Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign is coasting on fumes.
Mr. Jindal raised $579,000 in the third quarter, but spent $832,000, according to the latest Federal Election Commission records. Mr. Jindal has $260,000 left to spend in his campaign, according to the filing.
Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Governor who bowed out of the GOP presidential contest last month, ended the quarter with almost four times as much money as Mr. Jindal, having $985,213.43 cash on hand, according to his FEC release. Mr. Walker concluded the quarter $161,133.45 in debt, but indicated those debts would be paid and donations returned.
The biggest driver of Mr. Walker’s campaign debt was staff salaries, which came in at about $2 million. Communications director Kirsten Kukowski, campaign manager Rick Wiley and director of operations Matt Hall each made an annual salary of more than $200,000. Mr. Hall’s company, Harbinger LLC, also was paid $143,425 between August and September.
Mr. Jindal, in contrast, is running a lean campaign. According to his FEC filing, his payroll costs are about $300,000 – making it his largest expense.
Mr. Jindal has been polling at or about 1 percent nationally, although he’s seen his numbers pick up in early primary state Iowa. He’s been delegated to the so-called “kiddie table” in the last two debates and is lobbying to be on the main stage in October.
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“This is an election not an auction. We are running a lean mean campaign,” said Shannon Dirmann, a spokeswoman for Mr. Jindal’s campaign. “We are tied for 5th right now in Iowa and plan to win it on February 1st.”
Mr. Jindal has vowed to stay in the race and is betting on winning Iowa in order to do so.
• Kelly Riddell can be reached at kriddell@washingtontimes.com.
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