Gingrich Rents Out His Donor List
The cash-strapped candidate is trying to dig himself out of a $4.5 million hole.
| Posted Friday, April 13, 2012, at 11:43 AM
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Have a couple thousand dollars to spare? You can now access Newt Gingrich's most important campaign asset: his donor list.
Politico reports that the former House speaker's still-ongoing presidential campaign is $4.5 million in debt, and to make up the shortfall, the campaign has started renting out a list of its donors for as much as $26,000.
Insiders told Politico that Gingrich prioritized keeping up appearances over financial prudence on the trail, attempting to maintain his image as a first-tier candidate by traveling in private jets and keeping an entourage for Callista Gingrich. Included in that entourage: A man in an elephant costume to promote her children's book.
The campaign reportedly owes "several hundred thousand dollars" each to Moby Dick Airways and a security firm called the Patriot Group. And earlier this week, the campaign's $500 check to cover the filing fee for the Utah ballot bounced.
Reports indicate that Gingrich's financial future is uncertain. A think tank the candidate founded filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and as Bloomberg explains, his own campaign strategy as the anti-establishment candidate may work against future money-making opportunities.
