Gingrich campaign seeks to pay off debt by end of year

• $1.2 million of debt to be paid by the Gingrich campaign source

» Less money, more problems: The relevance of this lies in the amount of debt relative to Gingrich’s opponents; he’s spent about $3 for every $2 he’s raised in contributions, and now that he’s surged into front-runner status, this ratio is hurting his ability to add staffers and purchase advertising. A possible culprit for the red ink on the Gingrich balance sheet? The early stages of his campaign, in which he was spending heavily on fancy hotels and $30,000 jet flights. Compare this to Mitt Romney’s campaign, which already has a thriving ground-game in place and is reporting zero debt, and one wonders whether Gingrich can raise the organization in time to keep contending.

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