Pantano looking for help paying off campaign debt

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Election Day was nearly two months ago, but former Congressional candidate Ilario Pantano is still asking for campaign donations.

Pantano recently sent an email to 14,000 of his supporters requesting donations to cover more than $30,000 in campaign debt, but the focus of the Republican’s message was the lame duck session of Congress and, in his opinion, “an epidemic of spinelessness” in Congressional conservatives.

His message mentioned issues such as the START Treaty ratification and repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Pantano said these are things that make true conservatives uncomfortable.

“We’re concerned about the issues that face our country,” he said. “The things that we just fought a hard election over, those issues haven’t gone away. And certainly there has been a wake-up call and conservatives now have a majority, or will have a majority in the Congress. We have to hold them into account, and elections are ultimately about accountability.”

Pantano would not directly address why he chose to criticize fellow Republicans instead of just asking for help retiring his debt.

As for the future, Pantano said right now he is not focusing on running again, rather on spending time with his wife and two sons. But he said getting rid of the debt now would help if he chooses to run again.