WASHINGTON – President Bush's (search) record campaign fund raising left him with millions of dollars to spare, allowing him to donate $11 million to the Republican Party and even send a few checks to the White House Historical Association.
Bush finished the Nov. 2 election with $4.4 million left in his $75 million, taxpayer-financed general election campaign fund and $1 million in bills to pay. He had $15 million in a legal compliance fund that he could have tapped in the event of a recount fight, according to reports he filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission (search).
Bush also detailed the money raised and spent by his record-breaking primary campaign fund. He ended his private fund raising with $273 million collected, close to triple the then-record $106 million he raised for his 2000 primary campaign. The cost of television ads consumed much of Bush's money.
Bush was no longer allowed to use private contributions on his campaign after he was nominated Sept. 2 at the Republican National Convention (search) in New York. That account had $2 million left as of late November after Bush gave nearly $11.3 million to the Republican National Committee and $1,680 to the White House Historical Association (search).
Bush's Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry, was to file postelection campaign finance reports with the FEC by midnight Thursday.
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