Pawlenty still paying for failed campaign

Losing an election is like getting a traffic ticket. You end up paying a painful amount of money and have nothing to show for it. Except shame.

Tim Pawlenty, the guy who dropped out of the presidential race in August, before a single primary took place (and before he realized almost every GOP candidate got a chance to play frontrunner for a little), is still paying off his campaign debt. At least Mitt Romney, with his bags of money, is helping.

From Politico:

Just $44,670 in debt remained for Pawlenty’s campaign through Jan. 31, down from almost $103,000 at the end of last year and a reported high of more than $450,000.

The former Minnesota governor, who endorsed Mitt Romney after dropping out of the GOP race in August, was buoyed in January by more than $40,300 in contributions to his presidential committee, which also reported more than $21,173 cash on hand.

Romney, his family members and several Bain Capital officials were among those who helped Pawlenty retire debt last year, federal records show. Romney previously ran Bain Capital.