Failed Presidential Bid Costs Hilllary Clinton at Least $13.2 Million

david-knowles

David Knowles

Contributor
Posted:
12/22/08
We all know that it gets more expensive to run for president with every new election. In addition, the longer you remain competitive in a race, the more money you'll end up spending. So, it should come as no surprise that Hillary Clinton ended up spending a whole lot of her own money in her quest to become the Democratic nominee. How much, exactly? From Bloomberg news:

Hillary Clinton formally wrote off the $13.2 million she lent her presidential campaign, helping to smooth the way for her Senate confirmation as U.S. secretary of state.

Forgiving the debt moves Clinton closer to formally shutting down her presidential-campaign committee because there will no longer be a personal debt on the books.

The campaign still owes $6.4 million to vendors. Of that, Mark Penn is asking for a cool $5.4 million for dubious services rendered. But Clinton's outlay of over 13 mil. is really peanuts when compared with the estimated $45 million that Mitt Romney personally spent on his electoral road to nowhere.

Certainly, having a hefty bank account comes in handy when running for public office. Just ask John Corzine or Michael Bloomberg. But while gobs of cash makes attaining office that much easier, there's still no such thing as a sure thing.