Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has begun charging supporters $50 to have a photo taken with him at campaign events, the
National Journal reports.
While the Journal suggested that the move could indicate a cash lag, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond wrote in an email to reporters: "Some campaigns make you travel all the way to Wall Street to pay $2,500 for a photo with a candidate. We are trying out a new tactic and asking our supporters at our rallies for a nominal donation. And guess what, it is working."
Gingrich started charging for pictures Monday at a campaign event in Northern Delaware. A Gingrich campaign staffer recently has been taking shots of any interested attendee and later posting them on the campaign’s website, Newt.org. On Monday, people who paid for their photos were informed that they could find them on Gingrich’s website, after providing their credit card information.
As Gingrich’s performance sagged in February, his campaign ended the month with more debt than cash in the bank. Poor showings in the March primaries — particularly in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, where he hoped to benefit from his southern roots — obviously didn’t make Gingrich’s fundraising effort any easier.
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