When presidential contenders or congressional hopefuls flame out and abandon their campaigns, they often prepare to fight another day or simply fade away.
But a few of these old campaigns experience a different fate, morphing into deadbeat zombie operations — technically still alive and functioning, but unable to pay their numerous bills to various creditors.
New filings with the Federal Election Commission show just how much some politicos owe for old campaigns, including those of a current Trump administration official and an an MSNBC television host.
Federal laws and rules require such debt-ridden committees to stay open and keep filing public financial disclosures, even if they have little or no chance of ever making their creditors whole because of the difficulty of raising money to pay down debt from a long-past election.
Here are some of the high-profile politicians whose campaigns still owe large sums, according to October FEC filings:
Newt Gingrich: $4.6 million
The king of presidential also-ran campaign debt, Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign committee still owes more than $4.63 million, spread among dozens of creditors for purposes that range from air travel to legal fees to polling costs.
That amount has remained nearly unchanged for more than a decade.
Among the more notable creditors Gingrich’s old campaign still owes: telemarketing firm Infocision (more than $118,000), FedEx (about $34,000), Twitter (more than $9,000), Comcast (about $2,300) and Denver radio station KBNO-AM ($1,000).
Newt 2012 also owes $16,525 to a company run by Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate who died in 2020 from COVID-19 after attending a rally for President Donald Trump.
Gingrich, who has long advocated “fiscal responsibility” in government and frequently fundraises for other Republican causes, is himself a creditor: His campaign owes him $650,000 for travel reimbursement costs. His campaign committee did not respond to requests for comment.
Al Sharpton: $925,000
The civil rights leader and MSNBC host ran for president as a Democrat in 2004. More than two decades later, his old presidential campaign committee remains a financial mess — and appears to be violating federal election law by not continuing to properly account for its hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
“It has come to the attention of the Federal Election Commission that you may have failed to file the above referenced report of receipts and disbursements or failed to file a report covering the entire reporting period as required by the Federal Election Campaign Act,” FEC Assistant Staff Director Deborah Chacona wrote Sharpton’s presidential campaign in July after a quarterly disclosure deadline came and went without Sharpton 2004 filing mandatory paperwork. “The failure to timely file this report may result in civil money penalties, suspension of matching funds payments, an audit or legal enforcement action.”
Sharpton’s campaign committee, which did not respond to requests for comment, missed another quarterly deadline Wednesday.
Its most recent disclosure, submitted to federal regulators in January, indicated a negative cash balance and more than $925,000 in debt.
Listed creditors include the U.S. Treasury (for an unpaid fine), the FEC (also for an unpaid fine), UPS, various staffers and consultants, Sharpton’s National Action Network organization and Sharpton himself. Sharpton did not respond to a request for comment.
Rick Santorum: $983,000
In May 2012, a month after he dropped out of the presidential race, Santorum posted a plea from his campaign for donations to “retire campaign debt.”
Over 13 years later, his failed 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns remain mired in debt, topping $983,000, according to new disclosures filed this month with the FEC.
Santorum’s 2016 campaign is over $531,000 in debt, including over $39,000 in American Express credit card debt and $47,2000 in loan interest to Santorum himself. His 2012 bid still owes more than $452,000 for services ranging from media consulting, car sponsorship and other services provided over a decade ago.
The Santorum campaigns’ biggest creditor by far is the Republican political consulting firm BrabenderCox, which is still out over $366,000 for media consulting, production and placement related to his 2012 bid and nearly $90,000 for media consulting, production and services during the 2016 election.
Santorum, who did not respond to requests for comment via email and a direct message through social platform X, slammed then-President Obama during the 2012 campaign for failing to listen to Americans “demanding fiscal responsibility from our leaders.” He continues to channel his passion for fiscal responsibility as a senior adviser to the Convention of States, a movement advocating for constitutional amendments including imposing “fiscal restraints on the federal government.”
Mehmet Oz: $25.5 million
Before the television doctor became Trump’s administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, he ran for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 and lost to now-Sen. John Fetterman.
As of Sept. 30, the Doctor Oz for Senate campaign committee still owed more than $25.5 million to its namesake candidate, who loaned his largely self-funded campaign the eight-figure sum from his vast personal wealth.
Mike Pence: $127,000
The former vice president’s short-lived 2024 presidential campaign remains nearly $127,000 in debt as of Aug. 31, although it also reported having enough cash on hand — about $182,000 — to pay those debts off.
Pence’s old campaign mostly owes money to a pair of consulting firms: Beacon Consulting LLC in Washington, D.C., for fundraising, travel, postage and catering expenses, and The Lukens Company in Arlington, Virginia, for postage and printing costs, according to the committee’s most recent financial disclosure.
Larry Elder: $42,000
The Republican radio host’s 2024 presidential campaign never gained traction with voters — but it still owes more than $42,000 among four creditors for consulting, fundraising, media and website services, according to a new filing with the FEC.
Chase Oliver: $45,000
The 2024 Libertarian Party presidential nominee’s campaign committee still owes several consultants a total of more than $45,000, as of Sept. 30 — and Truist Bank $168.17 for an unpaid overdraft fee.
Alan Keyes: $296,000
It’s been about 25 years, but the failed Republican presidential candidate’s committee from 2000 is still technically operational thanks to nearly $300,000 in unpaid debts, with a dozen creditors still owed money as of Sept. 30, according to FEC records.
Gary Bauer: $108,000
Another 2000 Republican presidential also-ran, Bauer never paid off his debts. The FEC administratively terminated Bauer’s old committee in 2015 although the committee still reported owing creditors $108,000 at the time.
Too much money?
While some campaigns remain awash in debt, others find themselves flush with surplus campaign money.
Take former Sen. Al Franken, a Democrat of Minnesota who resigned in 2017 amid accusations he inappropriately touched women without their consent. (Franken later said he regretted resigning.)
On Wednesday, the Al Franken for Senate committee, which ended September with more than $1.61 million in leftover campaign cash, disclosed it gave $100,000 to World Central Kitchen, a charity led by celebrity chef and restaurateur José Andrés.
“We do not disclose information about our donors or contributions. Thank you for your understanding,” World Central Kitchen spokesperson Carrie Hayes said when asked by NOTUS about the contribution. Franken did not respond to a request for comment.
Similarly, the old campaign committee of former Rep. John LaFalce, a Democrat from New York who left Congress in 2003 and died in April, finally shut down Wednesday night — but not before donating nearly $113,000 in residual campaign cash to the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.