Gov. Scott Walker settles with 10 vendors in debt-retirement push

MADISON -- Gov. Scott Walker settled with 10 vendors for less than he owed, helping him retire debt from his short-lived presidential campaign.

Walker’s campaign reached agreements to settle $40,635.48 in debt by paying the vendors $333,447.81 out of the $374,083.29 owed, according to the campaign’s latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission.

On Friday, January 13th, Walker’s political operation revealed that it had retired all of the debt left over from his 71-day campaign for the White House. His aides say it puts Walker in a good position to launch a likely bid for a third term as Wisconsin governor in 2018.

Each of the 10 vendors accepted settlements between $1,000 and $10,000 in debt. Drucker Lawhon LLP, a fundraising firm based in Washington, D.C., agreed to the biggest reduction of $10,000.  The agreements still need FEC approval.

“Should the FEC approve SWI’s (Scott Walker Inc.) debt settlement plan, SWI will no longer have any outstanding debts or obligations,” campaign treasurer Kate Lind wrote in the federal filing.

Walker’s presidential campaign ended in September 2015 as fundraising slowed to a trickle and debt mounted. Walker’s campaign owed an estimated $1.2 million at the time, and the governor publicly pledged to retire the debt by the end of 2016 to focus on a possible bid for a third term.

Walker’s political operation is “on its front foot heading into 2017” after retiring the remaining debt, a campaign spokesman said in a Tuesday news release. Walker has said he will make a final decision on his 2018 plans after signing the state budget this summer.

To see the full FEC filing, CLICK HERE.