Mitt Romney donated funds to help Tim Pawlenty retire debt from his campaign. Romney helps bail out Pawlenty

Mitt Romney, his family, staff and supporters donated a combined $66,000 to help Tim Pawlenty retire the debt left over from his presidential campaign.

Romney, his wife, five sons and brother, as well as his associates from Bain Capital were among those cutting maximum checks to Pawlenty, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign filings released Tuesday.


Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, dropped out of the race last summer after a disappointing showing in the Ames straw poll, and quickly endorsed Romney. At the time, there was talk that Romney’s campaign would help Pawlenty’s retire its debt, then in the mid-six figures.

While there’s no evidence that Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has held any fundraisers or sent any fundraising solicitations for Pawlenty – the traditional avenues for debt retirement help – Pawlenty nonetheless managed to reduce his campaign debt from $435,000 at the end of September to a much more reasonable $103,000 at the end of the year. The largest debts listed were to an Urbandale, Iowa, compan, which was owed $37,500 for rent, and a Florida computer company, which was owed $23,000 for computer support and equipment.

Romney’s political director Richard Beeson, campaign manager Matthew Rhoades, assistant Jacqueline Rooney and staffer Virginia Simmons were among the campaign staff who spent on Pawlenty after he ended his campaign in September.

Spencer Zwick, a top Romney fundraiser who started a venture capital fund with Tagg Romney, gave the maximum $2,500 donation.

Robert White and Steven Barnes – executives at Bain & Company and Bain Capital, the consulting and private equity firms Romney ran – each gave maximum $2,500 donations.

Other major Romney donors who maxed out include Renee and Gary Morse, who own the Florida mega-retirement community The Villages, Florida shopping mall tycoon Mel Sembler, hotel magnate J.Willard Marriott Jr., two members of St. Louis’s wealthy Fox family, and pharmaceutical heir Robert Wood Johnson.