A Mark Foley comeback?

Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) has more than $1 million in his old campaign account and is not slamming the door on a future run, according to the Center for Public Integrity. 

Foley, who resigned in 2006 after apologizing for sending sexually explicit messages to House pages, is just one example of numerous former lawmakers who have six or seven figure sums of money in old campaign accounts that are gathering dust. 

{mosads}Foley, who is now a lobbyist, said he would “never slam a door on the future” but had no immediate plans for another run. 

“After the resignation, I would have given it slim odds that I’d ever run again,” he told the news outlet. “But I’ve had people tell me since, ‘Your public service was sterling aside from a bump in the road.’ 

“There’s no easy answer, although I’m going to be 60 this year, so any decision I make would be in a reasonable, short period of time.”

Foley, a member of the GOP leadership before he resigned, continues to have $1.26 million in his old campaign account. 

The House page program came under scrutiny after the 2006 incident and was shut down in 2011 because of unrelated reasons of cost and increases in technology that made their jobs less necessary. 

The Center for Public Integrity reported that all together, money in the campaign accounts of former lawmakers or candidates who did not win totals nearly $100 million. Nine former lawmakers have more than $1 million in their accounts, with former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) topping the list with $9.84 million. Dozens of other former candidates have six figure sums left in their account. 

Bayh also did not rule out another bid.

“Because the future is difficult to predict, I don’t want to foreclose any possibilities at this time,” Bayh told the news outlet. 

Others former lawmakers, like former senator and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), say simply they do not have any plans for the leftover money. 

No laws prevent the former lawmakers from keeping the accounts open, but they cannot spend the money on themselves. 

Former lawmakers getting rid of an account can donate to political candidates, refund the donations given, pay off campaign debt, or convert it into a political action committee, according to the Center for Public Integrity. They can also transfer unlimited funds to state and party committees.