George Allen loans Senate campaign $500,000 for final push

Former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) has loaned his campaign $500,000 for the final days of his Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The move is a sign that money is tight — though it also shows he believes he can still win the race, and is willing to put his money where his mouth is in the final days of the campaign.

Allen has trailed former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in fundraising for months, though his own fundraising hasn't been bad, and spent heavily over the summer while Kaine saved his resources. Because of that, Kaine has been able to outspend Allen in the final month of the campaign, though outside groups have helped Allen level the playing field.

His campaign said the money was a line of credit rather than a loan — that he'd put it up as a guarantee in order to be able to use donations that had already come in to reserve last-minute television buys; TV ad reservation logs close on Friday for the weekend.

"The campaign took out a line of credit to have maximum flexibility to access funds we continue to raise online and through credit card donations," Allen spokeswoman Katie Wright told The Hill. "This race will come down to the wire, the momentum is on our side and we feel good about our position as head into the final weekend."

Allen and Kaine have been in a tight race for months, though Kaine has led nearly every recent public poll of the race.

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