santorum: "Race Over For Me".]

In his letter to supporters, Santorum explains that more than 160,000 people contributed to his campaign, with the average contribution being a modest $73.10. For Santorum, that's proof that his grassroots message was reaching blue-collar voters and inspiring them to give what they could. For his accountants, that's a major headache.

"I am planning to do everything in my power to bring a change about in the White House," Santorum writes. "But our campaign has debt, and I cannot be free to focus on helping defeat [Barack Obama] with this burden. I am asking you to consider one more contribution of $25, $50 or even $73.10."

Mitt Romney, who looks to be the Republican presidential nominee, outspent Santorum's campaign, and every other challenger's campaign, by a wide margin. Last week, Santorum's communications chief Hogan Gidley explained that while Romney had spent $14 for every vote he received, Santorum spent only $3. In an effort to remain competitive with Romney's seemingly endless supply of funds, Santorum bought up ad space in states he felt he could win. In the end, the return on his investments in places like Illinois—where he spent $122,000 on one ad buy—was poor, as he lost by a wide margin there.

[See pictures of Rick Santorum on the campaign trail.]

Exactly how much debt the Santorum campaign accrued over the past few months is unknown. According to OpenSecrets.org, a database for tracking campaign spending and contributions, the Santorum campaign had $922,000 in debt at the end of February. That debt almost assuredly increased in March, a month in which Republicans held nominating contests in 19 states.