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SALT LAKE CITY — It's been eight years since Utah Sen. Mitt Romney came up short in his bid to become president of the United States, but not until Wednesday did his campaign officially close up shop.
According to Business Insider and Federal Election Commission filings, Romney's campaign committee was officially terminated when it transferred the remaining $90,000-plus in its coffers to Romney's Senate committee, several law firms, and to the IRS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for taxes.
Almost $55,000 went to the Romney for Utah account, the filings show.
The presidential campaign's last income came in July when it took in $783.78 from Newsmax Media, a conservative news and opinion website, for "list rental." Business Insider says that refers to renting former supporters' personal information to the site.
The termination report was signed by Bradley Crate, who Business Insider said served as treasurer for Romney's 2012 campaign and now serves in the same capacity for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign despite the open acrimony between his current and former clients.
According to Business Insider, it is not unusual for a presidential or congressional campaign to remain open for years after the fact. Hillary Clinton's is still active, as are the campaigns of former presidential contenders Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and even Al Sharpton from back in 2004.
A Romney aide told KSL.com closing a campaign committee is a yearslong process, one that just concluded this week.
Mary Weaver Bennett, director of the Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service at Southern Utah University, said there are myriad reasons why a campaign might keep its committee open for a long time.
"There are a lot of things to do to close it out," Bennett said, "and there are a lot of reasons to keep it open. Many politicians keep their campaign funds open so they can make donations to other politicians. That is very common."
They can also donate to state and national political parties, she said.
"If you're intending to stay in the political realm, that's very advantageous for you to do."
And of course, many campaigns can't close because they are saddled with debt — though Business Insider said that wasn't the case for Romney's campaign. But Sharpton, for instance, still owes nearly a million dollars.
Bennett said expenses abound during a presidential campaign, leaving committees on the hook to sometimes thousands of entities from consultants to pollsters to caterers. And making campaign stops quickly becomes an expensive proposition when candidates foot the bill for their protection, transportation, food and more.
"It all takes a while to work out," Bennett said.
