Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's failed presidential campaign spent $1.4 million last quarter paying former staff and vendors and refunding some contributions, which still leaves him $1.2 million in debt, according to new Federal Election Commission filings released on Friday, The Wisconsin State Journal reported. In all, Walker's campaign spent $7.3 million out of the $7.4 million it raised in contributions over the course of the campaign, leaving him a little more than $1 million in debt.
By contrast, Unintimidated PAC, the super PAC that supported Walker's 2016 run, had such a surplus of funds that it was in a position to gove donors back more than $18 million that included a $4 million contribution from Diane Henricks, a Wisconsin roofing billionaire, The Washington Post reported.
While the debt is not considered large by the standards of many campaigns in recent years, it is notable because of the duration of Walker's candidacy. The Wisconsin governor was the first of the Republican candidates to pull out of the race in September, making his run for the White House just two months long.
Joe Fadness, Walker's campaign spokesperson, believed that the debt would be paid in short order because of their ability to raise $600,000 toward the deficit in the fourth quarter, even though he had already left the race by that point.
"Governor Walker made substantial progress in addressing financial commitments over the last quarter, and he remains humbled by the outpouring of support from friends across the country who continue to believe in his commonsense reform agenda," Fadness said in a statement, according to Politico.
Walker was criticized for having too large of a staff that he overpaid, making his campaign unsustainable -- a criticism that ultimately proved to be true. The salaries included a personal photographer, who was paid $11,700 a month; a personal aide to Walker's wife, who was paid a yearly salary of $89,000; and a junior press assistant, who was to be paid $70,000 a year, according to U.S. News.
