| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Bill Simon still carrying debt from primary run, records show
Friday August 01, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) As he prepares to run in the October recall election, Bill Simon has yet to pay off a $9.5 million debt from his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign last year, records show.
Simon, a Republican financier, spent about $30 million in the race he lost to Gov. Gray Davis, including nearly $10 million he loaned and gave himself.
Simon has repaid none of the loans, campaign finance reports covering the first six months of the year show.
Sal Russo, who was Simon's chief strategist last year, dismissed the size of Simon's campaign debt and predicted he will be able to raise enough money.
``He is going to be able to wage an effective campaign,'' Russo said.
Davis reported raising $295,000 in the first six months of the year, ending the period June 30 with $881,000 in the bank. He spent $1.2 million during the reporting period, drawing on money left over from last year's race.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, reported Thursday giving his campaign for governor $500,000, loaning himself another $100,000 and raising $57,000 from outside donors.
He also loaned $1.53 million to Rescue California Recall Gray Davis, which raised almost $2.4 million for its petition drive that resulted in the recall qualifying for the ballot last week.
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