Revealed: Newt Gingrich’s campaign still owes creditors $4.6 million

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 Friday 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.

Twitter, Comcast, FedEx 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 has done little to settle the debts of a campaign committee that bears his name — "Newt 2012."

That hasn't stopped Gingrich from criticizing what he considers the irresponsible spending practices of other politicians.

"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," Gingrich added. "I know what it takes."

A representative for Gingrich could not be reached for comment.

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 and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker of Georgia.

"I just released my new book March to the Majority, and it is flying off the shelves," Gingrich wrote in an email Thursday on behalf of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "I wanted to make sure you got a copy, which is why I teamed up with House Republicans to provide a free signed copy to anyone who contributes just $35 to defend the Republican majority."

And while Gingrich's old presidential campaign leads all others in the debt category, several other notable also-rans from presidential campaigns past also owe sizable amounts.

Among then: Republican Rick Santorum, who this week reported to the FEC owing creditors nearly $1 million across two presidential campaign committees from his failed 2012 and 2016 presidential runs.