Dean debt may top $500,000

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Despite raising a record $50.3 million, former Vermont governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign was in debt when Dean withdrew from the race.

"We do have a debt, but it's not unmanageable," campaign manager Roy Neel said Friday. "It will be paid off pretty quickly. I don't know of a major campaign that does not end with a debt of some kind."

Neel said he did not know how much the campaign was in debt, but said it will probably exceed $500,000 once expenses for shutting down the campaign are known.

Neel said the campaign may try to raise money over the Internet to help retire the debt.

Dean, once regarded as the Democratic front-runner for the party's presidential nomination, withdrew from the race Wednesday after a disappointing third-place finish in Wisconsin.