Rick Perry has stopped paying his presidential campaign staff in South Carolina and elsewhere, raising the possibility that he won’t be in the race for much longer if there isn’t a miraculous fundraising turnaround.
Just a day after the First Presidential Debate, Perry campaign manager Jeff Miller informed staff last Friday, that they would not be receiving any payments and everyone was unrestricted in pursuing other jobs. However, numerous staffs in Perry South Carolina campaign stated that they will go on working as volunteers, with the hope that the former governor’s fortunes may recover.
Perry’s Iowa state chairman, Sam Clovis, said Tuesday he was on a conference call with Austin campaign headquarters Monday night where staffers were told pay would be suspended. Traditionally, when a campaign operation runs out of money, it’s days are numbered, but in the curious world of modern campaign finance, it’s not quite so simple.
Spokesman Lucy Nashed said in a statement Monday that “tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time-related resources”. “We’re trying to make sure we have enough people out there”.
The super PACs initially planned to focus on paid television advertisements, but switched gears when strategists saw Perry’s campaign reported having just $883,913 at the end of June.
In 2012, the support of a super PAC helped former House Speaker Newt Gingrich win South Carolina’s primary and continue competing for the presidency after traditional campaign money dried up.
But lawyer Cleta Mitchell of the law firm Foley & Lardner says Perry’s financial woes reveal a different problem. The campaign has raised only $1.07 million, a far cry from GOP juggernauts like former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. “The super PAC is not going to let Rick Perry down”.
Translation: Perry doesn’t have near the spending advantage of his rivals. Despite better reviews on the campaign trail, more energy and another four years in office to tout his accomplishments, the folksy Republican has gotten overshadowed by flashier, newer candidates in the crowded field.
Beyond that, not many details were provided. The vast majority of the available money is controlled by pro-Perry super PACs, which can support his run with ads and ground organization but not chip in for the official campaign’s expenses.