Governor's campaign debt down to $285,000

| The Associated Press

6/28/2008 -

Gov. Bill Richardson continues to chip away at the debt of his presidential campaign.

Richardson's campaign owed $285,419 at the end of May and had a cash balance of $1,746, according to the latest financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The campaign's debt declined slightly, from about $317,000 at the end of April.

Richardson dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in early January and has said he hopes to retire his campaign debts by the end of this year.

The campaign had total receipts of $52,812, which included refunds from vendors as well as contributions of $33,519.

Among Richardson's contributors were officials of Penn National Gaming Inc., which owns a horse racing track and casino in Hobbs. The company's chief operating officer and president, Timothy Wilmott, gave $2,300 as did his wife, Dr. Anastasia Barna. James Baum, the company's senior vice president of project development, contributed $1,500. Penn National operates racetracks with slots and casinos across the country, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado and Illinois.

Other contributors included the political action committee of a Virginia-based consulting company, Maximus Inc., which gave $2,300. The state hired the company in 2005 to implement a payroll and accounting computer system, which has been plagued by problems since it was launched.

The PAC of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., contributed $2,000.

Richardson's campaign spent $51,726 last month, including about $9,700 for legal services from a Washington, D.C., law firm, $8,200 for a California-based consultant and $5,000 for Internet advertising.

Overall, Richardson raised almost $24.4 million for his presidential campaign, which started in January 2007.