All hail Newt Gingrich — still the king of presidential campaign debt.
Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign committee continues to owe creditors more than $4.63 million, according to new financial documents filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.
No other presidential campaign committee from any past election cycle owes more.
Gingrich's committee debt has largely remained the same for the past decade, with dozens of campaign vendors who haven't been made whole.
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Comcast, FedEx, X (formerly Twitter) and a consulting company run by another former Republican presidential candidate — Herman Cain, who died in 2020 of COVID-19 — are among Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign creditors. Gingrich's campaign committee also owes money to Gingrich himself as well as the committee's treasurer, Taylor Swindle.
Gingrich is not personally liable for his campaign committee's debts, per federal law. But he could personally help his campaign pay off debts if he wanted, either using his own money or raising money from others.
Has he? No.
The former U.S. House speaker, who won just two states en route to placing fourth in the 2012 GOP presidential primary, has done little to settle the debts of a campaign committee that bears his name — "Newt 2012". Gingrich's old committee has just $179.61 cash on hand as of Sept. 30.
That hasn't stopped Gingrich from criticizing what he considers the irresponsible spending practices of other politicians.
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"The nation is currently $31.4 trillion in the red," Gingrich wrote in a February opinion article published in the Daily Mail. "Astonishingly, by 2025, interest on the debt may be a larger budget item than the entire U.S. Department of Defense. In the 2022 fiscal year, $475 billion was consumed by interest payments. That's nearly as much as the $677 billion spent on education and more than is spent on veterans' benefits and transportation — combined. A balanced budget — the novel concept of not spending more than is collected in revenue – can save the nation from this fiscal insanity."
"But it won't be easy to get there. I know what it takes," Gingrich added.
"We're deeply committed to lower spending, not higher spending," Gingrich said of Republicans during an interview on Fox Business in May.
A representative for Gingrich could not be reached for comment.
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Despite his old campaign committee's insolvency, Gingrich continues to rank among the Republican Party's favorite fundraising surrogates.
He frequently sends solicitations to conservative donors on behalf of political committees such as the Republican National Committee and GOP candidates including former President Donald Trump, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker of Georgia.
"When the clock struck midnight last night, House Republicans were still well short of their huge 3rd quarter goal! I don’t want to lie, so I’ll be blunt. This is a disaster," Gingrich wrote on Sept. 29 on behalf of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Please help us, Friend. We need your support!"
This article originally appeared on July 14, 2023, and has been updated to include new financial details and developments.
