Romney Campaign Borrowed $20M, Is $11M In Debt

Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is $11 million in debt after it borrowed $20 million in August to pay for expenses before it could tap into general election dollars.

Here's more from National Review Online, which first reported the story:

"Before the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee in all but name. By law, however, he could only spend primary donations until he officially became nominee. To increase cash flow during the interregnum, the Romney campaign borrowed $20 million."

A senior Romney aide told NRO that they collateralized the debt with $20 million of general election funds already in the campaign's bank account.

"This is permitted by Federal Election Commission rules," the aide told NRO. "In the past, the FEC has specifically contemplated candidates putting up their public financing payments as collateral."

Here's more from the story:

"In order to compete with President Obama, the senior aide continues, Romney's advisers could not sit on their hands until they were able to use general-election funds.

So far, $9 million has been paid back. Five million was paid back before the end of August and an additional $4 million has been paid back in September.

When federal election reports are released later this week, they'll show debt of $15 million, but the campaign's actual debt is roughly $11 million. The campaign will soon begin fundraising to pay off the remainder.

The Romney campaign borrowed the money in August from the Bank of Georgetown, just as many of its primary dollars were drying up."