Walker presidential campaign owed $1.2 million at year end

The reports cover the fourth quarter of 2015. They show the campaign owed $1.2 million by Dec. 31. Some of the campaign’s largest unpaid bills included nearly $316,700 to St. Paul, Minnesota-based FLS Connect LLC for telemarketing services; nearly $70,000 to New Hampshire-based SCM Associates Inc. for direct mailing expenses; about $59,000 to the Virginia-based Lukens Co. for direct mailing; and about $44,250 to Maryland-based MMA Events LLC for event staging expenses.

The reports show the campaign raised just under $600,000 during the quarter with most of that going to pay down debt, campaign spokesman Joe Fadness said. The campaign ended the year with about $153,500 on hand, the reports show.

“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 an statement.

The campaign spent $1.4 million during the quarter, according to the reports, with much of the money going to cover airfare and other travel expenses. A little less than $135,000 went to the state in December to reimburse taxpayers for airfare, hotels and other expenses his State Patrol security team incurred protecting him during his run. The campaign has so far reimbursed the state $260,000 for security costs.

The governor entered the presidential race in mid-July. He dropped out in September after his campaign grew to about 90 staff members spread around the country and fundraising couldn’t keep up with expenses. He decided to quite rather than incur debt or scale back in the face of a sharp decline in poll numbers in early voting states. He was officially in the race for 71 days.