Scott Walker offers $45 T-shirts to pay off campaign debt

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is giving away T-shirts in exchange for $45 donations to help pay off the $1.2 million debt left over from his short-lived presidential campaign.

The Republican sent an email to donors Sunday saying, “If there is one thing the American people learned about me during our presidential campaign, it is that I am thrifty.” He cited his habit of using coupons and shopping at sales racks — a practice that he emphasized repeatedly during his campaign.

Walker told one story about the purchase of a sweater at Kohl’s so many times that it was ridiculed by Jimmy Fallon on ‘The Tonight Show.’

But Walker’s campaign failed because of his extravagant spending. He spent more than $90,000 a day during his 70-day presidential run. He was forced to withdraw from the race because he ran out of money.

Critics, including Republicans, chastised Walker for his fiscal imprudence, although apologists blamed it on his advisers.

Walker’s email offering said anyone who donates the $45 will receive a campaign T-shirt, but he’s unable to honor size and color requests because of a lack of resources.

Still, Walker suggested that the shirts could be framed or used for “crafty things,” such as pillows or bags, instead of being used as clothing.

In other Walker news, Donald Trump told USA Today that he would consider the governor as a possible running mate.

“I like Walker actually in a lot of ways,” Trump told the newspaper. “I hit him very hard. … But I’ve always liked him. There are people I like, but I don’t think they like me because I have hit them hard.”

During a rally in Janesville just two weeks ago, Trump blasted Walker’s poor handling of Wisconsin’s economy, which lags the rest of the region.

Walker said he was “shocked” by the article, but he declined to rule out the possibility of running as Trump’s vice president.

When Walker withdrew from the GOP presidential race last September, he urged other GOP candidates to follow suit in order to give the party a chance to coalesce around a suitable candidate other than Trump.

Walker endorsed Ted Cruz shortly before the Wisconsin presidential primary election. Cruz won that race.

AP writer Scott Bauer contributed to this article.