The Hill News

Jon Huntsman’s campaign is struggling financially, with debt exceeding cash-on-hand, according to CNN.

The campaign finished September with $327,000 in the bank and $890,000 in debt, according to its third-quarter filing. Huntsman has raised $2.26 million and contributed an additional $2.25 million of his own money since joining the race in June.

But a campaign official told the network the campaign has spent $4.18 million, leaving the campaign in dire straits headed into the primary season.

{mosads}Huntsman’s poor financial standing is a reflection of his place in the polls, with the former Utah governor hovering in the low single digits since entering the race. Conservative voters have seemingly rejected Huntsman’s brand of centrism, although the candidate is besting his national averages in some New Hampshire polls.

The Huntsman campaign also said it has seen a 240 percent increase in fundraising since the September filing deadline, and lessened its burn rate with the departure of some senior advisers and more-frugal spending.

Since the end of the third quarter, Huntsman has “unveiled a bold foreign policy plan, performed strongly in the debates and seen positive momentum in every New Hampshire poll,” Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller told CNN. “Our campaign has re-organized to become more nimble, with a focus on s! uccess in New Hampshire, and our fundraising the first two weeks of this quarter has reflected that.”

The Huntsman campaign had previously said its fundraising numbers would be around $4 million for the quarter, but The Washington Post reported that that estimate was based on pledges that did not come to fruition.

In contrast to Huntsman, the campaigns of Rick Perry and Mitt Romney each have around $15 million in the bank, while Ron Paul has around $8 million. Herman Cain has not released his numbers yet, but said his campaign was debt free and had more than $1 million in the bank.