Wilson Presidential Bid Is $1.4 Million in Debt

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson ended his short-lived presidential campaign with $1.4 million in debts, federal campaign reports showed Monday.

The Republican governor’s red ink actually could be slightly higher--perhaps $1.6 million--when a final tally is completed, one aide said.

Wilson, who formally entered the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Aug. 28 and withdrew a month later, raised nearly $5.33 million in contributions since March, when he announced the formation of an exploratory committee.

Wilson spent nearly $5.1 million on his campaign and owes an additional $1.399 million, according to a copy of the 600-page spending report.

Wilson cited a lack of money as the major reason he dropped out of the Republican presidential race.

Wilson averaged about $800,000 a month in contributions since March, but his fund raising dwindled sharply in the final three months.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, he took in $1.94 million, or about $640,000 a month, according to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Wilson shut down his presidential campaign on Sept. 29, citing money problems, his slow recovery from April 17 throat surgery and a late campaign start.

His fund raising lagged far behind that of GOP front-runner Bob Dole, who went into the summer reporting period with a 4-1 edge, and Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who doubled Wilson’s fund-raising total.