WH Hopefuls Spend on Telemarketing, Hotels, Jets

White House hopefuls burned through $32 million, spending the cash on telemarketing calls, luxury hotels, makeup artists, security guards, and private jets. Incumbent President Barack Obama, freed from primary battles, spent one-third of the $14 million his campaign went through on raising more money, The Washington Post reported.

The information, found in the first major spending reports of the 2012 campaign, showed that Tim Pawlenty spent $200,000 at businesses in Iowa, while Mitt Romney showered nearly $750,000 on vendors in New Hampshire. Pawlenty’s staff spent more than $600 on teleprompters and cosmetic services for his campaign kickoff in Des Moines, and Newt Gingrich spent more than $500,000 on charter services from Moby Dick Airways, the Post reported.

Romney spent about $5.7 million, including $1 million for administrative costs, and dropped another $2 million on consultants and fundraising. Nonetheless, he ended June far ahead of the GOP field with about $12 million in the bank. Pawlenty spent more on salaries than most of the other candidates, dropping more than $580,000 of his $2.5 million on his payroll, the Post reported.

Obama and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., spent heavily on fundraising and mailing costs, a probably reflection of both candidates’ emphasis on small donors, the Post reported.