Newt Gingrich out of campaign, but still has a mountain of debt

Correction appended at bottom.

Newt Gingrich officially suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday after long trailing far behind frontrunner Mitt Romney and facing an insurmountable deficit in delegates.

Ginrich said, however, it was not the end of his role in American politics.

"Suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship," he said. "Callista and I are committed to being active citizens. We owe it to America."

The former speaker of the House only briefly mentioned presumed Republican presidential candidate Romney in his farewell speech, saying he would "cheerfully help him with" spending cuts, but did not formally endorse him.

"I'm asked sometimes, 'Is Mitt Romney conservative enough?'" he said. "My answer is simple. Compared to Barack Obama? This is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan. It is a choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical, leftist president in American history."

However, after an interview with Gingrich on Tuesday, USA Today reported Gingrich will announce his official endorsement alongside Romney in a few weeks.

Gingrich also addressed his hopes for an entirely Republican-run government and a "romanticized" America of the future, saying future generations may eventually see the fruits of his campaign for space exploration.

With his campaign behind him, however, Gingrich, 68, now must face the multi-million dollar debt his campaign racked up throughout the primaries, which totaled $4.3 million as of late March, according to the Federal Election Commission, though he has already paid off $500,000 of that debt, according to Fox News.

The majority of the campaign's debt is owed to political consulting firms, travel costs and various campaign expenses. Gingrich himself put up at least $780,000 of his personal wealth, around $514,000 of which he has been reimbursed for, Fox News reported.

The Gingrich campaign also spent generously on services provided by Gingrich family businesses, including Callista's multimedia company Gingrich Productions and his daughter's consulting company Cushman Enterprises, Fox News reported. The campaign does not have any debt remaining to either of those businesses.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told Fox that the spending level was the result of competition over media buys with the Mitt Romney campaign.

"In hindsight you always would want additional funds. There wasn't a state [where] we were not outspent in television advertising," he said, adding that a finance team will prepare payment plans with the companies the campaign still owes.

The campaign plans to hold "separate events to raise money to pay off debts" while campaigning in support of the GOP, according to Hammond, who also reportedly said the Romney campaign offered to connect Gingrich with its donors.

Among the larger debts, charter jet firm Moby Dick Airways is owed more than $1 million. The campaign also has an outstanding bill of $144,000 with Gordon C. James Public Relations, whose owner told FoxNews.com that the company is working with Gingrich to relieve the debt.

FEC records also show Gingrich owes at least $450,000, as of the end of March, to consultant firms ranging from "grassroots consulting" to "Hispanic outreach consulting" to "fundraising consulting."

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Gingrich's campaign as his third presidential run.